Banana Chocolate Muffins

Most of my posts have been for savory dishes and meals because that’s sort of my go-to option…I’ve tried desserts and breads and I just haven’t had much luck, unfortunately…as I’ve mentioned before, it’s so disappointing…recently, the currant scone debacle…blech…

Last week I had this pile of brown bananas and really, what can you do with them besides make some sort of bread or muffin??  I’m not naturally a baker…so I really needed to search the Internet for some assistance and I came across this really great blog called Honest Fare and I fell in love with it!  Please check it out…great fresh, simple, healthy recipes and it’s so pretty.

Anyway, I was searching for a way to use the bananas and the almond meal/flour that I recently picked up at Trader Joes and I stumbled upon the blog AND this great recipe for almond meal banana muffins – Jackpot!

Most of the time, I like to look at other recipes for inspiration and then try to incorporate my own flair or flavors.  This works about 96.2785% of the time…but, like I mentioned, I’m not a whiz when it comes to baking…honestly, when I bake, it’s on a wing and a prayer.  Now cooking?  Open up your fridge and let me at it; I’ll come up with something yummy for dinner using the ingredients that you have in there…but baking?  Not me.  So I wasn’t about to mess with this recipe much.  I did need to do a little bit more research because this blogger starts from sliced almonds; I was a few steps ahead as I was starting with the almond meal.  Also, I read a few of the comments and decided to use honey instead of sugar.

Almond meal is basically ground up almonds…and it is FANTASTIC when used in baking.  The benefits of almonds alone is worth picking some of this stuff up.  Incorporating almonds (and walnuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts…) into your diet is a great way to take care of your heart and lower your cholesterol.

Healthy and yummy?  I’m all over it.

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups of almond meal

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

3 T honey

3 ½ medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled (you’ll want these to be brownish…3 bananas for the recipe and the other ½ for the tops of the muffins)

2 T cocoa powder

Coarse salt, for topping

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. 

Grease and flour* a 12-cup muffin tin.  I used coconut oil to grease.  *Be sure that you get enough into the nooks and crannies of the tins; I had some issues with sticking.

In a large bowl, whisk the almond meal/flour, baking soda, and cinnamon together.

In a separate bowl, add eggs, banana, and honey and beat with a mixer until they are fluffy. 

Pour the mixture over the almond meal and mix to incorporate.

Remove about 1/3 of the batter to a separate smaller bowl and mix in the cocoa powder.

Fill the muffin tins with the regular batter and then using a large spoon, top with the cocoa batter in the middle. 

Thinly slice the ½ banana that is left and top the muffins with them.  Sprinkle the coarse salt over the tops and bake.

I only had enough batter for 11 muffins!  Again, not a baker, so I have no idea how I could remedy this in the future…if you know, please share!

At about the 35 minute mark, check the doneness by using a toothpick.  If it comes out clean, remove the muffins to cool.  Otherwise, continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes until done.

As I said, I had a bit of a struggle with a few of these and they lost their bottoms…still good, though!

Aren’t they sooo pretty??!  And oh, sooooo yum!  AND they got even better over the next few days.  Refrigerate to keep.

I'm so happy I found this recipe - hope you get a chance to try these and check out Honest Fare!

Serves 11 (hee hee) 1 muffin per serving

Calories 206 / Carbs 17g / Fat 13g / Protein 7g / Fiber 4g / Sodium 48mg