Ultra Low-Fat Double Chocolate Banana Muffins that my kids LOVE

I hesitated to put this recipe up, as it’s not the standard fat laden chocolate bomb that most Double Chocolate muffins happen to be. But then again, maybe you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path, and quite honestly this recipe tugs at my heart for 3 reasons.

The first muffins I remember truly loving were the banana chocolate chip ones from the local grocery store. You know, the kind you buy individually for about a buck a piece. My dad used to always get me those, so I have fond memories of that particular flavor, which these totally remind me of.  Then there’s the fact that the ONLY fat in these happen to be the chocolate chips, which obviously you can control how much you put in. Lastly…my kids loved them, even knowing that they were “healthy”.

Now I have to say, the texture of these muffins take on a dramatic change from hot to cold. Fresh from the oven the texture is more reminiscent of traditional muffins, fluffy and soft. When they are cooled they tend to be more spongy and dense, perfect with a glass of milk if you ask me. This is the type of “treat” that is perfect as an after school snack and they are not overly sweet, so you don’t even have to feel guilty about it!

I adapted this recipe from Kittencal’s Extreme 1-Gram Lowfat Banana-Blueberry Muffins found of recipezaar.com. I’m sure the original tastes great, but we’ve never really been fans of fruit muffins or piees, so I changed it up a little suit our tastes.

Ultra Low-Fat Double Chocolate Banana Muffins-makes 7-8 large muffins:

• 1 tsp vinegar+1/4 cup skim milk (or 1/4 fat free plain yogurt or 1/4 cup low fat sour cream)
• 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 TBLS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 3 small ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin and set aside.
• If you are using the milk and vinegar-combine then in a small bowl, stir, and set aside.
• In a mixing bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (flour thru chocolate chips) and mix well.
• In a separate bowl combine the mashed bananas, sugar, egg and vanilla. Mix well and then add in the milk and stir carefully.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the the mixing bowl with they dry ingredients and mix until everything is just moistened.
• Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full, this will yield 7-8 large muffins.
• Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick cones out clean.