I always have some baked goods in the freezer for quick lunches for the kids. Since these are occasionally meant to serve as the starch component of a lunch as opposed to a decadent treat, I tend to make these healthy, to the extent most good baked goods can be *healthy*. I typically add in some 'health-factor' by cutting down some of the sugar, trying to use whole grain flour instead of all-purpose, etc. You go too far and you end up with something 100% healthy, because its so nasty there is a 0% chance of it being consumed. You get my drift. What I strive for is a balance between decadent treats and everyday eats.
The baked goods stash in the freezer has been dwindling over the past few weeks, and I've just not gotten around to replacing it. I usually have a bunch of over-ripe bananas in the freezer waiting to be converted into scrumptious banana bread, but somehow, the family has been in a banana-binge phase, and I never seem to be able to keep bananas around long enough to get them bake-ready ripe. Every once in a way, I have managed to hoarde a banana till it at least gets to the spotty stage, but Dear hubby has been known to take these bananas too to work for a snack. His love for bananas knows no bounds....
Anyway, I finally managed to build up the banana stash and finally had all the software (pun intended) to bake banana bread yesterday. Kids wanted banana muffins instead of a loaf. No problem.
Banana - Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from The King Arthur Whole Grain Baking book
Makes 12 regular muffins
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs (I used jumbo)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin liners. Spray the liners evenly with cooking spray.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in stand-mixer bowl. Add the bananas, sour cream, honey, vanilla and eggs. Beat until smooth. (Don't worry if the sour cream looks curdled).
3. Whisk together dry ingredients - flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add chocolate chips.
4. Gently add dry ingredients to the stand mixer. Mix gently until just combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 23 to 28 minutes.
6. Remove muffins from oven. Let rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
7. These can be stored for a day in an airtight container. For longer storage, wrap individually and freeze.
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