Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

Lately Julia and I have been sharing a banana as part of our breakfast most mornings. Until strawberries, blueberries, and other summer fruits are more reliably in season, bananas are an easy way to add some fruit into our morning meal. Since we’ve been eating so many bananas, I haven’t ended up with many over-ripe ones lately. When I saw that there were a few extra bananas ripening in our fruit bowl a few weeks ago, I made sure that no one ate them so that I could incorporate them into my baking. I wanted to try something new, and when I came across this recipe that combined bananas with espresso and chocolate chips, my choice was easy.

These muffins fill your kitchen with an amazing aroma as they bake in the oven. In addition to the obvious flavors of banana, chocolate, and coffee, the muffins have a rich brown sugar flavor that I really enjoyed. When I was melting the butter for the muffins, I forgot about it for a few minutes and it had started to boil. I’m wondering if maybe that contributed to the brown sugar flavor- browned butter/brown sugar- those flavors are similar, right? Or maybe not, but either way, these muffins are delicious. They make a great decadent breakfast treat, or a sweet afternoon snack.

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

Printable Recipe

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3-4 bananas)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup whole milk (I used 2%)
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray (or use paper liners).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, sugars, butter, milk, and egg. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then remove the muffins from the pan and let them finish cooling on the wire rack. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking via Smells Like Home