BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

My daughter requested banana chocolate chip muffins to take on a camping trip. She was leaving later that day so I needed something quick. Fortunately, this recipe was fast and easy though you need to use a high speed blender. The muffins taste fantastic and I have no doubt they will be devoured quickly.

Here is the link to the recipe from “Clean Food Dirty Girl”: banana walnut muffins. Since the blogger uses profanity, I have copied and pasted the recipe below for those who are offended by profanity.

You can watch this video by “Judi In The Kitchen” to learn the differences between Medjool dates and Deglet Noor dates.

Banana Walnut Muffins

Ingredients

4 large dates pits taken out and soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes

1 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk 295ml

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 1/2 cups regular rolled oats 260g / not instant

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups mashed banana 310g / about 3 bananas

1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup 60ml

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts 100g

Instructions

Boil 2 cups of water, remove and discard the pits from the dates and place the dates in a heat proof bowl. Pour the boiling water over the dates and let them soak for 10 -15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line your muffin tin with liners.

Add the non-dairy milk and lemon juice to a small mixing bowl. Mix and set aside for now.

Place the oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in your blender and blend into a powder, about 15 seconds. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. No need to wash your blender, you will be using it again shortly.

Drain and discard the date water and transfer the dates to your blender, along with the non-dairy milk / lemon mixture, banana, maple syrup and vanilla. Blend until smooth and there are no pieces of date.

Transfer the blended liquid mixture to the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and gently mix, just until the wet and dry ingredients are incorporated (don't over mix or your muffins might end up too dense). Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin liners. These don’t rise much, so fill those muffin liners up to the tip top. You will have plenty of batter to do this.

Bake for 18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely before going to town with these babies.

What I did differently:

-Did not have Medjool dates so used 8 Deglet Noor dates

-Used unsweetened soy milk

-Used 3/4th cup mini vegan chocolate chips instead of walnuts per my daughter's request

-Did not use muffin liners since my pan is non-stick

-Made 13 muffins, baked 19 minutes