037 Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

One of my biggest vices is buying too much food. They say to never go grocery shopping when you're hungry, because you tend to buy more than you need. Which is true. And I know this because I am always hungry. Pair that with my attempt to "eat fresh" and "live longer" as we are often told to do, I often find my pantry/kitchen counter/fridge filled to the brim with perishable food items.

Like bananas.

I discovered the other day that I had a few bananas that were way past the point of eating fresh, so I decided to look for a recipe that would allow me to not let them go to waste. Banana bread is one of the easier baking projects one can attempt, so I decided to whip up a quick batch. Naturally, I also proceeded to take a somewhat healthy snack and make it worse for you by adding chocolate chips. NO SHAME. I really didn't add that many calories, so read on. :)

These are the ingredients needed - I had everything at home, which is usually a requirement for me to actually try recipes...haha lazy.

Yum yum bananas.

Step one is to mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Then, add the chocolate chips in and stir to combine. 

Aww yeah.

In a separate, smaller bowl, mix together the bananas, butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.

The beginnings of something beautiful. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and use an electric mixer to beat until just blended and all the ingredients are moist.

Moist.

Spoon the batter into a prepared cupcake/muffin tin. Pro-tip: Fill up cupcake/muffin liners till about 2/3 of the way. This will usually give you a good-sized cupcake/muffin without the dreaded MUFFIN TOP! 

None of that.

Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Second pro-tip: If you're having problems with the cake sticking to the liner, that is usually a sign of over-baking. Shorten the bake time by a few minutes, and keep testing with a toothpick until it comes out clean. My mom always said under-baking is better than over-baking - you can always pop things back in the oven for a few minutes longer, but you can't undo things have already been burned. 

Mini disclaimer: There are definitely a few items that you shouldn't use this baking time testing method on (opening and shutting the oven door multiple times) like souffles, but it works great for amateur-hour snacks. Like most of what I make, lol. 

And there you have it - it really is that simple.

I had fun taking pseudo-professional food pictures.

Here is the recipe for your convenience, slightly adapted from Money Pit Love's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

Yield: 16 muffins

Nutrition: 187 calories/muffin 

Ingredients:

    2 cups all purpose flour

    1/4 cups sugar 

    2 tsp baking powder

    1 tsp baking soda

    1 tsp ground cinnamon

    1/4 tsp salt

    1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

    2 cups smashed bananas (about 3 bananas)

    1/2 cup light butter

    1/4 cup almond milk

    2 eggs

    1 tsp vanilla extract 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Whisk dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) together in large mixing bowl. 
3. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.
4. Mix wet ingredients (bananas, butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract) together in a separate, smaller bowl.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together with electric mixer until just blended and all the ingredients are moist. 
6. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake/muffin tin until liners are about 2/3 full. 
7. Bake in preheated oven for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 
8. Allow to cool completely, and enjoy! :)

Nutrition Information from MyFitnessPal: