Full Gastronomic Tilt

I’m preparing for a vacation to the Pacific Northwest and trying to use up as many ingredients in my fridge and cabinet as possible so I don’t come home to spoiled or stale food.  Happened to have three very ripe bananas on hand and half a bag of chocolate chips left over from last weekend’s “pantry cookies” (chocolate chip, pecan, coconut and rosemary cookies – delightful!), so I decided to make these muffins to use up the last of my flour.  Already out of white flour, I used all whole wheat pastry flour.  Next time I’ll definitely use half white, half whole wheat, as these turned out slightly too dense.  Good flavor, though.  The agave nectar worked as a great substitute for regular old sugar and resulted in a muffin with just the right amount of sweetness.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
(inspired by Mark Bittman’s “Muffins, Infinite Ways”)
makes 12 medium muffins, or 6 medium and 12 mini muffins

Ingredients

3 very ripe bananas
scant ¼ cup agave nectar
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
¼ cup milk
½ cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease your muffin tin(s) with butter or oil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
Mash bananas and agave nectar together in a medium bowl.
Add the egg, milk and melted butter to the banana agave mixture and mix well.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the banana mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir quickly, folding in the ingredients. The batter should be on the lumpy side, but moist.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Enjoy still-warm, with a dab of butter.