Spending Time in the Kitchen: Espresso Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Don't we all need a little pick me up on a Monday? What better to do that with than espresso, chocolate and banana?! These muffins are quite delicious and surprisingly easy to make.

                                                                           Source: kitchenisms.com via Alexis on Pinterest

                                                                              Source: kitchenisms.com via Luisa on Pinterest

I'm really feeling these colorful and cozy kitchens today, aren't you?

Now onto the good stuff...

1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, sugars, butter, milk, and egg. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill each cup about 3/4 full. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. 

Tips: I used dark chocolate chunks for mine. You all know I'm a fan of dark chocolate and the chunks instead of chips made them very decadent. Make sure the bananas you use are ripe as in probably just past the time you'd  normally eat them, you want them soft. I used 4 bananas in a food processor to mash them and it was way too many. Luckily I had some vanilla ice cream on hand which meant, banana milkshakes OH YEAH!

Enjoy!