Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Do you ever have this problem - you buy a huge bunch of bananas at the store and by the end of the week you've eaten maybe one? You find yourself standing in your kitchen staring at a bunch of bananas that are quickly becoming overripe. You're sick of smoothies, so what do you do?

I usually solve this problem by making banana bread. But, to be honest, I'm getting a little tired of the same old same old. So when I found myself with a bunch of ripe bananas this morning, I decided to make banana muffins. Not a far cry from banana bread, but different nonetheless, especially since I tried a new recipe.

I've been perusing a number of food blogs lately as I embark on my own blogging journey and this week I came across Debbie's banana and chocolate chip muffins. I figured, what the heck, and gave her recipe a try. The muffins are still cooling so I don't know what they taste like yet, but they certainly smell divine.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts

Makes 12 muffins (I got 17)

½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup packed brown sugar (less, if bananas are extremely ripe)
4 egg whites
3 large ripe bananas (about 3 cups mashed)
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate chips (I used a full cup since it didn't look like enough chips)

Preheat oven to 350. Oil or spray muffin tins, or use paper liners.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer or by hand, beat the oil, sugar, egg whites, and mashed bananas until well blended. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet with quick strokes. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in the vanilla and the chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Turn the muffins out of the tin and cool on a rack.