Most mornings, I figure I'm off to a good start if I manage to leave the house on time with matching socks and a presentable hairdo.
Let's just say I'm not much of a morning person. In fact, I once left the house in mismatched shoes, and didn't even realise my mistake until I'd gotten to the office... though, in my defense, I happen to have two pairs of low-heeled black pumps that look awfully similar when I'm bleary-eyed and half-awake, besides the fact that one is a wedge and the other is a kitten heel.
So as long as my shoes are identical and my shirt is on right-side out and my teeth are lipstick-free, it's a good day.
And when I can remember to snag a muffin on my way out the door, thus saving myself from the temptation of lemon danishes and greasy breakfast sandwiches at the cafeteria, it's a really great day. It's not that lemon danishes or greasy breakfast sandwiches aren't perfectly cromulent options, but homemade muffins are infinitely better.
These muffins are an ideal choice for those on-the-run mornings. I've used the same base recipe as my super-popular Chocolate Banana Bread, but left the cocoa out 'til the end so that it can be added to only half of the batter. Then, it all comes together again in a pretty marbling of plain and chocolatey that's deliciously banana-ey all the way through.
They're utterly delicious eaten melting and warm right out of the oven, but they're still pretty darn good on the next day, as you're running to catch the bus in mismatched socks.
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Chocolate Banana BreadMakes 1 dozen muffins
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (around 2-3 medium bananas)
½ cup sour cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
½ cup mini chocolate chips
3 tbsp good-quality cocoa powder
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, beat together sugar and butter until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla extract, and stir until smooth and creamy-looking.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just barely combined. Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Measure out 1 ½ cups of batter into a small mixing bowl. Add cocoa powder, and stir until combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, alternating between the plain and chocolate batters. Swirl a toothpick through each cup to create a marbled effect.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels says
I love the marbling of the chocolate throughout the banana muffins. :) My mama would just love these!
Peggy says
Oh my my! I keep seeing banana recipes all over the place and this is definitely one of the most enticing! Picking up some bananas this weekend in hopes of making these babies!
Jill Colonna says
Loved your post and made me chuckle. My husband came back from work the other day having worn my 10yr old daughter's socks! Perhaps if I made these lovely muffins (banana is brain food, right?), he may realise what he's doing ;-))
amandalaird says
Yes! Yes! Yes! Making these tonight.
Nadia says
I'm just like you...if I have to be somewhere n the morning I grab a granola bar and I have one shoe on one shoe off as I'm out the door. My husb is the complete opposite, he'll wake up 2 hrs before he has to leave---CRAZY!
But these muffins are a great grab and go snack, I love the marbling!
Dan says
those look awesome. I just saved that recipe for later.
Jean says
I'm not a morning person either and I have also gone to work with mismatched shoes. I was the only one who noticed since my pumps were identical only one was black and the other was a very dark brown. In those days I didn't really cook but I would have loved to have one of these muffins to pick up my morning. Mismatched shoes or not. :-)
kita says
Im not a morning person. At all. But these muffins would make my day. They look awesome and I agree with Sandra - I like mismatched socks. Keeps the toes spicy. ;)
Sandra says
Seriously good and what harm is a pair of mismatched socks? Makes life interesting.
Lynn @ I'll Have What She's Having says
A friend of mine showed up to work with two different shoes once. She didn't realize till she went to the washroom at the end of the day. That's why I keep a collection of shoes at my desk.
I love grabbing a muffin in the morning. It's the perfect "eat at my desk" breakfast. These sound delicious!
Kimmy Bingham says
Oh yum. I'm always looking for variations on banana bread to deal with those end of the line bananas. Thank you for sharing!
briarrose says
These would definitely make me enjoy the morning more. ;) Love the swirl.
Manu says
Mmmm nothing better than a good home made muffin for breakfast! I am always on the look for new muffins recipes and this is a very good one! Thanks for sharing Isabelle!
Lawyer Loves Lunch says
I am of the opinion that track pants should be appropriate work attire. I'd be so much more productive without having to deal with heels (matching or otherwise). Until I convince the world of this, I will dream about these muffins :)
Pretend Chef says
I've shown up to work with my button down shirt buttoned wrong. How did I not notice until I got to work is beyond me. Same thing happened with wearing a shirt inside out and having my skirt tuck into my underwear. Maybe if I had a muffin like this before work it would not have happened. These look so delicious!
Roxan says
Your story about the two different shoes cracks me up! Did anyone notice? One of my friends once showed up to dinner wearing two completely different flip flops. Apparently she would go to work in her pumps, but when she got to her desk she would slip on some flip flops. One day she happened to have two pairs of flip flops under her desk, and as she left she just slipped her feet in two of them without looking. It was hilarious! One of them had a huge fake flower on it.
Anyways, I so get you on grabbing a muffin on the way out in the mornings. My only problem is that i'll grab one on my way in too. And before and after dinner. Pretty much every time I walk past them ;]
luisa says
que ricos te han quedado. Saludos.
ravienomnoms says
That looks amazing! I am such banana muffin freak! I would inhale about 6 of these just looking at them haha