Bakery Style Banana Nut and Chocolate Chunk Muffins

These bakery style banana nut chocolate chunk muffins have the most irresistible muffin tops (perfect fluffy domes). They are so easy to make and they are always a hit at the breakfast or brunch table. They make a great grab and go snack or breakfast if you remember to make a batch ahead of the week making your Monday better and saving the you the visit to the drive through.

How do you get those perfect domes on muffins? Easy. There are just a few simple helpful tips that can get you those bakery style tasting and looking muffins. First is not to over mix the batter. Defining mash and cream your bananas well but don’t over do it with the batter itself. Just mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Treat this batter like it’s pancake batter. Lumps are good - leave the lumps alone! Another factor is to make sure you fill the muffin tins or liners to the top. I know a lot of recipes call for just filling them half way to ¾ of the way but to get those domes you need to fill to the top. That means you will only get a dozen per batch but it’s worth it.

Another factor that I didn’t realize made such a difference is baking them off at a higher initial temperature for just a few minutes to give them a baking boost so to speak. Once those few minutes are up you reduce the temperature and continue baking. That initial boost or spike really helps inflate those muffin tops. Arm yourself with those 3 tips and you will get yourself bakery-style muffins every time.

My family loves banana bread - I’m always buying bananas for my smoothies and my breakfast bowls but I seem to be the only one eating them that way - the rest of the family loves to see them sit and get speckled and eventually if they wait long enough, get turned into banana bread, cake or these muffins. I don’t blame them - these are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea and I love mine warmed up with a bit of butter.

This is a great standard banana muffin recipe that you are welcome to keep the same or amend according to your preference. You can use any nut or leave them out completely. Same goes for the chocolate chunks. Leave the out or swap with chips instead. You could replace them with dried fruit or seeds making up the same measurements or you can just leave them plain. I love my banana bread and muffins with loads of crunchy bits but I know that is not everyone’s jam - so feel free to doctor them up as you please. We love them for many reasons - they are delicious and I especially love how easy they are to make - a bowl and whisk recipe. Making a batch today means a happy day today and an even happier day tomorrow! Enjoy.

Basic ingredients

Substitutions

• All purpose flour for all purpose Gluten free flour to make them GF
• Coconut oil for any vegetable oil
• Milk for almond milk or any other pant based milk
• Pecans for any other nut or seed (or omit all together)
• Chocolate chunks for mini or regular size chocolate chips (or omit all together)

Recipe

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Makes 12 Bakery style muffins

Ingredients

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup coconut oil or any other vegetable oil
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup milk of choice
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 bananas, mashed
• ½ cup pecans, chopped plus a couple of tbsp more for topping
• ½ cup of chocolate chips or chunks or a mixture of both plus more for topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (or line with paper liners).
2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Then toss in the pecans and chocolate chunks to coat with flour mixture and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl mash the bananas well with a masher or fork and then whisk them and the sugars really well for a minute or two until light and frothy.
4. Then whisk in the oil, eggs, milk,and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix everything together until combined.
5. Divide the batter into the muffin tin, (I like using a cookies scoop) and sprinkle the remaining pecans on top along with a few extra chocolate chunks on each muffin.
6. Bake at 425°F for 7 minutes then REDUCE OVEN TEMPERATURE to 375°F for remaining 15 minutes; or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. To store muffins place them in a plastic bag, seal, and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.