INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas, peeled and slightly mashed 1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup mini chocolate chips 1 sliced banana (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Line 12–16 paper cupcake liners in muffin pan.

3. In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar, then beat in two eggs and continue stirring until light and creamy. Mix in bananas.

4. In another bowl, stir the flour and baking soda together, then add to large bowl and mix. Toss in chocolate chips.

5. Fill paper liners 3/4 of the way and top with bananas.

6. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE my mom’s baking. She can whip up everything from the basic cookies, brownies and cake to complex desserts like magic squares and some crazy brownie-pudding-Cool Whip combination called a brownie trifle. Still, nothing compares to her banana muffin recipe.

I had a “eureka” moment in high school, realizing the only thing that could make my mom’s banana muffins better was chocolate chips.

Start by preheating the oven and filling a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together before adding in two eggs, and keep beating until the mixture is light and creamy.

That’s when the bananas should be mixed in. Get a separate bowl to mix flour and baking soda, and then marry the two mixes. Stir to make sure everything is evenly distributed and add chocolate chips. Milk chocolate chips taste best and tend to melt better than the semi-sweet kind, adding a warm creaminess in every bite because, as you know, the chocolate gets everywhere.

For added flavor and aesthetic appeal, thinly slice an extra banana and put a slice atop each muffin. It might sink in a little bit, but that’s OK. It’ll act as a surprise burst of taste and texture.

Fill the paper liners up three quarters of the way. I like to use an ice cream scoop because it makes it easer to fill each paper cup evenly.

Bake the banana goodness in the oven for 20–25 minutes or until the muffins are light brown on top. To check if the muffins are cooked through, insert a toothpick or knife. It should come out clean if the muffins are done.

The muffins, like many other desserts, taste best fresh out of the oven, but if they are cooked just right, they will remain soft for days. Just be sure to put them in a container after they have cooled to ensure lasting perfection.