Originally posted by Modern-Day Ma on March 27, 2020
Looking forward to a nice, lazy, unscheduled weekend at home with the family? LOL! Me too. I’m going to let you in on a secret I’ve known for a while and haven’t shared (sorry about that) that will hopefully put some smiles into your social-distancing/quarantine weekend:
MUFFINS = HAPPINESS
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It really doesn’t matter what kind you make. You could try these, or these, or these (that last one is over the line into cupcake territory, but will definitely deliver the pick-me-up you’re looking for.
However, if you have some bananas on hand that need to get used up-food waste is a big deal no-no right now-or if you have some applesauce in the pantry, then these Whole-Wheat Banana (Or Applesauce) Chocolate Chip Muffins are the exact solution.
Don’t have whole-wheat flour on hand? No problem, go ahead and substitute all-purpose. Need these to be gluten-free? Easy, just substitute your favorite 1:1 GF flour blend. Have a thousand pounds of oatmeal in your food storage and trying not to make a trip to the store? Sounds good, just finely grind oats in your food processor or high-powered blender and use them to replace up to 1/2 the total flour amount. Remember, the goal here is happiness. Anything you package in a cute paper liner that has chocolate chips in it can’t go wrong!
Stay healthy, friends! XO
Whole-Wheat Banana (Or Applesauce) Chocolate Chip Muffins
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup honey
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt**
2 large or 3 small very ripe bananas, mashed (or 1 cup applesauce)
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted (can substitue canola or olive oil here, if necessary)
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 400° F and line a muffin tin (this one is my favorite) with 12 paper liners. Feel free to spray the liners with spray oil for the easiest removal-wheat flour does tend to stick a little more than all-purpose.
Combine all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and chocolate chips) in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
In another medium-sized bowl, combine the wet ingredients (honey, brown sugar, eggs, yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla) and whisk to combine.
Tip the dry ingredients into the wets and, using a rubber spatula, fold just until combined and flour is moistened. Do not overmix!
Fill each muffin cup nearly to the brim with batter. (for a fancier look, sprinkle the tops with more chocolate chips)
Bake 15-18 minutes or until the tops turn a lovely golden brown and a toothpick stuck into the center of a muffin comes out clean or a clean finger pressed quickly in the center of the muffins springs back and doesn’t leave an indent.
Remove muffin tin to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing each to the wire rack.
Notes
* So, what exactly IS whole-wheat pastry flour, and what if I don’t have it? Here’s a quick wheat lesson: There are 3 types of wheat. Both hard red and hard white wheat, when ground, make traditional whole-wheat flour. In quick-breads, they can be a little gritty or heavy. Wheat PASTRY flour is made by grinding SOFT white wheat, which behaves more like all-purpose flour when baked-it is light, fluffy and tender.
I grind my own, but you can easily purchase some online or at many local grocers. Be sure to look for the phrases “soft white wheat” and/or “wheat pastry flour” to make sure you’re getting the right stuff.
Finally, if all you have on hand is traditional wheat flour, that will work too! If you don’t mind a heavier crumb, just substitute all of the wheat flour in for the wheat pastry flour. If you’d like a lighter finished texture, then use 1/2 traditional wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose flour.
**You will get the best results using full-fat Greek yogurt, but use whatever you have on hand. If you’d like to learn how to make your own, plain Greek yogurt, read this. You can also substitute 3/4 cup sour cream with a splash of milk, or 3/4 cup buttermilk, or 1 1/2 Tbsp buttermilk powder and 3/4 cup water (or milk) in place of the yogurt.
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