Thursday, June 30, 2016

Fantastic Double Chocolate (Pretty Healthy) Banana Muffins

Fantastic Double Chocolate (Pretty Healthy) Banana Muffins

3 ripe bananas (nice and mushy and sweet... ohhh yeeaahh)
1 egg
1/3 c. coconut oil OR applesauce (I didn't have applesauce in the house, so coconut oil worked great!)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract or one of each
1 c. of "dry ingredients" (I have been experimenting with this and changing it every time I make them. I think my favorite is 1/2 c. almond meal/flour and 1/2 c. white flour - but it's also great if you replace one of those with oat bran or any kind of nut flour/meal. I used ground up hazelnuts once. 1/2 c. hazelnuts right into the blender. Boom. So any combination of those ingredients to make up 1c. will work)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 c. Hersey's cocoa powder (either regular or dark would work)
1/2 c. - 3/4 c. chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips bc I prefer dark chocolate and I like that they are less sweet, and apparently more healthy, but who knows?!)
SECRET INGREDIENT: 1 tbs high quality (thick) balsamic vinegar - I used Espresso flavored B.V. that I bought at a specialty store and I really think it made ALLL the difference. I feel like if you can't find the good stuff, you should probably skip it. Buuut great BV is awesome in a ton of stuff - salad dressings, on grilled chicken, on roasted veggies, so don't feel like you'd have to buy a bottle just for this recipe. It'll be worth the purchase!
     UPDATE: If you do not have the thick high quality balsamic vinegar that I described above (as I didn't in one instance and was forced to experiment), try 1 tbs of instant coffee grinds (or 2 tbs prepared espresso) and 1 tbs of regular balsamic vinegar. Truth be told, it's not as good, but it's a fair substitute in terms if taste and consistency!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixer (or use hand-mixer), I always put the bananas in first and then let the mixer keep going on low while I throw the other stuff in so that they can soften (egg, applesauce/oil, vanilla, coffee grinds/espresso, balsamic vinegar). Mix in brown sugar until combined and the bananas are broken up pretty well. There may still be some chunks and that's okay, but you want to get it as smooth as you can, that's why I just let it keep running as I add stuff in.

Then I throw in the salt, baking soda, baking powder. Let it mix.
Turn off the mixer for a second and add the "dry ingredients" in, be it oat bran/flour/almond meal, whatever you choose. (It's too messy to try and pour them in while the beater is revolving.) Turn back on and mix well.

Turn off again. Add in the cocoa powder. Restart mixer and incorporate thoroughly. And finally, in go the chocolate chips. Do a happy dance since you know that adding those chocolate chips in just made this recipe 15x more awesome. Stir until combined. The consitencey should be loose like a batter, not tight like a dough. If it's too tight, add in liquid. A little HOT water always does the trick. Just add a little at a time though. And if it's too loose, more dry ingredients. You get the drill.

Use an ice cream scoop or a spoon or whatever to fill a greased cupcake tin until your heart's desire. You can use cupcake liners too, but I never do.

Pop them in (ideally on the middle rack) for 18-22 minutes depending on the size of the muffins you make and the temperature of your oven. If you make mini muffins, the cooking time may even be less so set the timer for 12 and then increase in increments of 2 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. You do not want to overcook them so watch them closely. When I use a regular size cupcake tin and fill them all the way, I usually set my timer for 20 minutes and then have to put the timer on twice more at four minute increments, or so. The main thing is that you want to make sure not to overcook/dry them out. That would be no fun. And when you insert a toothpick into the center, a little goo at the end of the toothpick is okay, but a lot of goo or a soaking, sloppy toothpick is no bueno.

Overall, for this recipe, my best advice is to use this as a guideline and play with it as you continue to make your batches. I keep adding things and taking them out, depending on what I have available in my house, and EVERY TIME they come out amazing. If you like nuts, add nuts! If you like coconut, add coconut! Peanut butter? Yeah, you get the gist. Just be sure to kind of keep the measurements and ratios the same in terms of wet ingredients vs. dry ingredients. Or as close to the same as possible.

Wait until they are cool enough and pull them out of the tin and set on a flat surface. And voila! Yummy treats for day or night. If I'm being a real bad girl, I love them with a little cream cheese on them, but usually, au natural with a glass of cold milk is the way to go.

Bon appetit!