There is a lot of love that goes into baking. It’s a magical thing  <3 

    

I mean, have you ever seen a frown when you give someone a homemade treat? No way.

And nothing beats baking with family.  For me, it’s with my sister, Sarah.  In her Brooklyn apartment. 

Aside from hangin’ with her lil’ 2 month-old baby. We whipped up treats in her kitchen. 

Banana bread was on her mind. In particular, chocolate banana bread.

  

Neither of us had ever made chocolate banana bread.  

If you haven’t either, you gotta try it!

Now, I am not a cake eater.  Just not my style (but I’m totally a sucker for the icing).

Either way… I would eat this muffin over a cupcake ANY. DAY. 

It’s bomb.  Trust me.

    

This recipe is adapted from a banana bread recipes on the Jen Loves Kev,  but we tweeked it a little to make it chocolate banana bread.  We also added walnuts instead of hazelnuts.  Sprinkle chopped walnuts on the tops of the muffins to create a rustic look.

You can also make this recipe in a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Chocolate Banana Bread Muffins

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup organic applesauce
• 3 mashed overly ripe bananas
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (or whole-wheat pastry flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Big handful of chocolate chips
• ½ cup or more of chopped, toasted walnuts (and more for sprinkling on top)

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or muffin tins.  

- Blend together eggs, yogurt, vanilla, applesauce, and bananas
- Sift together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, cocoa, and salt. Add to the wet mixture and stir together.  Add chocolate chips and toasted walnuts

- Pour into loaf pan or muffin tins.  Sprinkle the tops of the batter with walnuts.

- Loaf pan = bake 1 hour, 20 minutes. 

Muffin tins = bake around 15 mintues and keep checking to see if they are done. I put a tooth pick in them and take them out when it comes out clean.

- Store in an airtight container. I like to put them in the fridge.

BAKING TIP:  If you use muffin liners, spray them with cooking spray before you pour the batter in them!  Then, when you unwrap the muffins, they won’t stick to the liner.  I learned that the hard way ;)