Pinterest Test Kitchen: Brownie Bottom Banana Bread Muffins

Yep, it’s another baking post. This week, my baking endeavors were for a good cause.

For several years now, our church, Grace Calvary Chapel, has focused on missions to Honduras. They have worked closely with a ministry called Eternal Family Project, which is a home that a girl that I went to high school with started for girls who do not have families. She becomes a mother to these girls, raising them and making sure they get a good education so that they have bright prospects for the future. GCC has sent several teams down to Honduras to work with EFP and also work in the orphanages nearby.

This Christmas, a team from our church will be going to Honduras to work in the orphanages and take gift boxes that are being put together through a project known as The Box Project. The boxes will be given out to local churches to distribute within their communities. The past two weeks (and the upcoming Sunday as well) we have been having a bake sale to raise money for the Honduras mission trip. I volunteered to donate a baked good and figured that this was a great opportunity to work in my Pinterest Test Kitchen. After all, that means that not only am I giving to a good cause, I am getting the baked goods out of my kitchen!

Anyway, this recipe, from How Sweet It Is, was actually originally “brownie banana bread cupcakes with brown sugar frosting“. I adapted it by leaving out the chocolate chips between the brownie and banana bread layers and leaving off the icing to make them muffins, not cupcakes. Trust me, they are plenty sweet enough. The brownie is perfectly chocolaty, firm, dark but still sweet, while the banana bread is perfectly moist and tender with the delicious sweetness of over-ripe bananas. Delicious. I was not sad that we had a “casualty” that got smashed with the oven mitt, plus I got to eat my muffin “model”.

Brownie Bottom Banana Bread Muffins

Print recipe

Serves	20
Prep time	20 minutes
Cook time	18 minutes
Total time	38 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Milk, Wheat
Meal type	Bread, Breakfast, Dessert
Website	How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

3/4 cups unsalted butter (softened)
2 Large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 Teaspoon plus a pinch salt
1 1/2 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
3 bananas (very ripe)
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 20 muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
Step 2
Combine 2/3 cup flour with the cocoa powder and the pinch of salt.
Step 3
Beat the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add one egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat to completely incorporate. Add in the flour/cocoa mixture and beat until just combined.
Step 4
Evenly divide the brownie batter between the muffin cups (about 1/2-3/4 tablespoon) and press down with the back of a spoon sprayed with cooking spray.
Step 5
Combine 1 1/3 cup flour with the baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
Step 6
Beat the 1/2 cup butter and the brown sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the egg and the vanilla and beat to completely combine. Add the bananas (I don't bother to mash them since they are so soft) and mix to completely combine. Add the flour in thirds and mix until completely combined.
Step 7
Divide the banana batter among the muffin cups on top of the brownie batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cool on a rack before serving.