A VEGAN recipe? Well yes, but I haven’t done a 180-degree turnabout from my preferred eating habits. I recently created this egg and dairy-free recipe for a hostess gift to a dear friend who is seriously allergic to both.
I brought them to a brunch at her lovely home in the Berkeley Hills; with glorious Bay views, blooming wisteria, and spring flowers at every turn. I doubt there was a vegan amongst the 20+ folks there, but I made them with my dear friend in mind who has a sweet tooth. Meaning these were a home baked treat she could enjoy freely. The muffins were enjoyed by everyone, a few of whom asked for the recipe. That’s always a good sign, right?
In addition to tasting delicious, with a moist and tender crumb; another feature I appreciate is there’s no bringing butter and eggs to room temperature, and then beating the butter to whip lightness and air into the final batter. If you’ve got about four very ripe bananas available, everything else is pantry convenient – very nearly an impulse baking stint with mouth-watering reward within the hour.
These are a two-bowl wonder. The dry ingredients go into a big mixing bowl. The wet ingredients go into another bowl. Plop the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir to just combine. Toss in chocolate chips and fire away. Truly easy-peasy.
An advance tip: If you only have one 12-muffin tin, you can bake up the remaining batter in a small loaf pan. The baking time will likely be different than the muffins so watch and test for doneness separate from the muffins.
Vegan Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes 18 muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/ 4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/ 2 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/ 2 cup mashed bananas
- 2/ 3 cup coconut milk, whole fat
- 1/ 3 cup neutral-flavored oil (canola, sunflower)
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, substitute apple cider vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup vegan/allergy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for muffin tops
Instructions
- Position a baking rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 muffin tins with paper baking cups, or generously oil the muffin cups.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a whisk to thoroughly mix. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients: mashed bananas, coconut milk, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use the whisk to just mix until no clumps or streaks of dry ingredients are visible. Do not over mix. Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
- Fill muffin cups, about 3/ 4’s full. Top with a few extra chocolate chips as desired.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Test doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. They are ready when the toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs clinging on or completely clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool about 10 minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Finish cooling on a wire rack or dig in whilst still warm.
These will keep a day or so, stored in an airtight container – so I’m told. They don’t seem to last more than a day around here.
