muffin – Karen in the Kitchen

Before I begin, YES, I do realize this is only my first post of this month and it’s already December 21st. Does that tell you a little about my busy life right now?

Amongst all the normal preparations for Christmas…………..I’ve hosted and attended several parties……………Helped my son with his science fair project……………..Attended weekly Bible Study……………..Helped the kids study for Chinese school midterm exams……………….Crocheted like crazy for Christmas gifts……………….Baked for neighbors…………and tried to remember to breathe. Okay, enough with the excuses. Let’s get to these muffins!

Is it bad that I hope my bananas go brown and mushy before my kids can eat them, just so I have a reason to bake these? Well, after tasting these muffins, I would buy perfectly good bananas and let them go brown, just for this recipe!

Talk about moist and fluffy. This definitely makes getting up in the morning a little easier. Knowing these muffins are waiting for me in the kitchen, puts a little pep in my step in the morning!

Start by mashing your ripe bananas with a fork.

Mix and whisk all the dry ingredients together.

I felt that my hand mixer was getting a little jealous of my stand mixer, so I brought it out to play today.

After adding the dry ingredients to the wet, slowly fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Fill your paper liners 3/4 full and bake until your kitchen fills with the delectable smell of bananas and chocolate!

These muffins look even better sitting on this beautiful jade-green plate. I got a set of these beautiful plates when my husband’s grandmother died this past summer. They remind me of her and the colors of New Mexico, where she lived.

Thank you Grandma Katie, we love and miss you!

Moist Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Curious Foodie

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

2 small eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 20 muffin cups or line with muffin papers.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Combine bananas, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with hand mixer
4. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over-mix!
5. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
6. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, fill it till 3/4 full.
7. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, for about 20-25 minutes. (10 to 15 minutes for miniature muffins)
8. Cool muffins in tray for 5 minutes before transferring muffins to cooling rack to cool completely.

I was asked by a friend to bring blueberry muffins for a surprise baby shower for our friend, Elsa this past weekend. The shower was so much fun and the food was wonderful too. The hostesses made these Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups from Annie’s Eats and they were wonderful! Of course, you can’t go wrong with bacon.

The also made french toast skewers with berries…….adorable, and tasty.

My blueberry muffins and fruit rounded out the shower brunch.

Although the muffins were great the next day at the shower, they were definitely at their prime just out of the oven. The streusel topping was crunchy and the warm blueberry just oozed through the muffin to fill your mouth with berry goodness. The lime zest caught the ladies by surprise and added a second dimension of flavor. Overall it was a hit!!

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
From Ina Garten via Dreamy Dish

Makes 30 muffins

Note: Wash blueberries in a strainer under running water and pick out any stems and leaves.

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups buttermilk, shaken
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 extra-large eggs
2 cups fresh blueberries (2 half-pints)

For the Streusel Topping:

¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and blend with your hands. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, lemon zest, and eggs. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a fork, mixing just until blended. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Don’t over mix! With a standard (2 ¼-inch) ice-cream scoop or large spoon, scoop the batter into the prepared cups, filling them almost full.

For the topping, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until the butter is in very small pieces. Pour into a bowl and rub with your fingers until crumbly.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the streusel on top of each muffin. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.