Chocolate Banana Muffins

So one day at the grocery store I bought some bananas. They were greenier than I like so I let them sit to ripen.

I blinked and then I had these bananas. 

I'm not a fan of bananas that are this ripe. Dad loved them this ripe. The browner the better. And as I'm watching my sugars these aren't the best to eat for that purpose. 

So naturally, I need to make banana bread. Which I know the logic is missing there, but what's a girl to do? I wasn't going to throw them out. And if I put them in the freezer I'd forget about them I'm sure. 

I didn't want to make my normal banana bread and thought this would be an opportunity to try a new recipe. 

I made three small changes to this recipe. 

1. I swapped the sugar out with allulose (low carb sugar)

2. I swapped the chocolate chips out for sugar free chocolate chips

3. I didn't have Greek yogurt so I used sour cream

All minor changes. These were good muffins. In all honesty, chocolate muffins are really chocolate cake to me. So they are more for after dinner treat than breakfast. 

I gave 4 away to Janet and Kathy and will freeze the rest and take them out as I want them.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Recipe from Love From the Oven

Makes 12

• 1/4 c butter softened
• 1/2 c vanilla Greek yogurt
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 1/3 c  all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour if desired
• 2/3 c dark cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 c milk
• 1/2 c chocolate chips semi-sweet recommended, but milk or dark chocolate also work well

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Puree, mix or blend bananas until smooth. Add in butter and yogurt and mix until well combined. Add in eggs and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Stir in sugar until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix white whole wheat flour, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine wet and dry ingredients, add in milk and stir until just combined, do not overmix.

Scoop into a muffin pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store loosely covered or in refrigerator.

Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Just about every recipe I've tried from the blog "All Day I Dream About Food" has been exceptional and delicious. These donuts are no different. Baking low carb is hard for me. I'm not a fan of the texture Almond Flour usually leaves behind. By adding some Whey Protein powder into the recipe, it changes up the texture perfectly. 

I linked the brands I used to the ingredients below. These have been tested by me and the ones I find the most tolerable when eating low carb. None of them leave any sort of chemical after taste - which I find common in many low carb sugars for some reason. 

The peanut butter glaze is what makes these donuts. I made mine thinner than she did according to the photos on her blog, but I also like a glaze to be loose and run down the sides. More glaze than frosting. If you prefer frosting, don't make it as thin. 

The hardest part of this recipe was determining when they were done. Her instructions say "when they are firm". I find that quite ambiguous. So do like me and give it your best guess. Letting them sit in the pan helps them continue baking too in case you bring them out sooner than "they are firm". 

The number of donuts you get will differ on how thick you make them. I got 12 and I filled the donut tray up to about 3/4 of the way to the top. I wasn't sure how much they'd puff up so I went a bit conservative. 

Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Recipe from All Day I Dream About Food

Makes up to 12

Donuts

• 1 ¾ cups almond flour
• 6 tablespoon Swerve Granular
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoon unflavored whey protein powder (or egg white protein powder)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs room temperature
  
• 6 tablespoon butter melted
• ⅓ cup water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

• ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons powdered Swerve Sweetener
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water to thin as needed
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped peanuts for decorating

Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 10 wells of a 12 well donut pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, butter, water, and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. If your batter is overly thick, add a little more water, a few teaspoons at a time. It should be scoopable but not pourable.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, filling the wells about three quarters full. Bake 18 to 23 minutes, or until set and firm to the touch.

Remove and let cool completely in the pan before flipping out onto a wire rack.

Glaze

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and butter on high in 30 second increments, stirring until smooth. Alternatively, you can melt them carefully in a small saucepan over very low heat.

Whisk in the sweetener, whipping cream, and vanilla. If the glaze is very thick, whisk in the water a few teaspoons at a time until a dippable consistency is achieved.

Working quickly, dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the glaze and place on a baking rack to set. If the glaze thickens up too quickly, you also spread it onto the donuts.

Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and let set, about 20 minutes.

Banana Bread Cookies

Here we are again craving banana bread but knowing its not something I should put in my pie hole. 

I saw these on Instagram and thought I'd give them a try. They are DENSE, but really good. 

I made just a couple modifications to keep them low glycemic. 

1. I used sugar free peanut butter (Jiff Creamy to be clear)

2. I used sugar free chocolate chips. (Hershey brand)

Both sugar free options are surprisingly good. 

