Getaway muffins

Guess who’s going on a mini getaway??  Yup, that would be me!!  I don’t have much time to go into the details, but we are heading to Whidbey Island in Washington state for a few days.  It will be our first time there and we don’t really know much about the place other than it’s beautiful.  I am looking forward to it even though the weather won’t be so nice.

Whenever we go on these mini trips, I usually like to bring some food with us even if we’re going some place where grocery stores and restaurants are readily available.  Whether it’s little snacks or sandwiches, this saves us some money and the headache of having to find a place with good food to eat.

So, for this trip I made some muffins – banana chocolate chip oat muffins to be exact.  Shh…don’t tell David I used all the chocolate chips that were meant for his famous chocolate chip cookies.

With these muffins, I wanted to try something new, which was to use applesauce in place of fats (butter or oil) in baking.  I’ve read about this technique to make baked goods healthier before, but had yet to try it until now.

Another thing I wanted to try was to use ripe bananas that have been frozen away.  And as you all know, I’ve got lots of bananas in my freezer to use up!  I normally reserve these bananas for smoothies, but with the cooler weather these days, I tend to avoid having cold beverages.

Don’t they just look perfect?  They tasted pretty good too.  I didn’t even miss the butter.  Using frozen bananas worked out fine.  Just let them sit on the counter for a bit before peeling or risk getting frost bite.  Or if you’re smarter than me, peel them first before freezing.

Mmm…nothing like baked goods fresh out of the oven….especially when the muffins are still warm and the chocolate chips are soft and melted…

And with that I will now leave you with some famous words, “I’ll be back”.

Recipe (adapted from Dragon’s Kitchen):

makes about 12 muffins

• 1 1/2 cups flour (half all-purpose, half whole wheat)
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats + some for garnish
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk (I used 2%)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 large ripened bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (and more for sprinkling, optional)
• 1/4 cup of nuts (walnuts and almond slices, optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease muffin tin or line with muffin/cupcake cups.
2. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs & sugars lightly. Add the milk, applesauce, vanilla and the mashed banana. Combine thoroughly but don’t over mix.
4. Stir in dry ingredients until blended.
5. Mix chocolate chips (and nuts if using) with 1/2 tsp flour.  Stir in just until combined.
6. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, dividing batter equally. Sprinkle some oats (and chocolate chips) over the muffins.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

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