Thursday, January 22, 2009

Brrrrrrr...and Chocolate Banana Muffins!


It is mighty cold outside right now! 36 degrees is nothing to laugh at when you are pleasantly used to an average temperature of about 80 degrees. It doesn't happen often here but when it does it is BIG news!!! You can bet I will be baking or cooking today to try and get my house warmed up!

For today though I have nothing that will warm you up but it will surely make you happy!

I always use up my old banana's in something. They rarely if ever get thrown away but I was getting tired tired of the same old, same old. Banana bread, smoothies, cookies etc...Then I saw these from Elle at Elle's New England Kitchen and that changed all that and as luck would have it had some old banana's just waiting for this recipe!

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins (from Elle at Elle's New England Kitchen)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, combine bananas, oil and egg.
3. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. The batter is quite thick, but keep folding it gently, making sure to get the batter on the bottom of the bowl, and it'll all come together.
4. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups three fourths full.
6. Bake at 350 deg F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

***Updated - I just made these again using applesauce instead of the oil and 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour to replace 1/2 cup of AP Flour. They turned out perfectly and reduced this recipe by 2 WW Points to a total of 4 Points per muffin!!!

I am going to make these again! Everyone loved them. I will try and sub some applesauce for the oil next time though. Should lighten them up significantly!

Silly picture of my great big huge mutt in his favorite position! Less than a year old and still growing!

23 comments:

Gretchen Noelle said...

These look awfully tasty! Do you remember how many bananas you threw in? I just may have everything to bake these up this morning. Mmmm...

Shaheen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shaheen said...

Yum! This looks so so chocolatey! Love the idea of subbing oil with applesauce.

Anonymous said...

I recently made chocolate banana muffins too! Yours look delicious! I also freeze overripe bananas to make smoothies - delicious!

glamah16 said...

That dog is huge! I would love a muffin like that about now.

Anonymous said...

Banana and chocolate? Can't go wrong with that combination :)

RecipeGirl said...

Oh, delicious. I could use about 4 of those for breakfast, but since I'm being healthy I must decline! It's supposed to be a bit chilly here today too.

Patsyk said...

Oh, that looks like the perfect way to start the day - with CHOCOlATE! Yum!!!

Unknown said...

Those look so wonderful! I'm sure they are too. I despise throwing out old bananas. Thanks for the new way to use them.

Emily
www.justeatfood.com

Elle said...

Judy, they look wonderful! I'm glad you tried them and everyone liked them.

By the way, I've used pureed squash, sweet potato, and pumpkin in place of most of the oil in a pinch--it works great and the kids couldn't detect a difference.

HUGE dog--so cute!

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Hey Gretchen-You made them already!!! Yay!

Hey PurpleFoodie-I am trying that right now and also using some WW pastry flour!

Hi Christie-I always have frozen ones in there!!!

Hey Courtney-*sigh* yes he is...

Hi Daily SPud-my thoughts exactly!

Hi Lori-Bundle up and stay dry! These were only 6 point on WW. I am trying them with applesauce and Whole Wheat flour...

Hey Patsyk-Planning on it tomorrow!

Hi Emily-I thought it was great to get a new use!

Hey Elle-Great idea on the squash es!!! yes HUGE dog!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Wow, chocolate and bananas in a muffin - so it's health food for breakfast. Yeah! These look delicious.

Thistlemoon said...

Awwwww, look at that cutie! :)

Peter M said...

Are you sure you're Canadian? I'm going to throw some ice down your top and remind you of real cold winters!

Then, we have hot coffee and yum muffins! lol

Anonymous said...

PERFECT! Love bananas and chocolate always. I'll have to try these since I'm always looking for new muffins that aren't loaded with calories. I have a new one to post I've been saving too...funny how we all head down the same path these days, huh?

Unknown said...

sounds wonderful! Thanks for the recipe...

Bob said...

Man, I love muffins. Those look fantastic!

Hayley said...

I can't wait to try your lightened up version. I love experimenting, especially when it goes in my favor. Thanks for sharing!

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Hey Lynn-Of course it's health food!!! It has banana's in it!

Hey Jenn-Cutie-huge dog!!!

Hey Peter-I'll skip the cubes and go right to the coffee and muffins!

Hey Kelly-It is funny...

Your welcome Sarah!

These are good Bob!

Hi Hayley-give it a shot. I would think some yogurt would be good in them too.

Jeanne said...

Do you know, I have been itching to make banana choc chip muffins for a week now, and I click onto your blog and... there they are! Definitely going to bookmark these and give them a try :)

Heather said...

I can't believe it got that cold in Florida. Insanity!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

That is cold for Florida Judy. Of course I have you beat living in the Great White North...but it's not a contest I want to win.

Mephibashef said...

I love the picture of your big dog.... what is the breed? I have a 132 lb Rhodesian ridgeback that believes our couch is hers and hers alone. She was named Sophia, as in Sophia Lauren, and she acts like a diva.