These cookies scratched the banana bread itch for me. I'm set for a couple of weeks. I froze half of them to have later. 

Banana Bread Cookies

Recipe from The Big Man's World

Makes 12 cookies

• 3 large bananas mashed
• 2 cups rolled oats can sub for rolled or quick oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter can sub for any nut or seed butter
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking tray with baking paper, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, oats, and peanut butter and mix very well. If the batter is too thin, add more oats. Fold through chocolate chips if using them.

Using your hands or a cookie scoop, form into 12 balls and set them on the lined baking tray. Press each ball into a cookie shape and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly firm on the edges, and remove. Allow to cool on the tray completely.

Easy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I've been on a bit of a banana kick lately. Once I discovered I could eat bananas while having the big D, they just have to be more green than ripe, I was all in with bananas. Which is weird, because prior to being diagnosed with the Big D I wasn't a banana person. 

The problem with bananas that at a certain point they become too ripe and thus too much sugar in them. So instead of tossing them, I try to make some low carb muffins or something. Still sugar, but in my brain less banana per muffin I guess. 

So this recipe made a good muffin. I swapped chocolate chips out for sugar free chips and sugar alternative. While this recipe still uses flour, I thought swapping out the other sugars will make them at least a little healthier. 

Easy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Makes 12

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease the muffin tins with cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Then, set it aside.

Mix the mashed bananas, sugar, egg, butter, and vanilla in a separate bowl until just combined. Do not over-mix.

Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients using a spatula until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into a prepared muffin tin until each muffin is 3/4 full.

Bake them in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Transfer them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Eating lower calorie and less sugar is easy for me for lunch and dinner. Breakfast, not so much. I need a lot of protein at breakfast and I'm not a fan of eggs. Therefore, I'm constantly looking for something different. 

I've made some Keto chocolate chip muffins before that were, dense, but delicious. They fit what I was looking for. 

I stumbled onto these on Ambitious Kitchen's blog and knew I had to try them. I whipped up a batch this morning and had one for lunch. Y'all, these are (also dense) but so dag-gum delicious. The banana and peanut butter together. Yummy! 

What I didn't do: I didn't put in mini chips, but swapped them out for sugar free chocolate chips. You really can't tell the difference. 

What I did do: 

• I added about a tablespoon sugar replacement (I use Swerve). I didn't have pure maple syrup but only the Wholesome Yum Sugar free maple syrup and I thought I might need some more sweet. It added exactly the right amount of sweet. 
• I also used sugar free peanut butter (Jiff) instead of what she has in her recipe.

Make these muffins. You won't regret it. I'm freezing some, handing some over to Janet and Sherrie and keeping a couple out for me for breakfast tomorrow.

Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Recipe from Ambitious Kitchen

Makes 12

Wet ingredients:

• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium ripe bananas)
• ¾ cup (192g) natural creamy or crunchy drippy peanut butter (just peanuts and salt)
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup (78g) pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ tablespoon dairy free milk of choice (I like almond milk)

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup (92g) gluten free oat flour (you can make your own -- see the full blog psot)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup (60g) mini chocolate chips (dairy free, if desired, plus 2-3 tablespoons for sprinkling on top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Line a 12-cup muffin liner with muffin liners and spray the inside with nonstick cooking spray to prevent muffins from sticking to liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, eggs, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract and milk of choice until smooth.

Next stir in the oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Evenly divide batter into muffin liners.

Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Transfer muffins to wire rack to cool and enjoy! Makes 12 muffins.

Overnight Oats

Overnight oats have been all the rage for a couple of years now. I never much cared to even try them because, well, I wasn't really watching what I was eating. Now, I am and figured I might as well try it. 

I put out on FB to my friends to send me their favorite recipes. I got several, but decided to try this one first. 

I think I'm not a fan. I think I like my oats warm not cold. I'm not done with this idea yet though. I have a few more recipes to try. But this recipe is not for me.

Overnight Oats

Recipe from Once Upon a Chef

Makes 1

FOR THE OATS:

• ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup milk (any kind except coconut milk)
• 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1½ teaspoons chia seeds (optional)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• Pinch cinnamon
• Pinch salt

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS

• Fresh or dried fruit
• Nuts/seeds
• Granola
• Shredded or toasted coconut
• Nut butter
• Apple butter or pumpkin butter
• Honey or maple syrup
• Cinnamon or nutmeg

In a small jar or airtight container, add the oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds (if using), maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt.

