Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping

Do I even need to write words in this post with a recipe title like that? Probably not, but I just can’t help myself.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

Recognize the new board I’m using? Pretty excited about it!

Now back to butter.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

Brown butter to be exact. It’s easier than you think to make and adds a whole extra depth of flavor to baked goods. In this recipe I’ve used it in the muffins and in the streusel topping. If you can keep yourself from eating all of the topping before putting the muffins in the oven I commend you. It’s kind of insane. You’ll see soon enough.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

See. Right here.

I did something a little tricky and not only used brown butter in this topping but also banana! It gives the muffins an extra kick of happy. The mixture isn’t a crumble due to the mashed banana but more of a thick dough. You are going to l.o.v.e. it.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

Someone please come help me on baking days. The messes are out of control. Especially when multiple trials are involved. Luckily, these muffins only needed two tries.

I tried to change up a few things from an existing recipe, like adding an extra egg and changing the flour ratios, but I could tell with the first bite they weren’t up to snuff for you guys. The extra egg was just too much. If you’ve ever added 1 egg too many to a baked good you know what I mean. It’s like it turns too stiff or something and doesn’t have as tender a crumb.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

But the good news is batch two exceeded my expectations.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

The texture was possibly the best yet for any muffin I’ve made and the little crunchy bits of chocolate just take it to another level. Not to mention the crunchy brown butter banana streusel topping.

Still can’t get over the topping.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

The muffins have a lovely crispy top [!!!] and a perfectly soft and tender interior texture. It’s just the right amount of crumbly. The kind you can bite through without it falling into a million pieces. They’re dense in a good way and just lightly sweet, per the usual.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

These muffins.

Need to happen in your kitchen.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

Print this!

adapted from my Coconut Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping

gluten-free // yields 12-14 standard muffins

for the topping:

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons softened brown butter
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons well mashed banana
  • 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons gluten-free rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
  • 1/4 cup muscovado sugar, or brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

for the muffins:

  • 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
  • 3/4 cup raw buckwheat flour
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons almond meal
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons ground flax meal
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons well mashed banana
  • 6 tablespoons 2% milk
  • 6 tablespoons honey
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons melted brown butter, slightly cooled
  • 3/4 – 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350* F and thoroughly grease a 12 tin standard muffin pan with butter or use liners.

In a bowl combine all of the ingredients for the streusel topping. Mash with a fork for a minute or so until it all comes together and turns into a very thick, paste-like dough. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flours, almond meal, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir well.

In another bowl whisk together the eggs, banana, almond milk, honey, and vanilla until fully combined. Whisk in the butter and pour the wet mixture into the dry bowl. Whisk or stir until just combined [when you no longer see dry flour].

Fold in the chocolate chips then scoop the mixture into the muffin tin until each mold is just over 3/4 the way full. Using your fingers drop little dots of the topping mixture onto the top of each muffin until you’ve used it all. Place muffin tins in your oven and bake for 20-24 minutes until golden brown around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes then slide a knife around the edge and place on a cooling rack until fully cooled. Serve or store in a sealed container for 3-4 days. For the best texture allow muffins to fully cool.

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notes: I recommend grinding your own buckwheat flour at home with raw groats [pale yellow/green color] for a lighter flavor. You can grind them in a blender, food processor, or coffee grinder until flour-like in texture. Sift if needed and store in the fridge. Regular buckwheat flour will work but the flavor will be more pronounced. Regular butter or can be subbed instead of the brown butter if desired. To make this dairy free: Use almond or soy milk instead of 2% and use coconut oil in place of the brown butter.

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How to make Brown Butter: Heat a light colored saucepan [so you can see the brown bits] over medium/medium-low heat with 1 stick of butter cut into tablespoon sized pieces. Let melt then start whisking constantly. While you whisk the butter will start to foam, then simmer, then turn clear, and then foam a bit more and eventually little brown bits will start to show up after a few minutes. When brown bits start to form remove the pan from the heat and continue to whisk for another 20 seconds. Pour into a jar, let cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate or use in its liquid form. You’ll definitely be able to see and smell [very rich and nutty] when the butter starts to brown. If you’re using higher temperature or leave it on the burner for too long it will burn. You want golden brown liquid, not at all blackened.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins with Brown Butter Banana Streusel Topping | edibleperspective.com #glutenfree

How about that for your Wednesday?

Ashley

Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth {giveaway}

If there is one thing you’ve learned about me while perusing this blog it’s that I love breakfast. And this Quiona-Banana Skillet Bake is going to be my new go-to dish to serve for brunch. But it’s also perfect to make on a Sunday and dish out all week long.

Basically, I’m going to make this again + again.

Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan
Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan

The recipe actually comes from Myra [and her daughter Marea] Goodman’s latest book, Straight From the Earth. If you don’t know who Myra is, she is the co-founder of Earthbound Farm. Can you imagine being 1 of 2 people who FOUNDED Earthbound Farm?? Kind of insane.

Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan
Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend a few hours with Myra this past October on my tripto visit Earthbound Farm in California. We got to hear the entire detailed timeline of how Myra and Drew [her husband] started EBF on their 2 1/2 acre property in Carmel Valley back in 1984.

She told us amazing and hilarious stories about how the two packaged salad greens in their living room and how Myra’s dad would invent machines for them to use to help streamline the process. Myra was so warm and candid as she spoke about their story, like it was the very first time she was telling anyone how Earthbound Farm came to be. It was inspiring, to say the least.

Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan
Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan

During that trip Myra let us know about her latest cookbook, Straight From the Earth. This cookbook was going to be different than her previous work, in that it’s entirely vegan. She also co-wrote this with her daughter, Marea. Their goal was to highlight how beautiful, satisfying, and simple cooking with fruits and vegetables can be.

Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan
Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan

You’ll find over 90 plant-based recipes that are truly fit for anyone’s lifestyle. The book is filled with useful ingredient information, beautiful photographs, and recipes for any level of home cook. If you’re new to a plant-based diet, or are just looking to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet this cook will be a great new resource for you.

And today Myra + Marea are offering a giveaway to Edible Perspective readers!

A few recipes you’ll find inside:

  • Crispy Potatoes and Tempeh Stir-Fry
  • Blackberry Bran Muffins
  • Spinach Salad with Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash and Walnuts
  • Cabbage and Carrot Crunch Salad
  • Easy Vegetable Stock
  • Sweet Summer Corn Soup
  • Thai Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce
  • Fried Green Tomatoes
  • Summer Pesto Pizza
  • Plantain Tacos with Pureed Black Beans and Mango-Lime Salsa
  • Banana-Coconut Cake
  • Stone Fruit Crumble

And that’s just the very beginning.

Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan
Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan

Today’s post is sponsored by Earthbound Farm.  Product opinions are always my own.  Thank you for supporting the occasional sponsored post that helps fund all the deliciousness + behind the scenes action you see here.

This bake is similar to an oatmeal bake, except the difference in the grain. It doesn’t stiffen into bar-form but still holds together nicely when portioned into bowls. The quinoa has a nice crunchy texture and the dates and banana help glue it all together and sweeten the dish naturally.

Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan
Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan

Print this!

Recipe from: Straight From the Earth by Myra Goodman [Reprinted with permission.]

Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake

gluten-free, vegan // serves 6

  • 4 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 cup quinoa, thoroughly rinsed
  • 2 cups very hot water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 medium bananas, diagonally sliced
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates
  • 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 375*F/190*C/gas 5.

Warm 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the quinoa and stir well to coat the grains. After 3 minutes, add the hot water and salt. Raise the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a 9-inch/23-cm cast-iron skillet [or oven-safe, nonstick pan]. Add the bananas and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, turning to brown on both sides. It may be necessary to do this in batches. Transfer the bananas to a plate and reserve. Set the skillet aside for later use.

After the quinoa has cooked for 10 minutes, add the dates, coconut, half the sautéed bananas, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Stir well and remove the pan from the heat. Pour the quinoa mixture into the reserved skillet and spread evenly.

Combine the walnuts and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl and stir to blend. Scatter the mixture over the quinoa and spread evenly to cover. Arrange the remaining cooked bananas atop the nut mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and fragrant. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

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Edible Perspective Notes:

  • Next time I would reduce the oil from 2 to 1 tablespoon in the pot of quinoa.
  • I omitted the sugar, except for sprinkling about 2 teaspoons of muscovado sugar on top with the nuts. The dates and caramelized bananas make this plenty sweet for breakfast and I would even omit the sprinkling on top next time. You can always add maple syrup on top if desired.
  • Using just ripened, but still firm bananas will work best. Soft bananas will be harder to flip when cooking in the pan.
  • As Myra mentioned, it’s easier to cook the bananas in 2 batches and they take about 2-3 minutes per side over medium-high heat. I would pre-heat the pan with 1 tablespoon of oil [for each round] while the quinoa is coming to a boil, so you have time to cook all of the bananas before the quinoa is done.
  • There will be water left in the pot with quinoa, which is normal and it will absorb while baking.
  • I used a 10-inch cast iron pan and it was finished in 16 minutes.
  • I used pecans instead of walnuts [what I had on hand] and added fresh berries on top.
Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan
Breakfast Friday | Quinoa-Banana Skillet Bake from Straight From the Earth -- edibleperspective.com #vegan

If you’d like the chance to win a copy of Myra + Marea’s cookbook, Straight From the Earth, fill out the information below for 2 chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy weekend!

Ashley