Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins

These easy, tasty homemade bakery-style banana chocolate chip walnut muffins come together quickly, making the perfect snack food!

The 23rd of February is Banana Bread Day and I felt like I needed to add some pizzaz and decadence to my Classic Banana Bread recipe. Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a classic!

I took my classic banana bread and decided to turn it into the best banana chocolate chip muffins with the added luxury of walnuts.

What You Need for this Recipe

Equipment

This recipe requires a 12-cup muffin tin, a whisk, a spatula, and mixing bowls.

Bananas - the riper the better.

Milk Chocolate - there is not much sugar in this recipe, in combination with the walnuts, I find the milk chocolate gives a nice balance of sweetness to the muffin. I use Whittaker's Milk Chocolate Bar.

Walnuts / Pecans - give a buttery nutty flavor to the muffins.

Flour - plain, standard grade, all-purpose, cake flour (in South Africa).

Baking soda gives these muffins their nice tall muffin tops.

Salt to bring out the flavors of the muffin and balance the sweetness.

Butter to add some flavor.

Eggs bind everything together.

Vanilla Extract to enhance all the flavors in this delightful muffin.

Full-Fat Greek Style Yoghurt adds moisture, and a bit of tang, and acts as an acid for the baking soda to give the muffin lift. Greek Yoghurt can be substituted with sour cream or creme fraiche.

Brown sugar adds sweetness and depth to the muffin.

Cinnamon for a bit of spice as a muffin topper.

Substitutions/Variations

Greek Yoghurt can be substituted out with sour cream or creme fraiche.

Salt is a crucial ingredient in all baked goods. I use table salt in all my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt equals 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt equals 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal

Making Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 220°C or 200°C fan assisted. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Step 2 - Roughly chop the walnuts and chocolate bar (if not using chips), and set them aside. Mash the bananas using a fork or potato masher and set them aside.

Step 3 - Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Step 4 - Whisk together the softened butter, eggs, yoghurt, sugar, and vanilla extract.

Step 5 - Add in the flour mixture, walnuts, chocolate chips, and mashed bananas. Fold together until just mixed.

Step 6 - Divide the batter into 12 cupcake liners. Top with a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar (optional extra), and bake at 220°C or 200°C Fan for 5 minutes. Turn down the oven to 200°C or 180°C fans and bake for a further 12 to 15 minutes, until just baked and a toothpick or cake tester comes out mostly clean.

Step 7 - Allow the muffins to cool on a cooling rack before serving.

Making a Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Bread/Loaf

If wanting to make bread or loaf from this recipe, simply grease and line a regular-size loaf tin. Preheat the oven to 180°C or 160°C fan assisted. Follow the instructions to make the batter.

Pour the batter into the loaf tin, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean from the center. Allow the banana bread to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing it from the loaf pan and allowing it to cool completely before serving.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

Do not overmix the muffin batter, this will result in tough, dry muffins.

Remove the muffins from the oven as soon as they are done. Check the muffins at the 12-minute mark.

Measuring cups and spoons are an essential addition to every kitchen! Not every cup and spoon is made equally and has varying volumes. For accurate measuring invest in a set of measuring cups and spoons to make sure you add the correct amount of an ingredient. When in doubt - always use a level spoon or cup measure using your measuring cups and spoons.

Ovens: A conventional oven needs to be set at 20°C higher than a fan-forced or convection oven. Oven temperatures are not consistent, the best way to determine if your oven dial is correct is to use an oven thermometer.

Bakeware: Metal bakeware is superior when it comes to baking biscuits, cookies, brownies, muffins and quick bread, scones, cakes. These heat up and cool down faster than glassware. Glassware is heavier, heats up and cools down slower than metal and are more suited for bread puddings, pies, crisps, crumbles and cobblers.

All my recipes are currently tested at sea level.

Storage and Freezing

These muffins can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days.

If you like this recipe why not try it out...