Stir well to ensure everything is mixed evenly.

Seal the jar/container and place it in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least 4 hours, to allow the oats to soak up the liquid and soften.

In the morning, stir the mixture. If it seems too thick, add a splash of milk to reach your desired consistency. Top with your favorite optional toppings and enjoy.

MAKE-AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS

The overnight oats can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Go ahead and make a big batch so you’ve got a delicious make-ahead breakfast on hand.

Keto Chocolate Chip Muffins

In all the recipes I've tried that calls for Almond Flour, I've generally not been a fan. Especially bread of any type. I keep trying them though hoping that I'll stumble on a recipe that is good. 

I have found one! Yipee. 

This recipe is simple and delicious, even with almond flour. It's also the first time using sugar free chocolate chips. I had Hershey sugar free chips on hand, so that's what I used. I am amazed at how good they are. 

Overall, this one is going into the "favorites" list for this year. If you're looking to lower your sugar intake and maybe eat something low carb, I highly recommend these. 

A serving size is one muffin. 200 calories, 6.3 g carbs, 3 g fiber and 10 g protein. Not too shabby. 

Keto Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe from All Day I Dream About Food

Makes 12 muffins - maybe. I only got 10 out of this batch

• ½ cup sour cream
• 3 large eggs
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup Swerve Brown lightly packed
• 2 ½ cups almond flour
• ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein powder (can sub egg white protein)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp mini keto chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a standard metal muffin pan with 12 parchment paper liners. You can also use silicone liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add the sweetener and whisk until well combined, breaking up any clumps with the back of a fork.

Add the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt and stir until well mixed. Stir in ⅓ cup of the chocolate chips

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffins cups and top each with a few more mini chips. Bake 18 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Remove and let cool in the pan.

Banana Bread Muffins

Photo from Melissa's 
Southern Style Kitchen

I did it! I made banana bread and remembered all the ingredients.

I'm a sucker for a good banana bread and I'm especially a sucker for the end pieces. Making muffins fixes it so every single one has an "end" (aka the muffin top). 

These are good banana muffins. Nothing special about them other than they were edible and I'd make them again.

Banana Bread Muffins

Recipe from Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen

Makes 12 muffins

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 medium ripe bananas mashed to equal 1 cup
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup butter melted (1 stick)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Liberally spray a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray or use cupcake liners. Set aside.

In a medium-size mixing bowl use a whisk to sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the bananas, eggs, butter and vanilla. Use a large non stick spatula to mix until fully combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the wells in the muffin tin. 

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes back clean.

Cool for 15 minutes in the muffin tin then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Store chilled or at room temperature in an air tight container.

Mama's Banana Bread

I started buying bananas to have a couple of times a week to help with leg cramps. Turns out all I'm using them for is making banana type bread. I gotta stop buying bananas and thinking I'm going to eat them. They really don't last long and before I know it, they're too brown for my taste. My dad would have loved them. He'd let his bananas almost be rotten before he'd eat them.

I normally use my sister-in-laws banana bread recipe (I'm actually surprised it's not on this blog), but figured why not try something new.

This is actually the second batch of banana bread. The first batch I had to toss because I completely forgot the sugar. And it was gross. Tasted like flour and bananas. 

This one is YUMMY. I would prefer butter in my bread instead of oil, but overall this was a good bread. I'd make it again. 

Mama's Banana Bread

Recipe from South Your Mouth

Serves 10

3-4 bananas (preferably overripe)

1/2 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c sugar

2 c all-purpose flour

1 T baking soda

1 c chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Peel and slice bananas then add to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer on low, beat bananas until creamy and only small chunks remain. Add oil, eggs, vanilla extract and sugar then continue beating on low until well combined. Add flour and baking soda and continue beating on low until just combined.

Grease and flour a standard-size loaf pan. Pour batter into prepared pan then bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool banana bread in pan for 20 minutes then turn out and serve. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Small-Batch Chocolate Banana Muffins (One-Banana, One-Bowl)

When life gives you this...

You make this...

That's right. A small batch of chocolate banana muffins. I found this blog that has a ton of "small batch" recipes. It's super helpful when you're cooking for one. 

