Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Ever have leftover bananas that have just gone a few days too far?  Just a little too spotty and mushy for your tastes?  Well, everyone does.  Instead of throwing your bananas away (WASTER!), put them in the freezer and when you're in the mood for some banana baked item, take them out of the freezer a few hours before baking and you've basically got yourself some already mushed banana for use.  Mr. Piglet loves to buy bushels and bushels of bananas - WHY???  There's only the two of us here and only one of us eats bananas!   Bargh!  So here I am making these banana-based muffins so I can clear up some space in the freezer - not that they're not tasty because they are really tasty but I just wish my freezer wasn't full of spotty bananas.  Anyways, rant done.  Enjoy!

Tools needed:

• 12 cup muffin tin
• Paper muffin liners or olive oil spray or butter for greasing the pan
• Sifter or fine mesh sieve
• Stand mixer or electric mixer and a medium bowl
• Large bowl
• Spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or wheat flour
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (regular salt can be substituted)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive but canola or coconut oil would work too)
• 1/2 cup low fat Greek yogurt (I used olive but canola or coconut oil would work as well)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin tin with paper cups or spray with olive oil spray or grease with butter.  Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

3.  In the stand mixer or medium bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla and blend until thoroughly mixed, about 3-4 minutes on high.


4.  Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and mix with a spatula just until the flour disappears - do not overmix!  Better to undermix than overmix...


5.  Fold in the chocolate chips and mashed bananas.


6.  Fill the cups in the prepared muffin tin.

7.  Bake for 22-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.  Remove from oven and allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing muffins to a wire rack to completely cool.


8.  Eat and enjoy!

(Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)