Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins * with a smidge of healthy

I wouldn’t consider myself a muffin snob per say….

But I do like them a certain way. Not too sweet, definitely not dry in the center, but I do like them a little stale, and if they’re mini sized?…I’m in love.

Muffins fall into the breakfast “treat” category for me. Better for you than pancakes because there is no syrup but definitely not healthy.

As I was making muffins to get ready for my Cheesy Valentine’s Day breakfast (see this post), I started tinkering around with the basic muffin recipe in theAmerica’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook… substituting this, replacing that, until I got something that felt fairly unique, and just a smidge healthy.

Better for us than before, that’s for sure.

Here’s the recipe:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (with a smidge of healthy)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup white wheat flour (lighter than it’s red or “whole” wheat cousin)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
dash of nutmeg
1 TBSP. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1TBSP. milled flax seed

1 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)
2 large eggs
1 stick of melted salted butter (add a dash of salt if using unsalted)
about 2 TBSP. whole or 2% milk or whipping cream

1-2 bananas, diced small (about a cup or heaping cup)
1 cup chocolate chips (mix in some walnuts or pecans if you want, my kids don’t like it, so I left it out this time)

*This is not a low calorie version, but made with a few “better” ingredients.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Melt your butter and then let it cool.

3. Mix your dry ingredients.

4. Whisk sour cream and eggs together until combined. Add to your dry ingredients.

5. Stir in butter.

6. Add milk or cream to help loosen up the batter. Start with 1 TBSP and add more until you get a good consistency. Don’t add too much. The batter should be creamy, thick and clumpy.
*Also, mix until combined but be careful not to over mix.

7. Add about 1 TBSP for each muffin in a mini muffin pan. Bake for 12-18 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out of a center muffin with a few crumbs attached.

Yields about 5 dozen mini muffins.

They are nice and moist…

and sweet enough that it feels like a special treat, but not overly sweet in a way that will make you feel guilty later.

I’m in love. 🙂

Happy Valentine’s Day!