I had two small problems with this recipe. User errors really. 

1. I didn't have vanilla

2. I didn't have any chocolate chips

No worry, they taste fine. Good even.

Small-Batch Chocolate Banana Muffins (One-Banana, One-Bowl)

Recipe from Baking Mischief

Makes 5 muffins (it only made 4 for me)

• 1 medium-to-large over-ripe banana
• 3 T unsalted butter melted
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 c all-purpose flour
• 3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped or 1/3 cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping

Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a muffin tin with 5 liners.

Place peeled banana in a medium bowl and mash it well with a fork or potato masher. Add melted butter and whisk until well combined. Add brown sugar, egg white, and vanilla. Mix well.

Place a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl and add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the strainer. Sift dry ingredients into the wet and use a spoon to mix until just combined. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Divide batter between prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 8 minutes at 425°F before turning the oven temperature down to 350°F. Bake for an additional 6 to 9 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out with just a few crumbs.

Sprinkle extra chocolate over the top if desired. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, and enjoy.

Breakfast Cookies

Breakfast is the hardest meal for me to plan. I get stuck in a rut of things to eat and then I get bored. I've
been eating cheese and apples for months now and decided to mix it up some. 

Today I made these breakfast cookies. The are super easy to make. In fact, I made them between meetings today. 

I used chocolate chips this round, but that made them a littler sweeter than I like. I would make them again with some nuts and fresh blue berries or something similar. Don't get me wrong, they are delicious. 

I only got 6 cookies out of this batch. I think I may have made them too big. No matter, I only was able to eat half because they are too sweet for breakfast. 

Breakfast Cookies

Recipe from Yellow Bliss Road

Makes 12 cookies

• 2 large brown bananas
• 1 c peanut butter or your favorite nut butter
• 1/4 c maple syrup or honey
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 c old-fashioned oats or quick oats
• 1/2 c chocolate chips or your favorite mix-ins - like dried cranberries, fresh blueberries or raisins

Preheat the oven to 325F degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas.

Mix together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, vanilla extract and cinnamon until smooth.

Stir in the oats and chocolate chips. The dough will be very sticky and wet.

Form the dough into balls with about ⅓ - ¼ cup of batter each and place on the lined cookie sheets. Flatten them down slightly (they won't spread as they bake).

Bake in the preheated oven for 14-18 minutes, or until the tops are set.

Cool on the cookie sheets fully.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (143 of 150)

Janet gave me some bananas that were on the verge of turning. I knew I wanted to make banana bread
of some sort. So I decided this was the recipe.

It's a weird recipe because there's no butter in it. They taste fine, but they aren't as rich as banana bread usually is. 

I won't make this again, but it'll keep my banana bread craving down for a bit. I should also mention, I made muffin tops instead of all muffins. They're the best part of the muffin anyhow. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe from Recipe Girl

Makes 12

• 3 medium very-ripe bananas
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 c nonfat milk
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 T mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat regular-sized muffin tin with cooking spray (or line with papers).

In a large bowl, mash bananas with fork. Whisk in egg, milk, and sugars.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet mixture and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon equal amounts of batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

2-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins (Recipe 130 of 150)

When I first read this recipe I exclaimed quite loud that this couldn't possibly work. The recipe for the cake mix calls for eggs, oil, water. How could putting a can of pureed pumpkin substitute for those ingredients. 

And yet, I'm here to tell you, it worked. The muffins came out moist, pillowy and delicious. I am now a believer. 

2-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Recipe from Spaceships and Laser Beams

Makes 12

• 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree
• 1 box Spice Cake Mix

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Dump the cake mix and pumpkin puree into a bowl.

Stir the muffin batter until everything is combined. A few dry spots or lumps are not a big deal, but still try to get the batter as even-looking as possible. 

Using a ½ cup measuring cup, portion the pumpkin spice muffin batter into a pre-lined jumbo muffin pan.

Bake for 18 to 25 minutes (depending on how big your muffins are) [JW Note: Mine took 28 minutes] until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack, and then enjoy!

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins (Recipe 125 of 150)

I have a ton of muffin recipes. I like muffins, but usually the recipes make too many and I get bored with them before they're gone. 

Today's recipe says it makes 20. I only made 12. No ONE needs 20 double chocolate muffins in their house. My plan is to freeze them, then take them out as I want them. 

