Chocolate Banana Muffins

For me the key to a good week is planning out my snacks. I find that if I don't have my snacks planned out I tend to grab whatever is closest and thats not always the best thing for me. So each week, usually on Sunday, I like to bake some muffins to have on hand for a quick pick me up around 3pm with a cup of tea.

I came across this recipe years ago and it has been a go to for me ever since. The secret ingredient in this recipe is the corn starch. It sounds odd at first but it makes these muffins so light and fluffy. If you don't like things super sweet try cutting the sugar in half. The chocolate chips and bananas give it a lot of sweetness already.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup (125g) white whole wheat flour or plain white flour

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 4 tablespoons (29g) dutch process cocoa powder Note 1

• 1/3 cup (55g) miniature dark chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup (95g) dark chocolate chips

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 cup (116g) vanilla or plain Greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup (49g) melted coconut oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup (120g) light brown sugar lightly packed

• 1 cup (230g) extremely ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

• Generously coat a muffin tin with cooking spray and then dust the cavities with cocoa powder. These muffins stick to muffin liners so I do not recommend using them.

• Remove 1 tablespoon of the 1 cup of flour.

• In a small bowl, toss together the remaining flour (after removing 1 tablespoon from the 1 cup), cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and both types of chocolate chips. Stir.

• Make sure your bananas are at their very ripest (black skins are best; see post to speed up the ripening process if not all the way ripe.) Remove the skins and mash the bananas extremely well.

• In another bowl, briskly whisk together the egg and Greek yogurt. Stir in the melted coconut oil (slightly cooled, but measure in it's melted state),vanilla extract, brown sugar, and the extremely ripe mashed bananas.

• Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until JUST combined. Over-mixing results in denser muffins.

• Separate the batter evenly among the 12 cavities or fill up 9-10 for extra large muffins.

• Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.

• Allow to cool and then remove from the muffin tin. (Use a butterknife to cut around the edges and help pull them out!)

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.

• When ready to enjoy a muffin, microwave for 15-20 seconds. Spread with peanut butter if desired!