Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Sometimes inspiration for baking comes in simple forms, like paper muffin cups and half a bag of bittersweet chocolate chips. Oh, and a bowl of past-their-prime bananas.

Banana bread is the PB&J of sweet breads. It reminds me of a cold winter day home from school with my Mom. Comfort food at its best. And since we had sleet this morning and a threat of snow (In March? In North Carolina? Who do I see about fixing this weather thing?), banana bread muffins will fit the bill. Mom always used to put chocolate chips in her bread, and I'm of the same persuasion. Ain't nothin' that can't be improved with chocolate. I also added brown sugar and cloves to this recipe from joyofbaking.com, took out the nuts since we didn't have any on hand, and put the batter in muffin cups. These freeze great and reheat easily for breakfasts in 30 seconds in the microwave. Use mini-chocolate chips and mini-muffin pans for a sweet treat for the kids.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour (I use a mix of white and wheat)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1 cup chocolate chips

3 mashed bananas

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla

1.) Since banana bread is such an old-fashioned treat, I decided to mix it up the old fashioned way--by hand. It's too easy to over mix sweet breads with an electric mixer anyway. Then it gets all tough and rubbery. So... mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, flour through chocolate chips.

2.) In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with the back of a fork and stir in the remaining wet ingredients until combined.

3.) Make a well in the dry ingredients by pushing the mix up against the side of the bowl.

4.) Plop the wet ingredients into the bowl and stir slowly, gently, almost folding the wet ingredients into the dry. Some dry pockets might still remain. Resist the urge to keep stirring.

5.) Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, spoon batter evenly into 12 or so regular muffin cups.

6.) Bake in preheated oven at 350' for 20-25 minutes. Tops will be cracked and browned when done and no goo will come out if you insert a toothpick--not accounting for the chocolate chips of course.

7.) Let sit for a few minutes then tap out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Step eight: devour. Call your mother. Repeat.