I made one mistake with this recipe. I missed putting in the baking soda. I thought 2 tsp baking powder was a lot with no soda, but just missed seeing the soda. They seem fine. A little dense, but tastes fine. 

I almost didn't add the cinnamon because I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon. I only added half of what the recipe calls for and I wish I hadn't included it at all. 

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

Recipe from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

Makes 20

MUFFINS

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 c brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 c sour cream
• 2/3 c milk
• 1 c mini chocolate chips

CHEESECAKE LAYER

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 large egg

TOPPING

1/4 c mini chocolate chips

TO MAKE THE MUFFINS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside

Beat brown sugar and butter together until creamy. Add egg, vanilla and sour cream. Beat until smooth.

Slowly add the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixer, alternating between the two.

Fold in chocolate chips. Set aside

TO MAKE THE CHEESECAKE LAYER

Beat cream cheese until creamy. Add sugar and beat until smooth.

Add egg and beat until fully incorporated. Do not over mix.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Place a spoonful of the muffin batter into the bottom of each liner. Top with cheesecake layer. Top with the remaining batter.

Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until a tester comes out mostly clean.

Remove from oven and let cook for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Baked Hash Brown Cups (Recipe 119 of 150)

Last night was the Breakfast Sunday dinner. A fan favorite for sure. Besides pancakes (Krusteaz) and bacon, I decided to do these lovely hash brown muffins thingys. They turned out delicious. I think I over cooked them, but meh, they tasted delicious. 

Baked Hash Brown Cups

Recipe from Everyday Made Fresh

Serves 12

• 16 ounces shredded hash brown potatoes thawed
• ¾ cup parmesan cheese
• ½ cup panko bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• dash of paprika

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all of your ingredients, and gently stir, until everything is combined.

Fill up your muffin cups, pressing them down, as you fill each one.

Bake for at least 40 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. (time may vary depending on your preferences for doneness)

Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing them from the pan.

Top with whatever you normally top your hash browns with, and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Loaf (Recipe 82 of 150)

Photo from Love from the Oven

I had a few items in the house that I wanted to use up and so I found this recipe that would use up said items. 

This recipe isn't all that different from the Sour Cream Chocolate Chip muffins I made a week or so ago. I made this recipe originally in 2020 in the middle of covid. The main difference is this recipe didn't call for sour cream. But the rest is about the same. The result is a little less tangy. 

I've got it cut up and slices in the freezer. It'll be my breakfast/snack for the week or more. 

Chocolate Chip Loaf

Recipe from Love from the Oven

Makes 12 slices

• 2 c all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 T butter softened
• 2/3 c sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c buttermilk
• 1/2 c chocolate chips I prefer minis

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl using your mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in vanilla. Mix well.

Add half the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Add half the buttermilk and stir until just combined. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Do not over mix, you just want to make sure the dry and wet ingredients are combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into a 9x5 loaf pan that has been coated with non-stick spray.

Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean . Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack . Remove from pan and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Tops (Recipe of 46 of 150)

They look like cookies, but I swear
they are muffin tops.

Banana bread is one of my favorite breads. I don't make it too often because I will eat the entire loaf. And that is never good. I have a favorite banana bread recipe from my sister-in-law in St. Louis. She gave it to me a thousand years ago and the best bread pan every. She swore if I used that pan and her recipe I'd never over cook or under cook a banana bread recipe. She was not wrong. 

This recipe is good. It would be better without the chocolate chips, or maybe fewer of them. The chocolate chip ratio to banana bread is too high, IMHO. 

I bought a muffin top pan when I saw this recipe, or one like it, and I gotta say, I'm hooked. I really only like the top of muffins so this was perfect for me. I should have cooked them a little longer, but whatever, they're still good. 

I'd make this recipe again, but without the chocolate chips. 

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin Tops
Recipe from Kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com

Makes 12 muffin tops

• ½ c butter softened
• ½ c granulated sugar
• ½ c light brown sugar packed
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ c buttermilk room temperature
• 1⅓ c mashed bananas very ripe
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ⅔ c mini chocolate chips either milk or semi-sweet

Preheat the oven to 350°

Spray your muffin top pans or cookie sheet with a non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium-size mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and creamy.

