I came across this Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 15 years ago. It quickly became one of our family favorite recipes and my go to way to use ripe bananas. My family always gets excited when they find out that I’m making these.
These don’t last long at my house. With 4 growing kids and a husband who works from home, these go very quickly. I usually end up doubling the recipe if I have more bananas.
Over the years I have tweaked the recipe until I finally feel like its perfect. Although, my husband did love when they would come out gooey but I was always worried about them being undercooked and going to get us sick.
If you want to try them a little gooeyer, use 1/2 cup less flour and only cook them for 12 minutes. That’s close to the original recipe.
Next time you have ripe bananas, give this recipe a try. Let me know how it goes for you! We love it!
I remember the big windstorm that of 2011. We were living in Farmington Utah and our city was hit with 110 mph winds. There was a lot of damage and trees down. Then we got word that another windstorm was on its way. Church was canceled and all able bodied hands were asked to go help clean up the debris so it wouldn’t cause more damage in the storm to come.
My husband headed out with the work crews, but I was pregnant and home with 2 young kids. I remember thinking, “What can we do to help?” By some divine design, my mother had left on a trip a couple days earlier and had left me 2 bunches of ripe bananas. Now I knew exactly what we were going to do with the bananas.
The kids and I made a bunch of banana chocolate chip muffins and drove around the neighborhood to all the crews we could find passing out these muffins.
The next time life gives you a bunch of ripe bananas, maybe you can make a bunch of muffins for your neighbors.
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (softened)
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 very ripe bananas
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line 2 muffin tins with 18 paper liners. Fill extra muffin cups 1/2 full of water if needed.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time.
- Add the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just blended.
- In the same bowl the dry ingredients were just in, mash the 2 bananas.
- Mix the bananas into the batter until just mixed.
- Add the choclate chips. Mix until just disperesed. Don't over mix.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the 18 muffins cups.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown.
Simple Recipe for a Great Tasting Clear Gelatin
The first time I used clear gelatin for a recipe, I wanted a white color and only flavored it with milk. It tasted terrible. I steered clear of clear gelatin for years after that.
Then I decided to make gelatin flowers and knew I had to learn how to make a great tasting clear gelatin. This clear gelatin recipe is a winner. It is also the perfect consistency for creating beautiful gelatin flowers in.
First, there is a difference in clear gelatin. Not all clear gelatin is created equal. Some are a little yellow in tint while some are super clear. I prefer to use Super Clear Gelatin I bought on Amazon. It is crystal clear. You can find the link here. Some gelatins are made from different animals, you can find Kosher gelatin.
Also the bloom rating on gelatin can be different. The bloom rating ranges from 30 to 300. A higher rating will gel faster and be stiffer. What does it mean to bloom gelatin? If just means you add water to it and let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes. Doing this will ensure the gelatin will dissolve I the warm ingredients and won’t cause clumps or grainy residue.
First step, is to add your gelatin to a cup of water and let rest and bloom for 10 minutes.
Next, while your gelatin is blooming, mix the sugar, citric acid and remaining water in a saucepan and stir until clear and dissolved. Do not let the liquid come to a boil.
Do not add too much citric acid. I once added a Tablespoon of citric acid instead of a teaspoon and it tasted terrible! I made a beautiful flower, but nobody wanted to eat it.
Next, add your gelatin to the saucepan and stir until dissolved. Using a medicine dropper, add your food flavoring. Don’t add too much! Only a couple drops are needed. When I’m creating a clear gelatin, I always make sure to use a clear food coloring. I use the little containers of food coloring that you may be familiar with when flavoring suckers. It may be hard to find clear colors at the store, here is a link to some on Amazon.
Some of our favorite flavors are Strawberry-Kiwi, Cotton Candy, and Tropical Punch.
Finally, pour your gelatin mixture into the a bowl or container of your choice and refrigerate for a few hours until set.
Next, follow this link to the recipe for the opaque gelatin base to make your flowers.
Links to everything you need:
Clear Gelatin
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- medicine dropper
- bowl
- small whisk
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp clear gelatin powder
- 2 C sugar
- 4 C water
- 1 tsp citric acid powder
- 3 drops clear food flavoring
Instructions
- Mix gelatin with 1 cup of the cold water in a small bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes. In a saucepan, heat sugar with citric acid powder and remaining 3 cups of water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat when vapor begins to appear above the surface. Do not let it come to a boil. Take off heat.Add gelatin to saucepan and stir until completely dissolved. Using a medicine dropper, stir in just 3 drops of food flavoring. Go ahead and taste it to make sure flavor is right. Pour into desired containers and leave in the refridgerator until set.
