I’m not a strict vegan by any stretch of the imagination. Still, it’s not unusual for me to prepare vegan fare each week. Flavor is queen in the kitchen. If you’ve tried any of the vegan dishes I've shared, you know that you don’t need animal products to make a delicious and nutritious meal. I struggle with constructing desserts that are both vegan and appealing to me.
Usually vegan desserts taste “veganized” to me, and I’m left feeling guiltily resentful of the dessert, as if it is trying to pull a fast one on me. Also, I can’t eat many vegan desserts because many of the recipes make up for the lack of butter and eggs by stuffing extra sugar into each bite.
Today I’m here to attest to the glory found in unearthing a vegan sweet treat recipe that didn’t make me miss the butter-egg-sugar combo I’ve been conditioned to enjoy in dessert. Below you’ll find a secret ingredient recipe for vegan banana chocolate chip muffins, fluffy baked goods you’ll wish you’d known about your whole life.
The secret ingredient?
Absence without longing or bitterness. Sounds highfalutin, friends, but this recipe was crafted so that you don’t even know you’re missing out on eggs and butter. By the time you learn it’s vegan, you’re well into the second muffin and could care less.
Vegan Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Muffins Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup water
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped raw walnuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 370 degrees F. Insert muffin papers in the tins, and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, use a fork to mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
Grab the stand mixer (or a large bowl and your hand mixer), and beat the sugar and oil together on medium speed for 1 minute. Then, add the mashed bananas. Stir in the water and vanilla, and mix thoroughly (about 30 seconds). Now, lower the mixer speed to "stir" or "low," and add the flour mixture, along with the chocolate chips and walnuts, stirring until just mixed. Overmixing the batter at this point will toughen the baked muffins.
Fill each muffin tin evenly with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let them cool in pans for 5 minutes, and then move the muffins to a cooling rack. They are best eaten warm or within 2 days of making them.