Small Batch Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

About These Small Batch Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These small batch banana chocolate chip muffins are packed with flavor thanks to a generous amount of bananas, sour cream, brown sugar, and mini chocolate chips! Their crumb tastes like your favorite banana bread, but with the addition of a crispy, sky-high, and domed muffin top! The recipe is small batch and makes only 6 muffins, perfect for a household of 2 to 4 people.

These small batch banana chocolate chip muffins come together quickly.

I mentioned earlier that this small batch banana chocolate chip muffin recipe is based on the banana muffin in my cookbook, Weeknight Baking. In my cookbook, I exclusively share recipes that come together quickly (or can be broken down so that they are made quickly over the span of a few nights) and suitable for baking on weeknights. This recipe fits that criteria—the batter comes together in just 15 minutes!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make small batch banana chocolate chip muffins, here’s everything you need:

Shopping List

• bananas
• sour cream
• pure vanilla extract
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• baking powder
• kosher salt
• unsalted butter
• brown sugar
• large eggs
• mini- OR regular-sized chocolate chips

This recipe works best if you use incredibly ripe, spotted, and almost black bananas. How ripe should bananas be for banana muffins? VERY ripe. Like “leaving them on the counter for another day is a bad idea because it would attract too many fruit flies” ripe.

How To Make The Recipe

Here are the basic steps to make small batch banana chocolate chip muffins from scratch:

First, prep the ingredients.

1. First, prep the ingredients for the muffin batter. (Prep Time: 5 minutes)
   Luckily, prep for this recipe is fairly easily. Prep the bananas, then chop the chocolate if you’re using chocolate from bars. Then, make sure all the ingredients—specifically, the sour cream, butter, and egg—are at room temperature. Similarly, if you’re using frozen bananas, make sure they are at room temperature too. That’s it!

Next, make the muffins.

1. Next, make the batter. (Work Time: 10 minutes)
   The banana nut muffin batter comes together in just 10 minutes or less. Simply cream together the butter, sugar, and egg, then add the dry ingredients in two parts. Finally, add the banana, sour cream, and vanilla, then mix in the chocolate chips.
   
   
2. Then, assemble the muffins. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   One of the secrets to super tall and domed muffins is to fill up each cavity in the muffin pan with a generous amount of batter. And when I say generous, I MEAN generous. I instruct you to fill the paper liners all the way up to the brim with 6 Tablespoons of batter! It’ll seem like too much, but trust me. It’s the secret to super tall and domed muffin tops!
   
   As always, using the right tools will make the job go by quicker and faster. I like to use a 1-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop or a 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop to fill each cavity evenly and efficiently with the right amount of batter.

Finally, bake the muffins.

1. Bake the muffins. (Bake Time: 22 minutes)
   The banana chocolate chip muffins need 22 to 34 minutes in the oven. Because of all the chocolate in the recipe, it can be hard to tell when the muffins are done. A skewer inserted into the center of a muffin will likely come out with chocolate streaks, leading you to believe that it needs more time in the oven.
   
   So if you have a digital cooking thermometer, use it! Stick it in the center of a muffin, similar to how you would stick a skewer in a muffin to test for doneness. If the muffins are done, the thermometer should read any temperature between 190°F and 200°F.

Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ

Why do I need to fill the empty cavities of the muffin pan with water?

Great question! Filling the empty muffin cavities with water promotes even baking. Why? Most recipes are designed to fill all cavities of the muffin pan. Empty cavities will cause the air in the oven to move through the cavities at a faster rate, potentially changing the Bake Time of the recipe. And if you’re not careful, this can lead to overheating and overcooking of the filled cavities. So it’s best to just play it safe and fill the empty cavities with water to mimic how the pan would cook if it was 100% filled.

Can I make the banana chocolate chip muffin batter and save it for baking later?

Yes, you can! This muffin batter keeps, unbaked, for up to 36 hours in the fridge. To refrigerate, simply cover the mixer bowl with a tight layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate.

When ready to bake, follow the instructions for scooping the batter into the muffin tin in the recipe. There’s no need to wait for the batter to come back to room temperature before baking! However, you may need to add 1 to 2 minutes of extra Bake Time to the recipe to compensate for the cooler batter.

Can you freeze banana chocolate chip muffins?

Yes! Place individually wrapped muffins in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw them in the refrigerator the night before you’re planning on serving. You can then rewarm in the microwave, or sliced in half lengthwise in the oven or toaster oven with a pat of butter on each half.