Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes

I love banana bread, but my oldest daughter Olivia doesn’t like it at all.  When we recently had a bunch of bananas that had ripened past the point of perfection -- and far past the stage of ripeness that my kids will tolerate -- I wanted to create something different.

I hesitate to call the result a muffin because, to me, that suggests a denser concoction.  We could probably debate where the line falls between muffins and cupcakes, but these lie somewhere in between.  They are healthier than cake because they have a minimal amount of sugar, some whole wheat flour, and just enough chips to add a rich flavor and entice the children.  They are lighter than muffins, though, significantly airier than banana bread, and have a subtle banana flavor.

As with banana bread, the more ripe the bananas, the more flavor they add.  We used white whole wheat flour, but you could substitute either whole wheat or white flour.  We lined the muffin tins with cupcake liners because they are more fun, and they make the tins easier to clean.  The children helped mash the bananas, break up the nuts, mix the batter, line the muffin tins, and spoon the batter into the liners.  The nuts are optional.  We spooned half the batter without nuts into the cups, and then added half the amount of nuts before spooning in the remaining batter.

The children devoured these snack cakes.  My challenge has been letting the bananas ripen long enough so that I can make them more often.

Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes

Makes 1 dozen snack cakes
20 minutes preparation time
20-25 minutes baking time

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (approximately) bananas (about 2-3), mashed
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) melted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, broken into pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 12-muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt.  In a medium bowl, stir together the mashed banana, butter, sugars, and eggs.  Add the dry mixture to the banana mixture and mix until just moist.  Add the chocolate chips and nuts if you are using them.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

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Comments

[cherrypatter]

looks super tasty. even my "no fruit" in muffins of any sort might try this.

[vingeron]

Delicioso!! I didn't have chocolate chips, so I crushed up a dark chocolate bar and it was great. Very tasty, especially considering how healthful they are.

[Galugo]

The combination of chocolate and banana does not get enough culinary praise! Brava!

[olivia]

mom you rock !