A Friends-tastic Muffin

During my college years, my friend Valerie and I would get together every Thursday night for a sushi dinner and to watch Friends and ER. Inevitably we’d become hungry sometime between the two shows and, more often than not, would make banana chocolate chip muffins to tide us over during our favorite ‘90s television lineup. 

Over the years I’ve made dozens of variations of those muffins. Last year, after adding some espresso powder to the mix, I finally feel the recipe is perfect-neither too sweet nor too dense and the espresso adds a subtle touch of complexity.  

Banana Chocolate Chip Espresso Muffins

Yield: 12 standard size muffins

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 tablespoon milk

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg
1/2 cup chocolate chips

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line or grease a standard size muffin tin.

In a small bowl or ramekin, dissolve the espresso powder in the milk and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

In a medium bowl, mix the mashed bananas, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, melted butter, and espresso mixture. Add the banana mixture and chocolate chips to flour mixture and mix together until just combined. The batter will be stiff. 

Fill muffin liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 23-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (I also check the crack in the muffin top to make sure it isn’t undercooked).