Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

When good bananas go bad, we need a plan….or a recipe.

This muffin recipe is requested by my kids at least once a month, and it’s hard to say “no,” when I know that it’s full of bananas, oatmeal, coconut oil, and whole wheat flour.

These muffins freeze beautifully, and are terrific quick breakfasts or lunchbox bites.

The original recipe for these muffins came out the Washington State Bed and Breakfast Cookbook given to me by my mother. My mom loves to purchase regional cookbooks for her kids when she travels. This particular cookbook offers many delicious breakfast and brunch recipes, but the recipe by Lynn & Marian Thrasher from Holly Hedge House B&B is one that I latched onto and have adapted over the years (yes- we’ve been eating this for years!) to meet the needs of my family.

I recently made our favorite variation of these muffins with some gourmet Tahitian Vanilla extracted in Cane Rum by VAIN Foods and it was incredible. I was surprised how much the Tahitian beans and rum used in this vanilla extract highlighted and complimented the banana flavors. The kids and my spouse, without knowing I had done anything different, all commented that the muffins came out especially delicious that day.

A couple quick notes: One of the ingredients is cooked oatmeal. The authors suggested using leftover oatmeal, but I rarely have that, so I just make some oatmeal before I make the muffins. A misstep I have made several times is not allowing the oatmeal to cool down before throwing it in the batter. (That will just melt your chocolate chips my friends, and the muffin will not have the same nice texture.) My wiser, and still impatient self, just puts the oatmeal into a pie dish after it’s cooked and I stash it in the freezer to cool quickly while I gather the rest of the ingredients.

Another important step to remember is to actually whisk or sift your dry ingredients. This muffin recipe uses baking soda, and no one likes a bite of baking soda in their otherwise heavenly banana muffin.

My kids like these muffins as minis, but the recipe works just as well for regular size. I have times in the notes for both.

So, here’s the low down:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a muffin tin with baker’s spray, or rub with coconut oil and dust with flour.
• Mash your brown bananas like crazy with a fork or your preferred mashing tool.
• Whisk or sift together the two flours, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together coconut oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
• Add your bananas and COOLED oatmeal.
• Add your dry ingredients and mix just until moistened.
• Toss in your mini chocolate chips and gently fold them to get them incorporated throughout the batter.
• If using a mini muffin tin, I have found that a heaped cookie scoop is just the right size.

I hope these muffins bring you smiles and many happy starts to your busy days!

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe by meltedkcCourse: Breakfast, Snack, Lunch

Servings

8-12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed

• 1 cup cooked (plain) oatmeal, cooled

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp salt (I use vanilla salt)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour (or use baking spray) 24 mini muffin cavities or 12 standard size muffin cavities.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk or sift the flours, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate, large bowl, cream together the coconut oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.
• Add the mashed bananas and cooked/cooled oatmeal.
• Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
• Scoop or spoon the batter into prepared muffin cavities. I use a heaping cookie scoop for mini muffins and a cupcake scoop for regular size muffins.
• Once the muffins are in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake mini muffins for 17-20 minutes and regular size muffins for 22-25 minutes.
• Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing from the muffin tins.

Notes

• These muffins taste best when warm, but are good at room temperature.
• The muffins will keep, covered, at room temperature for three days.
• The muffins freeze well after completely cooling. Frozen muffins can be reheated in a microwave to eat immediately, or put into a lunchbox frozen and will be defrosted by lunch.