Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins have it all - a soft and fluffy texture, the perfect dome top, a subtle banana flavor, peanut butter filling, and loads of chocolate chips. What could be better?! These muffins come together so quickly and are incredibly flavorful and delicious. Whether you decide to make these regular sized or jumbo, I promise you will not be able to stop at one.

Why you will love these peanut butter banana chocolate chip 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.
3. The flavors. These muffins have it all - a subtle banana flavor, peanut butter filling, and chocolate chips. I can't think of a better combination!

Key ingredients

• Bananas: mashed bananas not only add a little flavor, but also contribute to the texture and softness of these muffins.
• 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 golden brown around the edges.
• Leavener: we use both baking powder and baking soda in this recipe.
• Fats: the key fats in this recipe are the butter, milk and eggs - they add a ton of moisture and make a perfectly tender muffin.
• Chocolate chips: I like to use mini semi-sweet chocolate chips in my muffins, but dark or milk chocolate would work, too!
• Peanut butter: we dollop a bit of peanut butter in the batter which makes for the perfect filling. Measure the peanut butter with the heart, or skip it all together! Replace it with Nutella, Biscoff cookie butter, etc., the options are endless!

Steps

1. Whisk the dry ingredients. This includes the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Whisk the wet ingredients. This includes the butter, eggs, vanilla, milk and mashed bananas.
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 mini 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. Scoop. Line a muffin tin with cups leaving every other one empty. Scoop the batter and fill the muffin cups half way. Dollop a spoonful of peanut butter into the batter. Then scoop more batter and fill the cups all of the way to the top.
7. Bake. Bake for 8 minutes at 425F, then drop the temperature to 350F 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.

Let the batter rest.

You will notice that after the muffin batter rests for 30 minutes, it will be very airy, light and fluffy. After the 30 minutes is up, do not mix or fold the batter. That will knock out all the air and damage the work that was just done by the leaveners.

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.

Start at 425F.

Starting the bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit is one of my favorite tricks! 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. 

Alternate muffin cups.

Alternating the muffin cups is another helpful tip! 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.

FAQ

Why are my muffins dry and tough?

A dry muffin could be from over mixing the batter. Make sure to only mix the batter until the dry ingredients are JUST incorporated, not any longer.

A dry muffin can also be from over baking. Just a few extra minutes in the oven can turn a soft and moist muffin into a tough and dry muffin, so make sure to keep an eye on it. It is finished when a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Why did my muffins sink?

Muffins can sink from over mixing the batter. Make sure to only mix your batter until the dry ingredients are JUST incorporated, not any longer. Additionally, an underbaked muffin can sink, so make sure to bake the muffins all the way through.

Recipe variations

1. Chocolate. Use any type of chocolate you want! I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, but anything will work here! Any size, dark or milk, etc.
2. Replace the peanut butter. If peanut butter isn't your jam, switch it up! Using Nutella or Biscoff cookie butter are both amazing alternatives.
3. Glaze. Use the glaze from my Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Muffins to top these babies off!

Baking in grams

While I provide volume measurements for the recipes on my blog, I highly suggest baking these recipes using weight. It is the most standardized and accurate way to bake. I carefully recipe test all of my recipes using a kitchen scale, not by using cups, and therefore I cannot guarantee the success of my recipes when using volume measurements.

Other recipes you may like

• Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
• Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Muffins
• The Best Pumpkin Muffins

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