Sunday, March 29, 2009

A Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Muffin Loaf?

So what's a muffin loaf? 12 little muffins baked in a loaf. I am muffin and cupcake challenged. They burn, they overflow, they just don't work out. My kids always got store bought cupcakes. At one point when I was forced to bake cupcake cones for the very first time, I went up and down the aisles and kept looking for cupcake mix. I had no clue you got cupcakes from a cake mix. Baking challenged. and at that point I had never heard of baking from scratch in my house! That was something only my grandmother did. I learned my lesson. or I should say I burned my lesson. I went through a lot of cake mix for that first try at cupcake cones.

So now all my muffins end up as a loaf, my cupcakes come from a bakery and everybody here is happy.

I used a Banana Nut Muffin recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes. Hers looked fantastic. I was hooked. I wanted to add chocolate chips but I didn't have any, so I added in chocolate disks. That just doesn't have the same ring to it. Banana Nut Chocolate Disk Muffins? If you have muffin problems like me, then just bake in a loaf pan for about an hour until the toothpick comes out clean!

Ready to bake...




Fresh from the oven!



Still warm, oozing with melted, gooey chocolate! Perfection. This is a great recipe, full of flavor and a little less dense than the one I usually use. This one was raved about. It's a keeper. Goodbye old recipe! I may even get the courage up to make them into muffins next time. They'd have to be fantastic. If I don't burn them.

Grab an ice cold glass of milk and dig in...




Banana Nut Muffins
from Elise at Simply Recipes

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw)
Method

No need for a mixer with this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

Mix in the sugar, egg, espresso and vanilla.

Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

7 comments:

  1. If I squint at that last picture it really does look like a muffin.....honest.... :-) I have trouble with muffins and cupcakes cooking up right too. I think it might be my oven or at least that's my story and I'm sticking with it. That does look like a very tasty combination!

    How about call the disks chunks..that would sound great and be a smaller fib lol.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love banana choc chip combo. We just finished the ones I made last week...
    Maybe it is your oven with the muffins...also don't use a dark pan, they brown too quickly...
    Looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm still laughing at you looking for cupcake mix - LOL!

    I've never tried chocolate in banana brea, what's wrong with me?! I can just taste the gooey chocolate, yum-yum!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What are chocolate disks? I don't think I've seen those.

    I love banana choc chip bread as well - it's the only way to make banana bread/muffins.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Carol, I'm with you on cupcakes. They are a pain ... and dry out too quickly.

    Your banana bread looks wonderful. I really like Elise's blog. I regularly read Simply Recipes but don't think that I've ever commented.

    Have you ever read her "About" page? I really like her writing style; she sounds like someone that would be fun to meet in person.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Guittard Wafer Disks

    Marsha, they're flatter than a chip, about the size of a quarter.

    Susan, first time for me, chocolate in the banana bread.

    Suzy, they don't even come close to a chunk, LOL, they're flat like a coin. They taste fantastic though.

    Kathleen, it's all me, not the oven. I have no patience to wait for cupcakes or muffins, so I get involved in something else, and voila...burnt! An hour with three timers is just perfect for a lack of focus :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Have to check her about, Cynthia! I love her blog, too! I used to get the email notifications for her new posts before I started blogging, but now I just check myself.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. They are fun to read and very much appreciated! Sorry for comment moderation, the spam has been overwhelming lately.

Back to top