A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her of me and dropped it off in our mailbox, which really touched me. 💛 Life is too freaking short not to make conscious decisions to do more of what makes you happy, and to cut out the things that don’t. Rainbow Rowell said it best, “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
The face and the daily hiccups… 😍 The face and the daily hiccups… 😍
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins from Baked Bakery

October 26, 2009 · Narrative

Muffins on Cooling Rack

In the stack of books on my nightstand, amongst the chick lit, biographies and business and finance books, you’ll see a few cookbooks nestled into the stack as well.  I like reading cookbooks too.  Half of you may think that’s weird.  The other half will totally get it.  I like reading the history of the chef, or how a restaurant got its start.  I like reading the intro to the recipes and hearing how it was created and where the inspiration came from.  I like thumbing through and sticking Post-Its on recipes that I want to make.  Reading a cookbook is as satisfying as reading any of the other books in my stack.  It just touches a different part of my psyche.

Last week, I made it to the Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook, a tome of recipes from the 4-year-old bakery in Brooklyn.  The introduction told of how the partners got their start, defying the odds and creating their space from an old church.  Just to keep the construction project going, and the momentum to boot, they filled orders from their dining room table.  When the bakery finally opened in January 2005, they were making just 48 cookies a day.  Six months later, it was 200 a day.  And now?  Well, let’s just say that after being featured in both Oprah‘s magazine and on an episode of Martha Stewart, they’re a little more than the little bakery that could.  They’re the little bakery that did.

With four bananas on the kitchen counter that seemed destined for banana bread (the babysitter kept threatening to throw them away – as if!), as soon as I saw this recipe for Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins in the cookbook, I knew they were meant for greater things than just banana bread.  Muffins are an easy sell in this house, and the perfect grab-and-go breakfast for Nick, who never leaves enough time to sit down and eat a leisurely breakfast on school days.  With the chocolate in them, they were a no-brainer.

After the kids were in bed, I turned the oven on and started getting out the ingredients.  Half an hour later, Nick wandered downstairs, asking what smelled so good.  The smell of these fresh-baked muffins literally hung in the air for days, and every time someone came over, they asked the same thing, “What smells so good?!”

Nick grabbed a napkin, and a muffin, and headed back upstairs.  The next morning, he grabbed two for breakfast, and an extra one for his lunchbox.  After school, he polished off two more.  Although he likes muffins, and baked goods with bananas in them, I’ve never seen him go through muffins that quickly.  He was responsible for polishing off at least half the batch himself over the course of a few days.  And no wonder.

I swear these take just minutes to assemble.  They make great use of pantry items, and overly ripe bananas, saving you a trip to the store.  And they’re good.  Even better toasted with a little swipe of soft butter.  Moist.  Not too dense.  Fantastic flavor.  They get that perfect little dome after baking that you just know a muffin should have.  This is totally not the most famous recipe that the Baked bakery is known for, but if this first recipe I’ve made out of their cookbook is any indication, we’re in trouble here.  Real, serious trouble.

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe courtesy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

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. Move the muffin pan to a cooling rack, and let cool  for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the muffins from the pan and let them finish cooling on the cooling rack. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Yield: 12 muffins (I got 16)

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Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: Baked bakery, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins, Brooklyn, Martha Stewart, Oprah

Comments

  1. Jun Belen says

    October 26, 2009 at 10:42 pm

    I love espresso. I love chocolate. I love bananas. And I love muffins. And you just got them all. Great photo, too!

    Reply
  2. Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says

    October 27, 2009 at 12:00 am

    These sound scrumptious! I love the addition of espresso here!

    Reply
  3. Joanne says

    October 27, 2009 at 6:14 am

    I might have to do three things. 1) Bake these muffins (duh). 2) Buy that cookbook. 3) Go to this bakery! What is the point of living in Manhattan if you don’t go to Brooklyn every once in a while to get baked goods (or other food)?? Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!

