Cocoa Banana Muffins
Cocoa powder and oatmeal give traditional banana muffins a health and flavor boost. This simple recipe makes the perfect muffins for breakfast or an after-school snack.
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons butter or margarine melted (but not hot)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs gently beaten, or 3 egg whites
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ripe bananas mashed (about 1 cup mashed)
- 1 cup regular or quick-cooking oats
- Turbinado or decorating sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together melted butter/margarine with brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in eggs until well combined.
- In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Pour half of the flour mixture, half of the milk, and half of the bananas into the butter/sugar/egg mixture and fold to incorporate just until smooth. Pour in the remaining flour mixture, milk, bananas, the vanilla and the oats and fold again to combine (over mixing causes muffins to peak when baked).
- Scoop batter into muffin pan, filling each about 2/3 full.
- Sprinkle tops with Turbinado (raw) or decorating sugar.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes. The muffins are done if a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean when removed.
- Allow muffins to cool in pan for 3-4 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
Notes
Time-Saving Tip: To speed up breakfast in the morning, mix up the batter the night before, cover and refrigerate. In the morning, remove batter from refrigerator and preheat the oven (400°F). The batter will be a bit thicker. Follow the instructions above for filling the pans and baking. It may take a little longer to bake since the batter is cold.