cute, fun and school safe

I think I’ve mentioned this before; banana bread is a staple in our house and I make it probably almost biweekly (sometimes even weekly!). It’s one of those recipes that I can make with my eyes closed and it’s always a hit with the kids. Especially when there are some chocolate chips in it!  I always buy extra bananas (and even the bananas that are for quick sale at the grocery store because they are very spotty – just pop them in the freezer!) so that I always have them on hand at home.

I have 2 or 3 versions that are my go to’s but today as boss and I mixed the batter I decided to switch it up from a loaf pan to mini muffins. My mini muffin pan has been at the bottom of my cupboard and quite neglected. The kids loved the look of mini muffins and a bonus is that they take way less baking time (good for the gas bill!). They make for easy storage and pack nicely for lunches.

Be sure to butter or spray your muffin tray really well (or you can line the tray with mini muffin cups) or else your batter will stick and then it’s annoying to clean.

prep: 10 min   bake:  15 min     yield: 24 mini muffins

what you need:

• 3 large very ripe bananas
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp or more of melted butter (to grease muffin tray)

what to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a large fork until mushy. Add egg and mix well into the bananas (using the fork is fine).
3. Add vanilla, maple syrup and butter and mix well with fork again.
4. In a separate bowl, combine salt, flour, oats and baking soda.
5. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture. Mix with fork until just incorporated – do not over mix or you will have dense muffins.
6. Fold in greek yogurt, just until incorporated.
7. Fold in chocolate chips.
8. Grease muffin tray with melted butter, using a brush, making sure to grease the bottom and sides.
9. Fill each muffin cup to the top. They will rise as they bake, making the classic muffin top.
10. Bake in the centre rack for ~15 minutes. I used convection so if you have a regular oven it may take a bit longer. For the last 2 minutes I turned the oven to broil high to get a golden brown top (if you’re doing this keep a close eye because depending on how hot your oven gets they can burn quickly!). They are done when a toothpick comes out just clean (not wet but little bits of batter can be present).
11. Remove from oven, and then after a few minutes when they are cool enough to handle, transfer each individual muffin to cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

hot out of the oven

broil for a minute or two for golden brown tops