    Reply
  4. Lucy says

    October 27, 2009 at 6:57 am

    I’m not surprised these muffins went so quickly – they look utterly gorgeous! Love the flavour combinations :)

    Reply
  5. Nirvana says

    October 27, 2009 at 7:33 am

    I have a bunch of ripe bananas in my kitchen right now – I’m SO excited to make this! :)

    Reply
  6. Cathy says

    October 27, 2009 at 8:30 am

    These sound delicious! I love all baking that incorporates espresso and bananas.

    Reply
  7. Ramona says

    October 27, 2009 at 9:02 am

    It sounds like I’m going to have to invest in some espresso powder.

    I love to make recipes that are T&T.

    Ramona

    Reply
  8. Sarah Caron says

    October 27, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    A good friend of mine makes the Baked recipe for brownies and it’s just to die for. You have to try it sometime. They are amazingly fudgy and wonderful. These muffins sound great too.

    Reply
  9. Jen says

    October 27, 2009 at 5:40 pm

    wow,I am so inspired!

    Reply
  10. Debbie says

    October 27, 2009 at 7:47 pm

    Since I love everything banana and have all the ingredients in the pantry I will just have to make these….I love the addition of the espresso….so good!

    Reply
  11. Patsy Kreitman says

    October 27, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    Oh, these are going into my “to try” pile! Only thing I don’t have on hand is the espresso powder… will put it on the shopping list now!

    Reply
  12. Claire says

    October 27, 2009 at 9:39 pm

    Mmmm, mmmm, mmm! I’ve got lots of bananas sitting in my freezer. These muffins look perfect!

    Reply
  13. Julia @ Mélanger says

    October 27, 2009 at 10:38 pm

    I will have to check that book out. Sounds right up my alley. I can put it with all my other baking books that I love to curl up and read! Totally get you!

    Reply
  14. mandy says

    October 28, 2009 at 10:40 am

    I enjoy reading cookbooks as well so I get that. These muffins sound quite tastey, I love the addition of espresso.

    Reply
  15. lisaiscooking says

    October 28, 2009 at 6:38 pm

    I haven’t made it to that book in my stack yet! It’s been sitting there for months, and I keep hearing about it and thinking I need to get to it soon. Your muffins look great. Can’t wait to try them.

    Reply
  16. grace says

    November 1, 2009 at 9:26 am

    no, it’s no surprise that these vanished so quickly. i’ve certainly had banana-chocolate chip muffins and i’m a fan of chocolate and coffee together, but the threesome is not something i’ve tried. clearly, i need to get on that. :)

    Reply
  17. Tian says

    July 7, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    Hi from Melbourne

    I borrowed Baked from the library and made these yday. I found it too moist. Hmm I think it could do with less wet ingredients, perhap less butter. Tasty otherwise

    Reply
  18. Caroline says

    August 17, 2011 at 1:34 pm

    I had purchased instant espresso ages ago for another recipe and now I keep it on hand all the time! So glad I did – the discovery of this recipe also coincided with the perfect ripeness of a couple of bananas on my counter, and the rest is all pantry ingredients! Fell in love with the taste, the look and the smell of these! Now sharing the recipe with friends – thanks so much for posting! :)

    Reply
  19. Kim says

    October 20, 2012 at 2:56 am

    This recipe is the bomb. Seriously tasty!

    Reply
  20. Sharlin says

    May 1, 2013 at 3:47 pm

    Thank you for posting this recipe! I’d heard good things about it, and I was eager to try it. It turned out exactly as you described it–thank you so much! I will definitely make it again, and I would encourage anyone who’s thinking about it to make them without hesitation.

    Reply

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A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
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A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her of me and dropped it off in our mailbox, which really touched me. 💛 Life is too freaking short not to make conscious decisions to do more of what makes you happy, and to cut out the things that don’t. Rainbow Rowell said it best, “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
The face and the daily hiccups… 😍 The face and the daily hiccups… 😍

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