When you enjoy the delicious taste of Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins, you don’t need to feel guilty about the chocolate, because you’re eating fruit and oats too!
In our home, we love muffins. But, there’s a great muffin divide that breaks up the synergy in the house. You see, Dear Reader, while John.e and I love to eat muffins loaded with fruit, McKenna does not. She likes just plain chocolate chip muffins.
Every once in a while, I’ll make a batch for her, but I always use my banana muffin base and I always add rolled oats. That way, even though she’s eating chocolate, she’s still getting the added benefit of eating something that’s good for her.
You can add nuts too, if you like. But, like I said, these muffins were for McKenna and nothing beats chocolate chip for her!
MILK, SEMI-SWEET, OR DARK CHOCOLATE?
Any of the three will do perfectly fine! I tend to always use semi-sweet chocolate when baking. And, I save the milk chocolate for truffles or drizzle or snacking! I very rarely use dark chocolate, because I’m not a fan of it. Even though McKenna and John.e prefer it, I still don’t use it much at all.
As you can see from the photographs, I used mini chocolate chips. You can use regular chocolate chips. I only used the mini because it’s what I had on hand at the time.
It’s worth noting that you can use white chocolate in these muffins if you prefer. I know some people prefer white chocolate, so it’s up to you.
PAPER MUFFIN LINERS NOT NEEDED
Whenever I bake muffins, I tend to not use one of those paper liners. Yet, when I bake cupcakes, I usually do use them. Some people argue that muffins and cupcakes are the same thing, so why use paper liners on some and not the other?
I know the lines between what makes a cupcake a cupcake and a muffin a muffin can sometimes be blurred. Here’s how I keep the two separated in my head.
First, does the finish product require frosting? If yes, it’s a cupcake. Second, does the finish product have any candy or sprinkles? If yes, it’s a cupcake. And, lastly, does the finished product have a paper liner? If yes, it’s a cupcake.
Now, like I said, those lines can be blurred. That’s just how I like to differentiate them. It makes it easier for me when I’m determining if a new recipe should be called a cupcake or a muffin. Do you agree with me? Or do you have a different way of thinking?
When you enjoy the delicious taste of Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins, you don't need to feel guilty about the chocolate, because you're eating fruit and oats too!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin by spraying the holes liberally with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and using a hand mixer, blend together the butter and sugar.
Once blended, add the egg, vanilla, and bananas; mix together well.
Add the flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the bowl and incorporate into the wet ingredients.
Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop equal amounts of the batter into muffin tin holes. Do not fill more than 3/4 full.
Top the batter with a sprinkling of sanding sugar, if using. You may also top the batter with a few extra chocolate chips. These two are completely optional.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Allow muffins to cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin and placing on a cooling rack to complete the cooling process.
Notes
The nutritional information is for 1 jumbo muffin. I made 6 larger muffins, but you can easily divide the muffin batter into twelve equal portions to get 12 regular sized muffins.
Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt: Sour cream helps keep the muffins extra moist. If needed, you can use plain yogurt instead. Sugar: Use granulated sugar to sweeten these muffins. I used to use some brown sugar and some white granulated sugar, but brown sugar weighed the muffins down.
Too little fat will result in dry, less tender muffins. Carefully cut on lines found on the butter/margarine stick wrapper. Or, pack it into dry (nested) measuring cup, then use a spatula or straight edge of a knife blade to level even with the top of the cup.
Because chocolate chips contain soy lecithin, a food additive that helps them retain their shape when they're baked, they might not melt as smoothly as chocolate bars. But if they're the only thing you have on hand, or if you're going for convenience, they're a good choice because they're already cut to size.
The best bakery-style crumb muffins start with cake flour
Cake flour is more finely ground and has less protein, which leaves the muffins with a fine, light crumb and soft texture. Using cake flour is an easy way to avoid heavy, dense muffins even if you end up stirring just a bit too much.
According to O. Corriher, the way to get a perfectly puffed up dome on your muffins is to increase your oven heat. She says that 400° should do it, no matter what the recipe says. The higher baking temperature means that the the outside edges of the muffin will set while the middle is still liquidy.
Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery. The explanation for this lies in the fact that eggs are made up of protein. As Fine Cooking explains, when the protein in eggs combines with the protein in flour, they produce the overall structure of the baked good.
Can I use milk instead of water to make muffins? We recommend using water; however we know that some Makers prefer to use milk to make muffins. Keep in mind that using whole milk or a high-fat content milk may result in a denser texture. Use the same amount of whole milk as the water called for in the recipe.
Beating the eggs adds air to the egg whites and should lift the batter, though how much depends on what other ingredients are in your recipe. Heavier ingredients, such as oatmeal, will lessen the egg whites' leavening effect.
Oven temperature directly affects a muffin's texture and how well it rises. Muffins baked at too high of a temperature will produce an overly cooked outer crust and an undercooked filling. Muffins cooked at low temperatures for too long may dry out, creating an unpleasant texture and taste.
Depending on what ingredients you're using, the batter will range from runny (like thin cake batter) to very thick (like drop-cookie dough). As a general rule, the thinner the batter, the lighter the muffins will be when baked. But don't be afraid to bake thick, gloppy batter.
Thanks to their cocoa solid content of 35% to 65%, semisweet chocolate chips create a perfect contrast with sweet cookie dough. The lower sugar ratio and cacao percentage make those not-too-sweet chocolate chips keep their original shape throughout the baking process.
It really comes down to one simple reason. Gravity. It's really that simple. Chocolate chips sink when they are too heavy to stay suspended in the batter.
Choosing vegetable oil is the best option for baking moist, delicious baked goods. Canola oil, the most common vegetable oil used in baking, doesn't add a strong flavor. It allows your cake's flavor will shine through while still achieving a moist texture.
Can I use milk instead of water to make muffins? We recommend using water; however we know that some Makers prefer to use milk to make muffins. Keep in mind that using whole milk or a high-fat content milk may result in a denser texture. Use the same amount of whole milk as the water called for in the recipe.
"Baking fluffy, moist cupcakes is all about creating air bubbles in your batter that expand in the oven," she says. "If you overmix your batter, you collapse those bubbles and end up with a brick-like cake." Always mix at a low speed to avoid this, stopping just as all ingredients blend.
If you over mix muffin batter then you will likely end up with dense rubbery muffins. When baking muffins you want to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients and stir only until they are just combined. This step should literally take a few seconds.
Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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