Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

The weather in this small city in the west of Florida is getting unbearably hot in the day as summer approaches. And I wonder if the bananas in the kitchen are ripening at an accelerated speed due to the heat. Personally, I'm not a fan of banana baked goods. I seldom explore baking with bananas except for these banana chocolate chip muffins which is everyone's favourite and my recent attempt in making my husband's favourite Awfully Chocolate Banana Cake. If I'm not wrong, this is the fifth time I am making these banana chocolate chip muffins. However, what's worth mentioning is that the recipe which I had referenced for my previous four bakes (which were all successful) was from my sister's best friend's sister and her friends' blog, Forget Those Calories (Umm by the way, this is not a paid advertisement for their blog). *Grin*

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I tend to settle with one recipe for each of my bakes as long as the end product turns out well for me. But this time, I resorted to looking for an alternative recipe because I'm out of plain yogurt and sour cream (and its equivalent substitutes) called for in the usual source recipe I'd referred, and the bananas sitting at the kitchen table doesn't look like they could "survive" another day! Ok alright, I am over exaggerating here. *Lol! Anyway, this alternative recipe turned out to be a successful one too. In both recipes, the ingredients used were almost similar except for the difference in quantity which I have no intentions of doing a comparison analysis. @_@ Instead of using plain yogurt or sour cream, I could make do with milk for these muffins. This was also in a way helping me "kill two birds with one stone" as I realised that the bottle of milk sitting in my fridge is nearing its expiry too. *Oops~

Conclusion? There were no significant difference in taste and texture from those made from plain yogurt, sour cream or milk! The muffins were just as moist but not dense on the inside. The trick in this taste and texture test comes from balancing the ratio of the ingredients which is always so in baking. After all, baking is a science! So here's sharing the banana chocolate chip muffins made out of milk which were gobbled up by my friends in a wink.

I am sharing this post with the event, Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.

I am also submitting this post to Treat Petite May 2014 theme, World Baking Day hosted by Kat of The Baking Explorer and Stuart of Cakeyboi because sharing is caring. =)

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe referenced and modified from: Diana's Desserts

Makes about 16

Ingredients Required

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 4 large)
1/2 cup unsalted butter / margarine, melted and cooled
1/4 cup milk
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bakeware Used

Standard 12-muffin pan

Preparation Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). 
2. Grease each cavity of muffin pan or line with paper baking cups.
3. In a large bowl, sift and combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. In a separate small bowl, blend bananas, melted butter/margarine, milk, eggs and vanilla extract. 
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring until just incorporated (do not over mix). 
7. Fill baking cups with batter. (TIP: Use a spring-release ice cream scoop to spoon batter) 
8. Bake at preheated oven for 18 to 22 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. 
9. Let muffins stand in baking pan for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool.

The Dream Baker's Experiment

1. I used light brown sugar, margarine, 2% reduced fat milk and large eggs, each weighing approximately 59 grams (with shell on) for the recipe. The total weight of the eggs used were approximately 104 grams. All the ingredients were at room temperature.
2. The original source recipe recommended greasing the baking pan but I preferred using paper baking cups for easy washing.
3. I blended the wet ingredients using an electric mixer on low speed for approximately 2 to 3 minutes until they were just combined.
4. I filled each baking cup with 1/3 cup batter and made 16 muffins from the recipe. The original source recipe mentioned using large muffin cups and makes 12 servings.
5. I placed the muffin pan in the middle rack of the oven and baked the muffins for full 20 minutes.

Dare to dream.

The Dream Baker