Banana Choc and Cinnamon Chip Muffins

Yesterday I celebrated a milestone birthday and this was definitely the first of I can only imagine many, if not every birthday, where I felt like I really am getting old…er. It was an amazing birthday surrounded by loved ones who truly made me feel incredibly special and hey, we all want that feeling on our birthday’s right?!

During my recent trip to Dubai, I raided a Waitrose store, bought a bunch of chocolate chips and other items we can’t find in SA. One of these items was the Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips – yip can’t find them anywhere over here – if someone has a contact please do let me know!

I’ve been wanting to use them for the longest time, curious to discover the taste, texture when baked, etc. and with this recipe, I feel like it was put to good use – it was absolutely divine! The great thing with this recipe is that if you don’t have or can’t find the cinnamon chips, you can substitute it with your preference, i.e. pecan nuts (or any kind of nuts – the only nuts I eat though is Pistachios), choc caramel, etc.

It’s incredibly easy to make and is perfect as a breakfast snack or just a treat at anytime of day with a good cuppa. For an amazing muffin, I stress DO NOT OVERMIX.

Banana, Choc and Cinnamon Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (you can add slightly more, depending on your preference)
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Natura Sugars Golden Caster Sugar
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
3 ripe bananas, mashed (the more over ripe, the better)
3 Tablespoons plain yogurt

Topping:

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup Natura Sugars Light Muscavado sugar
3/4 cup roughly chopped chocolate (or choc chips – according to your preference)
1/2 cup Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips (or any other preference, i.e. pecan nuts, etc.)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 215C degrees. Spray some nonstick spray lightly on a muffin tray then line it with muffin holders.
Create the topping by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
For the muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
In an electric stand or using a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter for about 3 minutes. Add the egg to the creamed butter and beat it for 1 minute until fluffy, always remembering to scrape the sides. On low speed, mix in the mashed bananas and yogurt. Fold in the dry ingredients mixing until everything is just about combined – be careful not to overmix.
To layer the muffins: Spoon one slightly filled tablespoon of the batter into the muffin cup. For the next layer, sprinkle the topping, making sure there’s a good mixture of all the topping ingredients in that layer and top with another spoonful of batter. Finally top them off with the custom made topping. This should fill the muffin cups.
Bake muffins for 5 minutes at the preheated 215C. Then immediately lower the temperature dial down to 170C and continue to bake for approximately 14 more minutes until the muffins are set and lightly browned. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pans before transferring them to wire rack to cool completely.
Storage options: Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Another option is to freeze them up to 3 months.
They are so delish! Enjoy!