When I was a kid, the best part of school was when it ended. That's because I knew when I got home my mom would have an after-school snack waiting for me.
The only thing that got me though a day of learning fractions was knowing there was freshly baked banana bread, oatmeal cookies, or chocolate pudding with bananas and graham crackers waiting for me.
Mom's after-school snacks are the inspiration for today's Crunchy Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate Chunk Muffins.
So the next time your child has a test on fractions, surprise her or him with a chocolaty peanut butter muffin and a glass of cold milk. They may just be eternally grateful.
What after-school snacks did your Mom make for you?
Crunchy Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Makes 12 regular size muffins
Print recipe only here.
Note: These muffins are meant to be a special treat, not an everyday food. However, if you'd like to reduce the calories and pump up the nutrition, you could replace half of the flour with whole wheat flour, whole milk with low-fat or skim, butter with Smart Balance butter substitute, and 1 egg with 2 egg whites.
Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup milk (whole or low-fat)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs
2 small bananas (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (I used 65% cacao)**
Topping:
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped dark chocolate
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat to 375 degrees F. Spray a 12 mold regular size muffin pan with cooking spray.
Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir well.
In a separate bowl, combine milk, butter, and eggs and lightly beat with an electric mixer. Add the bananas and peanut butter and lightly beat (it's okay if it's a little bumpy). Add to the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Avoid over mixing the batter as it will become leaden. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chunks.
Spoon the batter evenly into the into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with some chopped peanuts and chocolate. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing each muffin and placing on a wire rack to cool.
**You could substitute semi-sweet baking chocolate for the dark chocolate if you prefer.
You might also like:
Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Doughboys
Banana Coconut Almond Bread
I'm not the only one who loves any and all combinations of chocolate, peanut butter, and bananas. Check these recipes out:
Makes 12 regular size muffins
Print recipe only here.
Note: These muffins are meant to be a special treat, not an everyday food. However, if you'd like to reduce the calories and pump up the nutrition, you could replace half of the flour with whole wheat flour, whole milk with low-fat or skim, butter with Smart Balance butter substitute, and 1 egg with 2 egg whites.
Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup milk (whole or low-fat)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs
2 small bananas (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (I used 65% cacao)**
Topping:
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped dark chocolate
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat to 375 degrees F. Spray a 12 mold regular size muffin pan with cooking spray.
Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir well.
In a separate bowl, combine milk, butter, and eggs and lightly beat with an electric mixer. Add the bananas and peanut butter and lightly beat (it's okay if it's a little bumpy). Add to the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Avoid over mixing the batter as it will become leaden. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chunks.
Spoon the batter evenly into the into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with some chopped peanuts and chocolate. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing each muffin and placing on a wire rack to cool.
**You could substitute semi-sweet baking chocolate for the dark chocolate if you prefer.
You might also like:
Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Doughboys
Banana Coconut Almond BreadI'm not the only one who loves any and all combinations of chocolate, peanut butter, and bananas. Check these recipes out:
- Chris's Peanut Butter Muffins
- Deborah's Banana Crunch Muffins
- Farida's Chocolate Banana Bread
- A Forkful of Spaghetti's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Muffins
- Happy Home Baking's Banana and Chocolate Muffins
- Margot's Banana Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce
- Nora's Banana Choc Bread
