Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

These bakery style chocolate chip banana muffins are out of this world - they are super fluffy and moist, have a delicious banana flavor and are PACKED with chocolate chips. When I sought out to make these muffins I wanted to make sure they were very tall, the banana flavor really comes through, and they have the most perfect, dome-shaped top.

Why you will love these chocolate chip banana muffins

1. They're super fluffy. There is nothing better than a fluffy muffin. What helps these muffins fluff up is the half hour of rest the batter gets before we bake. By resting the batter, we give the leaveners a head start. I'll go into this more later.
2. Their dome tops. These muffins are SO tall with a perfectly round dome top. Alternating the muffin cups with a space between each allows the heat to evenly distribute around the muffin and gives them space to flourish and rise to create that perfect dome top.

Key ingredients

• Bananas: obviously we need bananas! They are the star ingredient. Bananas add to the flavor and they also make these muffins super moist. You want to use VERY ripe bananas, like turning black. That is when they are at their sweetest.
• Good quality chocolate: we add a lot of chocolate to this recipe, so make sure to splurge on the good stuff! Ghirardelli is a trusted brand of mine for chocolate, but I also love Nestle Tollhouse and Trader Joes chocolate. I like to use mini chocolate chips for this recipe.
• All purpose flour: all purpose flour is the flour of choice for this recipe. It yields the perfect texture for these muffins.
• Granulated sugar: granulated sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness and it allows for the tops of the muffins to get brown around the edges.

Steps

1. Whisk the dry ingredients. This includes the granulated sugar.
2. Whisk the wet ingredients. This includes the mashed banana.
3. Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together until a batter forms, leaving a few streaks of flour in the batter.
4. Add the chocolate. Add the chocolate chips to the batter and fold until completely incorporated and the streaks of flour have mixed in.
5. Let the batter rest. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. It IS possible for the batter to over-rest - it will lead to very strangely shaped muffins, so make sure to only let the batter rest for 30 minutes or so.
6. Bake. Line a muffin tin with cups leaving every other one empty. Fill the cups with the batter all the way to the top and then some. Bake for 8 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, then drop the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 8-10 minutes for regular sized muffins and 17-20 minutes for jumbo muffins.

The secret to tall muffins

There are a few tips/tricks that I discovered lead to tall muffins and now I will NEVER not do them. 

1. Let the batter rest. Letting the batter rest for 30 minutes gives the leaveners a head start in the rise process. You will notice that after the muffin batter rests, the batter will be very airy, light and fluffy. After the 30 minutes is up, do not mix the batter, fold the batter, or anything. That will knock out all the air and damage the work that was just done by the leaveners. All you want to do is scoop and plop the batter into the muffin tin. Nothing else! Baking soda & baking powder activate when mixed with the wet ingredients, so that is what occurs during this half hour. It IS possible for the batter to over-rest - it will lead to very strangely shaped muffins, so make sure to only let the batter rest for 30 minutes or so.
2. Start the bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. I love this trick! Baking powder has double activation, so it activates for the second time when it hits the heat in the oven. This extreme heat activates the baking powder and allows it to quickly rise, giving it that dome top. 
3. Alternating muffin cups. Alternating the muffin cups is another helpful tip (see picture above)! Alternating the muffin cups allows for the heat to evenly hit the muffin and gives it room to overflow over the top and create that dome-like shape.

Other muffin recipes you may like

• Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Blueberry Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Muffins

Tried this recipe? Make sure to rate and review and tag @sturbridgebakery on Instagram!