Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Who doesn't like a double dose of chocolate in the mornings? These Double Chocolate Banana Muffins are extra chocolate-y with Ghirardelli chocolate chips and unsweetened cocoa powder. And of course, adding bananas to the mix makes these healthy, right? Whether you want to call these banana muffins with chocolate added, or chocolate muffins with banana added is up to you!

 

Yes, I'm that lady that almost always has some kind of home-baked good on her counter. Not only can you control the quality of ingredients, but you can also control the portion size when you bake at home. Have you ever looked at the calorie counts of Costco's muffins? The banana nut muffin alone has 640 calories and over 30 grams of fat, yikes! And sure, you could cut in in half, but who is going to do that? These Double Chocolate Banana Muffins are under 300 calories and 1/3 of the fat of a giant Costco-sized muffin. And they have chocolate!

 

Ripe bananas are something I have always seem to have excess of. Every time I buy bananas, my kids promise we that they will eat them up, but as soon as too many brown speckles appear, the kids and I avoid them like the plague. I can't stand eating an overripe banana out of the peel, there's something just unap-peel-ing to it, but baking them into muffins makes sure they get eaten, every time!

 

These Double Chocolate Banana muffins start with my go-to banana muffin recipe, that I have modified to make these muffins bursting with chocolate flavor. Bananas add an amazing amount of moisture into baked goods, with not a lot of extra calories. They stay fresh in an air-tight container for up to a week. If you're concerned about your children eating chocolate for breakfast, consider packing these muffins in school lunches, or serve them as an afterschool snack with a tall glass of milk.
 

 

 

 

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Makes 18 muffins (get printable recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 c granulated sugar
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter - softened
• 2 large eggs
• 3 ripe bananas
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 ¾ c all purpose flour
• ½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips*

*I like Ghirardelli baking chips because they are larger than your average chocolate chip, which makes sure you get lots of chocolate in every muffin! Also, if dark chocolate isn’t your thing, you could substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips instead.

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line muffin tins with baking cups and spray lightly with vegetable oil.
2. Cream butter and sugar together, then add eggs one at a time, mixing well each addition.
3. Mash bananas and cinnamon together, add to mixing bowl.
4. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, soda, and salt together. Stir into wet mix until just incorporated.
5. Fold in chocolate chips, then scoop batter into muffin cups ⅔ of the way full.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For mini muffins: Grease mini muffin tins, then fill as above. Bake for 14-15 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.