My dad started a sort of family ritual where he would wake up on Sunday mornings and make a fresh batch of muffins. However, he always leaned more toward the “healthy” kind of muffins—bran, wheat, oatmeal, etc. If I wanted a sweeter (read: tastier) muffin, it was up to me to make them myself. That’s how I discovered, tweaked, and, in my opinion, perfected this banana chocolate chip muffins recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Decorative sugar crystals (optional)
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C? Brits are weird). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. For bigger muffins, make 9 or 10 rather than 12.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, mix together bananas, egg, butter, and milk. Leave some good-sized banana lumps in there.
- In 4-ish segments, add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring to combine. Avoid over-mixing.
- Add the chocolate chips. My family sometimes complains that 1 cup of chocolate chips is “too many,” but who’s ever heard of such a thing? If your family also complains, try 3/4 of a cup instead.
- Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin. Fill those bad Larry’s up to nearly the top, like I’d say 5/6 full. This particular recipe doesn’t rise a ton, so if you want nice muffin tops (and who doesn’t), the tins need to be pretty full.
- Sprinkle the sugar crystals onto the top, if using. I love the sparkle and the crunch they add.
- Bake until tops are a nice golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes back with only melted chocolate and no crumbs, about 30-32 minutes.
These muffins are slightly cakey, very moist (that word is only acceptable in baking), and totally delicious. Since it only makes about 9-12 muffins, consider doubling the recipe if you want them to last into the week and not just Sunday, because trust me, they’ll get eaten fast.