Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

I love baking banana bread or muffins. It's pretty fast and easy to come together, makes a great snack, and I almost always have a couple of bananas that I have left too long and don't care to eat anymore.

All these reasons gave way to my decision bake them for work. To be honest, I had almost forgotten I signed up for this week's snacks and was kind of scrambling (I also needed to do groceries but it was hubby's soccer night so I wasn't going anywhere!).

I pulled up my go to recipe to make sure I had everything (you can find it here: Banana muffins ) and got on my way. As it turned out, I didn't have enough yogurt but I did have a little bit of sour cream so I used both in place of the yogurt; I think it was a bit more than I normally use (of course I didn't measure!). I also was craving chocolate so I added 3-4 tbsp of cocoa (which I also didn't measure but went till it looked chocolate-y enough for me). 

The result: really moist and delicious banana muffins. They seemed more moist than I remembered (now this could be because they really were OR because I hadn't had a gluten muffin in so long that I truly forgot how amazing and moist baked goods can be!) and the cocoa was a great addition. They were a ht at work and with my hubby and child!

I literally just tweaked a couple of things from my original post (Banana Muffins), but here is the recipe in its entirety. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup plain (Greek) yogurt
3/4 cup sour cream
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3-4 tbsp cocoa (Dutch, unprocessed)
3 bananas, mashed
1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

Directions:

1. Mix oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, yogurt and sour cream in a large bowl.  Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and soda, and cocoa.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. (At this point, if it doesn't look chocolate-y enough, add another tablespoon of cocoa.)

3.  Add the mashed bananas and fold in.  Add the chocolate chips.

4.  Place the batter in lined (or greased) muffin tins, about 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated 365F oven for 20 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins.

Italian Easter Bread - Pane do Pasqua

I've always wanted to make a traditional Easter bread so this year I actually did it. I had a lot of fun decorating the eggs with my little one and we had a blast making the dough as well. While I didn't taste my own bread (still trying gluten free) it smelled amazing as I baked it and I got positive feedback at Easter lunch!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp. 

1/2 cup milk

2-1/2 tsp yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3 eggs, room temp. 

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Zest of one lemon

4-1/2 - 5 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp ground anise seed

1 tsp salt

6 hard boiled eggs (optional, don't have to be hard boiled)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter just until the butter melts. Set aside to cool. 

2. Add 1 tbsp sugar to the warm water and stir to mix. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and set aside for 5 minutes. 

3. In a stand mixer, whisk together the eggs and sugar until combined. Add the butter/milk mixture, yeast mixture, vanilla, zest and anise. Mix together until all the wet ingredients are combined. 

4. Switch to the dough hook and add in 4-1/2 cups flour and salt; mix until a soft dough forms. Gradually add more flour to make a smooth and slightly sticky dough. 

5. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few more minutes until very smooth. Shape into a ball. 

6. Grease the bowl with oil and return the dough, turning to cover in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1-1/2 hours until it has doubled in volume. 

7. Line a very large baking sheet (or 2 sheets) with parchment paper and lightly grease. 

8. When the dough is ready, punch it down on a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 equal pieces. 

9. Roll each piece into a rope about 22" long. Lay two ropes side by side and loosely braid them together. 

10.  Lift the braid onto the baking sheet and pinch the ends to seal into a circle. Place 3 eggs in each circle lengthwise, tucking them between the ropes. (I used hardboiled eggs, but you can put them in uncooked and they will cook as the bread does.)

11. Repeat this process with the other two braids. 

12. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45 minutes until doubled. 

13. Brush the tops with egg wash (and sprinkle with sprinkles if you desire). Bake them for 30 minutes in a 350F oven until golden and cooked through. (The bread should sound hollow when tapped.)

14. Let cool then slice and serve. 

This picture is deceiving.  These are not small individual buns, but two large breads.