Nutty Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Twice in the past two weeks of craziness, I woke up with "nothing to eat" for breakfast. I hadn't been to the grocery store in days. I didn't want oatmeal... and anyway, the bananas were past ripe for oatmeal. I couldn't have cereal... we had no milk. There was no bread, no bagels, nothing. So I decided to use the bananas, purchased for 20 cents each at the corner fruit stand, to make something delicious. I made one dozen, ate two, and shared the rest with the doormen. Since the muffins, I have also shared tarts and quiche with the doormen, so now the doormen ask me every morning (including this morning when I returned from my run) "What are you cooking today?" This morning I had to reply, "I have too much work to do!" And that is absolutely true. The world of consulting is full of ebbs and flows and right now, two men down, we are trying to stay afloat. It is lunch time and between work meetings and document development and emails, I have squeezed in one coffee. After running five miles. I think it is time for food. 

But before I go and make some lunch, I have to share this delicious muffin recipe, adapted significantly from Joy of Cooking. After all I promised. And I should probably memorize the recipe because I have some more bananas getting overripe and I haven't been to the store. 

Nutty Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - a Whit's End Test Kitchen creation

Preheat the oven to 375F. Prepare a standard 12-muffin pan.

DRY Ingredients

Whisk together:

1.5 cups AP flour

.5 cup oatmeal 

2 t baking powder

.5 t baking soda

1 t ground cinnamon

,25 t ground nutmeg

.25 t ground cloves 

.25 t salt 

Stir in: 

.33 c walnuts,

.33 c semi sweet chocolate chips 

This is really where you can stir in .66 c or a little bit more or a little bit less of anything you want. The recipe called for only walnuts. I wanted to add some chocolate chips. You could probably add coconut, different nuts, white chocolate chips, or whatever you have. Like I said, this recipe was developed when I had nothing to eat and no time to get to the store.

WET Ingredients

Whisk together in a large bowl: 

1 large egg

.75 c packed light brown sugar

1.33 c mashed ripe bananas (don't skimp on the bananas - the recipe says 2-3 but it is more like 2-4. Put them in a 2-3 c liquid measuring cup and use a whisk to mash them)

6 T veg oil

1 t vanilla 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a few light strokes until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix - this will make tough, yucky muffins! The batter should not be smooth! Divide the batter among the muffins - I use a .25 c measuring cup, and it usually works out about right. 

Bake about 18 minutes. Do not over cook - they will darken and dry out and they will be yucky! 

Let rest for 2-3 minutes before removing from the pan... or don't. I can never help myself from reaching in, burning my hand... and my mouth, and regretting it... but they really are delicious and they smell delicious too.

Serve as soon as possible. Don't make these ahead. They take about 10 minutes to prepare, and 20 minutes in the oven, so really... wait to make them. There is no butter to soften and nothing to bring to room temperature, so you can really make them last minute. If you ask me these muffins (and all muffins) begin to deteriorate after a few hours.