Banana-Buttermilk Muffins with Almonds and Chocolate Chips
March 31, 2014 • Breads, Breakfast,
It seems my freezer is a never ending rotation: look inside to clean out old things that have been in there for awhile, and then inevitably refill the freezer with something that I made. It makes me happy, and I feel frugal (you know how much I hate wasting food). But nothing makes me quite so happy as coming up with a delicious new muffin recipe on a still snowy day – come on spring, hurry up and get here!
What I found the day I worked on this post was a pile of frozen bananas – 8 to be exact, filling half of the top shelf of my freezer. Then I found a recipe from Williams Sonoma for a basic buttermilk muffin with banana. And then I did what I always do: made up my own recipe.
I do that partly because it’s not ethical to steal and use other’s work (although I must moan about the fact that I find people doing that to me more than I’d like). But I also want to make it my own. In this case, I wanted more whole wheat flour, and I wanted to use up more bananas in one project. I also wanted a cinnamon flavor and I don’t like walnuts. I don’t have canola oil in the house right now. And I figured, isn’t everything better with a few chocolate chips thrown in?
I use a high quality parchment paper liner for muffins, as the parchment paper releases the muffins very easily (there isn’t much fat in these), but if you use the cheaper liners or a pan without liners, be sure to spray with cooking spray first. These freeze well – and so back into the freezer they go, ready for my girlfriends on Friday mornings – yes, they are here to exercise, but it’s really all about the coffee and snack afterwards!
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1⅓ cups)
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or canola oil)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- ½ cup chopped Marcona almonds (or regular almonds or another nut) (optional)
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Combine the flours, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and whisk until mixed well.
- Combine the buttermilk with the bananas, sugar, olive oil, egg and extract in a medium bowl and stir until well combined.
- Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients just until mixed, and then stir in the almonds and chocolate chips.
- Scoop into muffin tins using an ice cream scoop to yield 15 even muffins. Bake at 275 for 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating. Freeze well.