Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

Posted: March 25th, 2010 | Filed under: Bread, Breakfast | Tags: banana bread, banana chocolate chip, banana chocolate chip espresso muffins, banana muffins | 2 Comments »

I am guilty every now and then of not eating the bananas on purpose… there they sit on the counter top – ready to jump into my cereal bowl, top a peanut butter and honey sandwich, or talk me into a little bowl of ice cream. I let them get those nice brown sweet spots, those great little brown spots of goodness… spots that mean banana bread, banana cake, banana stuffed french toast…. all kinds of banana yummies. Because with those bananas come some pretty endless possibilities.

And I am very happy I let those little suckers sit. (Now, I will admit, that once my husband tried to throw my sweet sweet brown skinned babies away! But I stopped him and baked them very quickly into a tasty loaf of bread before he complained of the “whole apartment” smelling of banana.”)

You see… its been a very busy busy couple of months. And some sweet friends had a very very precious little Olivia. And for having the said Olivia I promised a wonderfully baked treat. And it took me a little longer to bake up a treat than originally planned — but I don’t think the sweet new parents cared when I delivered a box of freshly baked goodies… with one of new Dad’s favorite things… coffee.

You see, John likes coffee a lot… I mean a lot a lot… like, borderline too much. (And yes, his is on the extreme side of that line.) So how perfect is a little espresso in a little muffin action? Especially when paired with two of my favorite things, banana and chocolate.

So enjoy… and just a note, I’m posting the original recipe, but I may have had a little extra banana in that batter, and trust me, it was not a bad thing.

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe courtesy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

1-1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, sugars, butter, milk, and egg. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill each cup about 3/4 full. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Move the muffin pan to a cooling rack, and let cool  for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the muffins from the pan and let them finish cooling on the cooling rack. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Yield: 12 muffins (I got 16)

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