Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins #MuffinMonday

The bananas are very subtle in these chocolate banana mini muffins. What they don’t add in flavor though, they make up for in texture. These little guys are soft, tender and light. And oh, so chocolatey, with both cocoa and chocolate chips.

There are advantages and disadvantages to cooking and blogging as a hobby during this pandemic. The good part is that I can keep the family well fed and happy with home-cooked meals and treats. The bad part is that now I can’t have friends and extended family coming over for meals and that means leftovers that might get wasted.

I’m here to tell you that I’ve found a solution! About a week ago, I posted a notice on the neighborhood social site NextDoor, saying:

“Paying it forward with baked goods. Hi, neighbors! I am an avid baker with a food blog. The fun for me is creating recipes which my family and friends enjoy but because my mom has various autoimmune issues, we've been trying to stay to ourselves these past few months. This means that I have more baked goods than we can eat from time to time. I'd love to share with people in the neighborhood who could use a treat. Please pm me if you know someone in our neighborhood that would appreciate it and/or deserves it, with their name and address. I will drop fresh cookies, cake or muffins, etc. off whenever I bake, right on their front porch. Bonus points if you tell me why you think they need/deserve a treat and I'll try to get around to everyone in time. (I'll add a note saying which neighbor nominated them to receive baked goods. Please say if you don't want me to mention you by name and I'll just say, "a neighbor.") Please let me know if there are any dietary restrictions as well. Many thanks in advance!”

So far, I have dropped off treats to two very deserving neighbors: shortbread peach jam squares and these mini muffins. I am baking some super rich brownies today for a third!

Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins

Even if you aren’t typically a fan of bananas, I encourage you to give these muffins a try. They don’t really taste very much like banana but they are completely delicious. This recipe is adapted from one at All Recipes.

Ingredients 
1 1/2 cups or 187g all-purpose flour
1/2 cup, firmly packed, or 100g dark brown sugar
1/4 cup or 30g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large ripe bananas (about 1 cup or 250g)
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1 egg
1/4 cup or 61g Greek yogurt
1/4 cup or 45g semisweet chocolate chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C. Prepare your 24-cup mini muffin pan by greasing it or line it with paper liners.

Mash your bananas with a fork.

Whisk the mashed bananas, oil, egg and yogurt together in a mixing bowl.

Lightly whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in another mixing bowl to combine.




Add the chocolate chips to the dry ingredients bowl, using the tip below.

Tip: Tired of your chocolate chips falling to the bottom of your muffins? Try this trick: drizzle just the tiniest bit of the oil onto the chocolate chips and stir until they are shiny. Add these to the dry ingredients and stir well to coat.

Fold the wet ingredients into flour mixture until just moistened.

Divide batter among the muffin cups. I love my little scoop for this job but if you don’t have one, a spoon will do.

Bake the muffins in your preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes.

Cool in the pan for a few minutes then remove the muffins from the pan and continue to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Check out all of the great muffins my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today!

• Berry Oatmeal Muffin from Passion Kneaded
• Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins from Making Miracles
• Easy Chocolate Chip Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Jalapeño Corn Bread Muffins with Cheddar Butter from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Red, White & Blue Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Sour Cream Lemon Muffins with a Rosemary Glaze from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Sourdough Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins!

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