And now for a recipe you won't find on The Pioneer Woman.....These are a breakfast staple at our house. And besides the chocolate chips they really are healthy. They are all whole wheat and oat bran, but they are NOT heavy at all, nor do they taste like sawdust. The secret is to use whole wheat PASTRY flour. Pastry flour is made with a softer wheat than bread flour. Yes, it really does make a difference. I use the whole wheat pastry flour for all quick breads and regular whole wheat flour for all yeast-leavened breads. I buy Bob's Red Mill 100% whole wheat pastry flour. This is usually the best price at Winco, but sometimes Fred Meyer has it on sale at a better price. By-the-way, I store all my whole wheat flour in my freezer between uses because it has a much shorter shelf life than regular flour.
So here is how you make them. The full recipe will be at the bottom:
Preheat oven to 350 F. (325 if using convection)
You will need two to three very ripe bananas. I use two if they are bigger, three if they are smaller. You want to end up with about a cup of mashed banana. But don't stress over it. The recipe is really very forgiving, so if you are a little under or a little over it doesn't matter much - just use what you've got! If you have a lot of ripe bananas, or if you have very ripe bananas and no time to make muffins just throw those puppies in the freezer. Don't peel them - just open the door and throw them in and forget about them until you have time to deal with them. In fact I have noticed quite often that some stores will have extra-ripe, about-to-go-bad bananas at a very reduced price. I will buy a whole bunch and stick them in my freezer for making muffins later! Best deal ever! This time I had one fresh banana and two frozen bananas to use (picture above.)
For the fresh bananas just peel and put into a cup or bowl. I like to use a glass measuring cup so I can see if I am anywhere near the 1 cup mark when I am done mashing.
If your bananas are frozen then I first put them on a plate and then nuke them in a microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute. I don't really want to get them hot, I just want to warm them up enough to peel off the skin. Warning: The inside will be VERY slimy/mushy and may trigger gag reflexes in individuals particularly sensitive to slug-like items. But in all reality, slimy/mushy is just what you want when making banana bread or muffins!
Here are all three bananas in the cup; ready to be mashed and mushed....
Mash them, smash them, turn them to goo... You can use a fork or you can use a pastry cutter like I am using here.
See how mushy they are? This is perfect. You don't want any big ol' chunks of banana in your muffin. You want them evenly moist. So mushy is good. Set aside - you will come back to it.
Now get out a largish bowl. And start putting in your dry ingredients. Whole wheat PASTRY flour. (I really need to re-label my bin, it just says whole wheat flour. I know it is pastry flour as opposed to the whole wheat bread flour which is also in my freezer. But if I ever want anyone else in my family to find the right ingredients, perhaps I need to re-label. Not that anyone else in this house would ever have a reason to know the difference between pastry and bread flour. I'm just sayin...)
Oat bran... If you don't have oat bran just use all whole wheat flour. I have done both and it works fine.
Sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and CHOCOLATE CHIPS. Really people, do NOT skimp on the chocolate chips.
Now I stir all the dry ingredients together with a whisk until combined.
Now on to the wet ingredients.
I just add all my wet ingredients in to my mushy bananas and whisk together. Egg, vanilla, oil, sour cream or plain yogurt. I probably use plain yogurt the most, but have used both with good results. Just use what you have on hand. One time I even used buttermilk and it also turned out great.
Here they are all combined.
Get your muffin trays ready. I like to use cupcake liners. This recipe will make 12 bigger muffins, or I often will make use this 6-cup pan as well and make 18 smaller sized muffins.
Mix your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together just until it is all completely moist. Don't over mix it, but don't leave a big clump of dry stuff on the bottom either. The batter will be lumpy - that is okay.
I use my cookie scooper to fill the muffin cups. It keeps my hands clean. I usually put one scoop in each cup and then use the rest of the batter to fill them up semi-evenly.
This is how full they are with 18 muffins. If you only have 12 muffins the batter will be pretty much up to the top of the cups. That is okay, they don't rise overly-much and so you will be fine.
Bake for about 25 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Did you know that your nose can usually tell when baked good have reached their optimal doneness? (I still set my timer or I would forget and have burned everything.) If you start paying attention close to the recommended time you will be able to smell when your baked goods have reached their "peak" - try it, you will be amazed!
Here they are, yummy and golden! Cool and eat. They do freeze pretty well also.
For the fresh bananas just peel and put into a cup or bowl. I like to use a glass measuring cup so I can see if I am anywhere near the 1 cup mark when I am done mashing.
If your bananas are frozen then I first put them on a plate and then nuke them in a microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute. I don't really want to get them hot, I just want to warm them up enough to peel off the skin. Warning: The inside will be VERY slimy/mushy and may trigger gag reflexes in individuals particularly sensitive to slug-like items. But in all reality, slimy/mushy is just what you want when making banana bread or muffins!
Here are all three bananas in the cup; ready to be mashed and mushed....
Mash them, smash them, turn them to goo... You can use a fork or you can use a pastry cutter like I am using here.
See how mushy they are? This is perfect. You don't want any big ol' chunks of banana in your muffin. You want them evenly moist. So mushy is good. Set aside - you will come back to it.
Now get out a largish bowl. And start putting in your dry ingredients. Whole wheat PASTRY flour. (I really need to re-label my bin, it just says whole wheat flour. I know it is pastry flour as opposed to the whole wheat bread flour which is also in my freezer. But if I ever want anyone else in my family to find the right ingredients, perhaps I need to re-label. Not that anyone else in this house would ever have a reason to know the difference between pastry and bread flour. I'm just sayin...)
Oat bran... If you don't have oat bran just use all whole wheat flour. I have done both and it works fine. 
Sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and CHOCOLATE CHIPS. Really people, do NOT skimp on the chocolate chips.
Now I stir all the dry ingredients together with a whisk until combined.
Now on to the wet ingredients.
I just add all my wet ingredients in to my mushy bananas and whisk together. Egg, vanilla, oil, sour cream or plain yogurt. I probably use plain yogurt the most, but have used both with good results. Just use what you have on hand. One time I even used buttermilk and it also turned out great.
Here they are all combined.
Get your muffin trays ready. I like to use cupcake liners. This recipe will make 12 bigger muffins, or I often will make use this 6-cup pan as well and make 18 smaller sized muffins.
Mix your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together just until it is all completely moist. Don't over mix it, but don't leave a big clump of dry stuff on the bottom either. The batter will be lumpy - that is okay.
I use my cookie scooper to fill the muffin cups. It keeps my hands clean. I usually put one scoop in each cup and then use the rest of the batter to fill them up semi-evenly.
This is how full they are with 18 muffins. If you only have 12 muffins the batter will be pretty much up to the top of the cups. That is okay, they don't rise overly-much and so you will be fine. 
Bake for about 25 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Did you know that your nose can usually tell when baked good have reached their optimal doneness? (I still set my timer or I would forget and have burned everything.) If you start paying attention close to the recommended time you will be able to smell when your baked goods have reached their "peak" - try it, you will be amazed!
Here they are, yummy and golden! Cool and eat. They do freeze pretty well also. Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mashed banana (2-3 bananas)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a seperate bowl. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently stir together until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for approximately 25 minutes until tops are golden brown. Cool before eating.
P.S. - This muffin recipe is actually my own invention, as much as any recipe can ever be an original invention. I just have a hard time believing that no one else ever put the same ingredients together before the same way. So I am sure that someone out there has figured out a recipe pretty darn similar to mine. Muffin recipes can't be that different, can they? Anyway, this one works for me. If I ever actually post another recipe again I will try my best to tell you where it came from and give credit where credit is due.
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