Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

These tasty muffins are a mainstay in our kitchen week after week, and for good reason. They pack up beautifully for school lunch or snack, and are the best way I know to use up all the overripe bananas hanging out on the kitchen counter come Sunday. Coconut sugar, hemp hearts, and using half whole wheat flour keeps these nutritionally in the breakfast/snack category- even though they taste like dessert. Endlessly adaptable, I sometimes sneak in some grated zucchini or ground flaxseed for an extra boost of nutrition (see recipe notes below). Keep any muffins after a day or two in a container in the fridge and they will last all week. Or freeze extra muffins and warm them up as needed. Recruit your kids to help you make these- they’re a breeze to make and they always love getting involved in the kitchen!

Yield: 25 good size muffins

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 

·      1 cup salted butter, melted

·      2 cups coconut sugar

·      4 cups mashed bananas (from about 8-10 very ripe bananas)

·      4 large eggs

·      1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·      1 teaspoon fine sea salt (optional)

·      1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

·      2 teaspoons baking soda

·      2 teaspoons baking powder

·      2 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

·      ½ cup hemp hearts (optional)

·      2 cups all-purpose flour

·      2 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

1.    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin tins with paper liners.

2.    In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and coconut sugar until smooth. Add in the mashed bananas, and switch to a spoon or spatula to mix thoroughly.

3.    Add the eggs, vanilla, sea salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and chocolate chips, mixing thoroughly to combine.

4.    Add both flours, and stir gently until just combined and no flour remains unincorporated.

5.    Use an ice cream scoop (or two spoons) to fill your lined muffin tins (you might need to do this in batches depending on how many tins you have available).

6.    Bake for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of your muffin tins) until firm on top. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

·      You can half this recipe for fewer muffins, or freeze any extras- they reheat beautifully right from the freezer in the toaster oven or microwave.

·      Omit the chocolate chips and swap in chopped walnuts for another variation.

·      Stir in 1 medium size grated zucchini with an additional ½ cup flour for a hidden serving of veggies.

·      Add ½ cup ground flaxseed to the batter for a boost of fiber.

·      Make double the amount of extra mini muffins to fit perfectly in a school lunch box.