Bran & Flax Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is by far my favourite banana muffin recipe, maybe even my favourite muffin recipe period. It was given to me by a former work colleague, who found it in a newspaper article almost a decade ago. I have yet to find a better tasting banana or bran muffin (healthy or otherwise!). I hope you’ll love them as much as I do – and as much as the wee ones did at this mornings visit to the Early Years Centre at my son’s school – seven children (ages 18 months – 5 years) devoured half a dozen of these healthy treats in under two minutes!

So what makes these muffins so healthy? Well, first of all they contain no butter or oil! AND, they contain wheat bran and ground flaxseed – both very beneficial to your diet. Stay tuned for a post about bran and flaxseed!

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour (to make them extra healthy, I sometimes use spelt flour)

3/4 cup wheat bran

3/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (regular sized ones will work, too AND I sometimes toss in a few extra, though I do also make them without any chocolate chips and the kids still love them)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt (I generally omit salt from my baking)

1 and 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (I let the beater do the mashing!)

3/4 cup dark brown sugar (I often use less)

3/4 cup buttermilk (this morning I used 3/4 cup kefir instead and they were SENSATIONAL!)

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients using a spoon.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the bananas until mashed.

Add the wet ingredients and beat until blended.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Let cool completely before removing paper liner, or the liner will not come off cleanly.

 

What’s your favourite healthy banana muffin or bran muffin recipe?