Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups (236g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar

6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup well-mashed overripe banana (about 2 medium bananas)

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature

185 g mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Method 

Combine the flour, leavening, and salt: 

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine and set aside.

Mix the sugar, butter, and oil:

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, and oil until well combined, about 15 seconds.

Add the remaining wet ingredients:

Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Vigorously whisk until the egg is completely broken up and the mixture is well combined and lightened in color, 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

Add the mashed banana to the butter mixture and whisk until fully combined, about 30 seconds. There shouldn’t be any big chunks of banana. Add the buttermilk and whisk until combined.

Add the remaining wet ingredients:

Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Vigorously whisk until the egg is completely broken up and the mixture is well combined and lightened in color, 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

Add the mashed banana to the butter mixture and whisk until fully combined, about 30 seconds. There shouldn’t be any big chunks of banana. Add the buttermilk and whisk until combined.

Rest the batter:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the batter to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Resting the batter allows the flour to hydrate which in turn reduces some of the spread of the muffin tops and helps create even, rounded tops.

If you’re short on time, you can skip this step.

While the batter rests, preheat the oven and prepare the muffin tins: 

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Line every other cavity of 2 standard-size muffin tins with paper liners. There should be 12 total lined cavities. Allowing this space helps the muffins to rise and bake more evenly and reduces the likelihood of the muffins baking into each other. If you only own one muffin tin, you can fill each cavity and bake them all side-by-side.

Divide the batter:

Using a 2 1/2-inch scoop (about 1/3 cup), scoop 12 portions of batter into the lined cavities of the muffin tin, filling slightly over 3/4 full. Depending on the capacity of your muffin pans, you might get 13 muffins. Top each muffin with the remaining mini chocolate chips.

 

Bake and cool:

To yield maximum oven spring (and in turn a better rise and texture), the muffins are baked at 2 temperatures.

Arrange the pans on the middle rack of the oven. Bake the muffins at 400°F for 9 minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for 4 more minutes. Rotate the pans and bake until the muffins are golden brown around the edges, spring back when gently poked, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 4 to 6 minutes more (17 to 19 minutes total bake time).

Let the muffins cool slightly in the pans set over a wire rack for a few minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Leftover muffin tops can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.