Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins

Let’s ease into fall-baking, okay? I mean, I’ve been ready since September 1st to bring on the pumpkin and spice…but I know not everyone is quite as enthusiastic as I am for the best-season-of-all-the-seasons, AUTUMN! Basically, this is my transition from fall to summer and as soon as that equinox arrives, you better believe I’ll be smashing open a can of pumpkin.

So, let’s ease into it with nutty brown butter, a little spice, wholesome bananas, and a little chocolate for good measure. These muffins are moist and tender, rich with brown butter and banana, and indulgent thanks to the chocolate. Banana is basically an all-season fruit to me, but paired with chocolate and browned butter, it speaks of early fall and the much-anticipated baking season. So, pull on a sweater, grab a cuppa something warm, and get to baking!

[recipe]

Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana Muffins

I used a bar of chocolate provided to me by Kallari, an Ecuadorian farmer-owned, organic chocolate company. Kallari was kind enough to send me a sample to try out and I used it in these muffins. Their chocolate is rich, smooth, and comes with an amazing mission. They grow and own the cacao and make it into chocolate, and pay a living wage while striving to conserve both their culture and land.* Feel free to use whatever chocolate you like. 

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt

3 tablespoons milk

2 ripe bananas, mashed

2 eggs

5 tablespoons butter, browned

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ounces chopped dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well.

Brown your butter in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids in the butter turn deep golden brown and smell nutty and fragrant. Pour into a small dish, making sure to scrape out all of the browned bits, and set aside to cool.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and sugar. Set aside.

In another bowl whisk together the yogurt, milk, banana, eggs, the cooled brown butter, and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Fold until just combined, don’t over mix! Some small lumps are okay. Fold in the chopped chocolate.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups and bake in the center of the oven for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Can be stored, covered well in the refrigerator, for 4 days. [/recipe]

*Kallari provided me with chocolate to sample. I was not paid for this post, as usual all opinions are my own.