Chocolate Chip Pecan Banana Muffins
Bananas are tricky. They look so innocent in the store, and they are cheap and yummy looking and you think things like, “Bananas would be good to have in my cereal in the morning.”
But then you get them home, and it turns out you don’t eat cereal in the morning. Like… ever. And as much as you like the idea of eating a banana as a snack, it just doesn’t come to fruition. Especially when you have snacks like this or this around.
So then you’re left with something like this:
And when that happens, there is only one thing to be done. Make banana bread. But this is where I’ve been running into a problem lately. This drama has been playing itself out over and over and over again in my house for years. Buy bananas. Let them go almost bad. Make banana bread. Repeat. So now, I never thought I’d say this, but… I’m really sick of banana bread. It’s just not doing it for me anymore. It’s delicious and all, but I want something more for my overripe nanners. And no, I’m not going to follow my usual formula and wrap it in bacon. Ooo… that just gave me all kinds of ideas! But I digress.
Enter chocolate chips. And pecans. And muffins. This is the trifecta of deliciousness, in case you didn’t know. Between these three things, you really can’t turn these down. You start with a pretty basic banana muffin, and then add chocolate, which is always a good idea. And the pecans add a nice crunch along with all that nutty flavor that goes so well with banana.
After I made these, I was at the market and saw a gorgeous bunch of bananas. I had the whole cereal thought routine started, then caught myself. But then I remembered how delicious these muffins were and put them in my basket anyway. If that tells you anything.
Chocolate Chip Pecan Banana Muffins
Adapted from this recipe from Bon Appetit
Confession: The first time I made these, I had also just made a batch of this peanutella. And so, well, um, I smeared some on top of a still-warm muffin. As if there wasn’t enough chocolate and nuts in this muffin already. I’m not condoning this kind of behavior, I’m just telling you it’s what I did. And that I’m not sorry.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup roughly chopped pecans, separated
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line twelve 1/3-cup muffin cups with muffin liners or if you’d rather not use them, grease each cup. I highly recommend using them if you have them, though- it makes everything so much easier.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Mix mashed bananas, egg, melted butter and milk in medium bowl. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not overmix). Stir in chocolate chips and ½ cup chopped pecans.
Divide batter into muffin cups, filling each about ¾ or more full. I like to overfill my muffins cups a little bit, so they don’t look puny when they’re baked up. Obviously, do as you will. Sprinkle the remaining pecans on top of each muffin.
Bake muffins until tops are pale golden and tester inserted into center comes out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs, about 30 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack; cool.
