Banana, Strawberry and Chocolate Chip Muffins

Doesn't that combination sound delicious? Bananas and strawberries are two of my favorite things to dip into chocolate fondue, and they compliment each other wonderfully in these muffins. But they aren't so sweet that you feel guilty eating one for breakfast (although they are just sweet enough that you could probably pass them off as dessert too). We've had to start storing baked goods in the fridge or they'll spoil too quickly, and while I preferred mine heated in the microwave, Darrell would eat his straight out of the fridge. To each their own--but these muffins are sure to be a crowd-pleaser no matter the person!

Banana, Strawberry, and Chocolate Chip Muffins
(found and borrowed from here--where she also has much better pictures as usual!)

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2-3 overripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
10 - 12 fresh strawberries, diced (I used frozen strawberries that had thawed enough to be cut)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350* and coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, bananas, and vanilla and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just cominbed. Add most of the strawberries and chocolate chips and gently mix them into the batter.

Spoon the batter evenly into each muffn tin and top with the remaining chocolate chips and strawberries. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack--although if you are anything like me, you'll nab one before they cool completely so you get to enjoy the nice, warm, melted chocolate!

And I must say, I've seen a few other recipes where they advise withholding a small amount of the filling and using it for a topping but I've never actually done it until this recipe. Best idea ever. Putting just a little bit of strawberry and chocolate on top makes them look as tasty and tempting as they really are. Plus, if you are baking these for other people, it makes it significantly easier for them to perceive what these muffins are composed of (provided, of course, you haven't told them the name of them).