Mix in the eggs, bananas, vanilla extract, and buttermilk until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir by hand until thoroughly combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin top cups ¾ full. (if using a cookie sheet, drop 1-2 tablespoonfuls of batter, depending on the size you want, to make each top.)

Bake on the center rack of the oven for approx. 15-minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin top comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for 10-minutes, then place pans on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Loaf (Recipe 46 of 125)

Photo from Love From the Oven

I am not a huge fan of baking. I can cook until the cows come home, but baking requires measuring and conciseness. I like to just "wing" it mostly. But every now and then a recipe comes along that I'm willing to be precise with. This was one of those recipes. 

This will be breakfast for the week and I may freeze half to take with me on a little weekend trip coming up....assuming I don't eat it all. This tangy loaf has sweet and tangy going on thanks to the buttermilk.  It doesn't require any additional butter on top either. Just eat it as is. 

Chocolate Chip Loaf
Lovefromtheoven.com

Serves 10

• 2 c all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 t butter softened
• 2/3 c sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c buttermilk
• 1/2 c chocolate chips I prefer minis

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl using your mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in vanilla. Mix well.

Add half the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Add half the buttermilk and stir until just combined. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Do not over mix, you just want to make sure the dry and wet ingredients are combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into a 9x5 loaf pan that has been coated with non-stick spray.

Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean . Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack . Remove from pan and enjoy!

Easy Double Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Photo from
SweetCdesigns

Lesson 1 of cooking...read the instructions BEFORE you get started. I did not for this recipe. I assumed it was just like every other muffin, cookie, cake recipe I've ever made. Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Mix dry and wet together...voila. 

Well, let's hope they turn out ok cuz I did not follow these instructions. In fact, reading them now they are a bit confusing. 

Further, I neglected to read the baking instructions. I popped them in at 425 for 6 minutes and they weren't done. So I put another 6 minute timer. THEN I read the instructions. Ugh.

I also did not refrigerate the batter...oh boy...these are going to be interesting.

Easy Double Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Recipe from SweetCDesigns

Makes 6

• 2 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 c cocoa powder
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2 extra large eggs
• 8 T unsalted butter melted
• 1 c plain yogurt or buttermilk (JW: I used buttermilk)
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c chocolate chunks or chocolate chips

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Toss the chocolate chunks into the dry ingredients to coat the chocolate chunks in flour (which will help them not sink to the bottom of the mix when baking!)

Make a well in the middle and add in eggs and vanilla, whisking vigorously.

Using a large spoon, mix rest of ingredients in to muffins until large clumps are gone and batter is consistently mixed - but do not overwork muffin batter.

Cover batter and refrigerate for one hour to overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Fill muffin cups to 3/4 full.

Bake at 425 for 6-10 minutes, until muffins have puffed slightly above muffin liner.

Reduce heat to 350 (DONT open oven when you do this) and bake until sides of muffins are slightly crunchy and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (after about 25-30 minutes total baking time.)

Cowboy Quiche

The Pantry Goat is coming over for breakfast today (and to pick up all the frozen leftovers I have for her). Making breakfast isn't something I do very often. I wanted to do something besides just pancakes. Turns out in my list of recipes I have a TON of pancake recipes (mostly low carb), several breakfast casseroles recipes and this single quiche casserole. 

Now, if you've been reading my blog for some time you know I'm no fan of eggs. I don't hate them, I am just not likely to eat them on purpose. So quiche seems like an odd choice right? Turns out that I love quiche. I think it's the cream in the eggs and all the goodies in them ... oh and the pie crust. 

Cowboy Quiche
Recipe from the Pioneer Woman

Serves 10

• 

  Beautiful Photo from Pioneer Woman

  1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust (enough For A Deep Dish Pan)
  
• 2 whole Yellow Onions, Sliced
• 2 T Butter
• 8 slices Bacon
• 8 whole Large Eggs
• 1-1/2 c Heavy Cream Or Half-and-Half
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 2 c Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Fry the onions in the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat for at least 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deep golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Fry the bacon until chewy. Chop into large bite-sized pieces and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the pie crust and press it into a large fluted deep tart pan (or a deep dish pie pan).

Whip the eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a large bowl, then mix in the onions, bacon, and cheese. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.

Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet, cover lightly with aluminum foil, and bake it for about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the quiche is set and the crust is golden brown. (The quiche will still seem slightly loose, but will continue to set once remove from the oven.)

Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.