Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1. Stage

Combine the flour, leavening, and salt:  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine and set aside.

2. Stage

Mix the sugar, butter, and oil: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, and oil until well combined, about 15 seconds.

3. Stage

Add the remaining wet ingredients: Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Vigorously whisk until the egg is completely broken up and the mixture is well combined and lightened in color, 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Add the mashed banana to the butter mixture and whisk until fully combined, about 30 seconds. There shouldn’t be any big chunks of banana. Add the buttermilk and whisk until combined.

4. Stage

Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined and no dry bits remain. It’s okay if the batter looks a little lumpy.  Add 3/4 cup of the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter, reserving the remaining 1/4 cup for topping the muffins. Gently fold the mini chocolate chips into the batter just until the chips are evenly dispersed. Don’t overmix!

5. Stage

Rest the batter: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the batter to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Resting the batter allows the flour to hydrate which in turn reduces some of the spread of the muffin tops and helps create even, rounded tops. If you’re short on time, you can skip this step.

6. Stage

While the batter rests, preheat the oven and prepare the muffin tins:  Arrange a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Line every other cavity of 2 standard-size muffin tins with paper liners. There should be 12 total lined cavities. Allowing this space helps the muffins to rise and bake more evenly and reduces the likelihood of the muffins baking into each other. If you only own one muffin tin, you can fill each cavity and bake them all side-by-side.

7. Stage

Divide the batter: Using a 2 1/2-inch scoop (about 1/3 cup), scoop 12 portions of batter into the lined cavities of the muffin tin, filling slightly over 3/4 full. Depending on the capacity of your muffin pans, you might get 13 muffins. Top each muffin with the remaining mini chocolate chips.

8. Stage

Bake and cool: To yield maximum oven spring (and in turn a better rise and texture), the muffins are baked at 2 temperatures. Arrange the pans on the middle rack of the oven. Bake the muffins at 400°F for 9 minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for 4 more minutes. Rotate the pans and bake until the muffins are golden brown around the edges, spring back when gently poked, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 4 to 6 minutes more (17 to 19 minutes total bake time). Let the muffins cool slightly in the pans set over a wire rack for a few minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature.  Leftover muffin tops can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.  Love the recipe? Leave us stars below!