An afterschool snack…

My little guy was definitely born with a sweet tooth.  I can tell you, he didn’t get it from me.  I, on the other hand, am more of a salty crunchy snack kind of person…I have no problems getting through a bag of sea salted pita chips dunked in spicy hummus…okay, let’s not talk about it (I have recently discovered I have a bit of an addiction…).

Since my son enjoys his sweets so much, I really try to keep some “better for you” sweet snacks for him in the house…granola bars, cocoa almonds (Emerald makes them – awesome!), and of course lots of fruit.  But what really makes my boy happy is a muffin.  He is over the moon when I tell him I’m going to bake up some muffins.

To keep my cookbook buying addiction under control lately, I’ve started to check out cookbooks from the library.  The last time I was there I saw my friend Liz’s kid friendly cookbook on the shelf and I was excited to bring it home.  I immediately looked to the baked goods section, knowing I had some very ripe bananas on the counter needing to be used up immediately.  I was very happy to find this Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe…and so was the little Muffin Man.

I made half the batch as written, and the other half I sprinkled shredded coconut over the tops before baking to make them a little more fun (for me!).  Sammy enjoyed both, but said he would save the coconut ones for me since they were my favorite.  🙂

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe from Meal Makeover Moms

(printable recipe)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ or ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used regular sugar because I was out of brown sugar)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup 1% lowfat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
shredded coconut, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray
and set aside.
2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and
salt in a large bowl.
3. Combine the bananas, eggs, sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla in a medium bowl and stir until
well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just
moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Top with each muffin with shredded coconut if using.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until the   muffins are light golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and cool an
additional 5 minutes before serving. To make 24 mini muffins, bake about 14 minutes.