Healthy-ish Chocolate & Banana Oat Muffins (vegan optional)

I’ve never considered myself a baker, but lately I find myself baking more and more. This is mostly due to clients who love baked goods, but also because I’m feeling more and more comfortable experimenting with baking recipes. I like savory dishes because it’s easy to change recipes and adjust flavors without worrying about whether or not the dish will turn out. Baking, on the other hand, is more of a science. The ingredients work together to create the perfect taste and texture, and if the measurement of an ingredient is even just a little bit off, it could ruin everything. As I bake more and more, however, I’m quickly learning how to adjust recipes to my tastes without creating something inedible, which is changing my mind about baking. Who knows, maybe someday soon I’ll even consider myself a baker.

This delicious recipe for Chocolate & Banana Oat Muffins started as a request from a client. She wanted healthy banana muffins made with oats and a little bit of chocolate. So I made just that, and resulting muffins were a total hit. She even suggested I add them to my blog… which brings me to this post. The original muffin recipe used eggs and milk. But I don’t keep eggs in my apartment, and while we often have milk, I prefer making recipes that don’t require eggs and milk. It’s surprisingly easy to transform baked goods into vegan baked goods, you just gotta know the right tricks. That’s why I adjust most of my sweet recipes to be vegan. Because why not? But I’ve also included the non-vegan variations to please all my amazing readers.

What I really love about these muffins is that they are not only perfectly tasty, but also healthy-ish. I say “healthy-ish” because they contain sugar (in the form of maple syrup and chocolate chips), and while sugar is fine in moderation, it’s still sugar. But otherwise, these muffins are actually pretty healthy. I use 100% whole wheat pastry flour and whole grain oats as the base, mashed banana for flavor and texture, and organic coconut oil for moisture. The result is a tender, flavorful and completely addictive treat that’s totally guiltless… ok, ok – totally guiltless-ish.

Chocolate & Banana Oat Muffins
Yield: 10-12 standard-size muffins Start to Finish: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 3/4 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, fine grain
2 ripe bananas, smashed into a purée (1/2 cup to 2/3 cup)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup oil (I like coconut oil, canola oil works too)
1/3 cup dairy free milk (water works too, in a pinch)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup chocolate chips

To Make

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with baking cups or grease with oil.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, oats, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, combine mashed bananas, maple syrup, milk/water, oil and vanilla. In a prep bowl or ramekin, combine 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon water and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Wait for the fizz to die down (if it doesn’t fizz, it won’t work).

Add the vinegar/baking soda mixture to the banana mixture. Then add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix until well combined. It should be a very thick batter. Transfer batter to muffin tins. Aim to fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating or storing. While they’re still warm, I put the muffins into a large tupperware or ziplock bag, this helps to retain the muffins’ moisture.

Non-Vegan Recipe

Combine dry ingredients – 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1 3/4 cups oats, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Combine wet ingredients – 2 puréed bananas, 1 large beaten egg, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix wet ingredients into dry until well combined – transfer to muffin tins – bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes