Chocolate Banana Streusel Muffins

I always seem to have some overripe bananas hanging around as I'm not a fan of them when they start to go brown on the outside. This means I'm always on the lookout for recipes that will use them up. I spotted this recipe on Pinterest a couple of months ago and decided to give it a go as I had all the ingredients already. Chocolate and banana is a combination that can't go wrong and if you add an oaty topping you can almost believe they're good for you! I think these would be great for brunch but they will work just as well at any other time of the day with a cup of tea or coffee.

This recipe will make 8 muffins. As it is an American recipe the measurements are in cups. With hindsight after tasting these today I think you could probably up the amount of banana as when I tried one the banana isn't that strong so if you like a stronger banana flavour maybe try adding two bananas.

Ingredients:

Streusel topping:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (approx. 30g - cold)
2 tablespoons oats

Muffins:
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons mashed banana (approx. 1-1 1/2 bananas)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate spread (I used Nutella)

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a muffin pan with 8 paper cases.
2) In a small bowl combine the streusel topping ingredients until it makes small lumps. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl combine the dry muffin ingredients (flour, sugar, salt and baking powder). Then add the mashed banana, milk, chocolate spread, vanilla extract and egg yolk. Stir well with a wire whisk until the ingredients are combined. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.

 4) Fill each paper case approximately 3/4 full with the muffin mixture. Then sprinkle the streusel topping over.

5) Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the muffins have risen and a springy to touch. Allow them to cook for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

6) Enjoy! 

Christmas Is Coming Part 2 - Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

As promised another cranberry based cookie recipe. These cookies are packed full of Christmas flavour. Cinnamon - check. Cranberries - check. Chocolate - check. I made these last year and they were well received so decided to give them another go. The recipe is from the blog 'What Megan's Making' which I am a fan of. You can find the recipe here. It is an American recipe so you will need some cups for measuring out the ingredients. It also gave me an opportunity to try out my new cookbook stand that I picked up in TK Maxx this week.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (approx. 140g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/2 sugar (I used golden caster sugar)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar (I used light brown soft sugar)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oats
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
2 ounces white chocolate chopped (for drizzling)

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2) In a medium sized bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

3) In a large bowl beat together the butter and both sugars until smooth. Then beat in the egg and vanilla.

4) Add the flour mixture and oats and stir until blended (This will take some time and is a good work out for your arms!)

5) Stir in the chocolate chips and the cranberries.

6) Drop about a tablespoon of the mixture onto your prepared sheets leaving spaces for the cookies to spread.

7) Bake until the edges are light brown for about 15 minutes.
8) Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
9) Melt the chopped white chocolate in a bowl over a barely simmering pan of water. Then drizzle the melted white chocolate over the cookies.

10) Enjoy with your favourite festive drink :-)

Therapy Time - Oat and Raisin Cookies

It has been a stressful week in the Little Birdie kitchen and an even more stressful Saturday. Why does buying a house have to be such a horrendous experience? In an attempt to take my mind off things things I decided to make some cookies. Before Christmas I went on a cookie making splurge but haven't really made any since. This is a Hummingbird Bakery recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I have made them twice before for work colleagues and they have always been well received. Plus they've got raisins and oats in them so surely they must be healthy? I'm currently enjoying one with a mug of warm milk before bed! This recipe makes 20ish (depending on how big or small you like your cookies - I managed to make 21 with this batch).

Ingredients:

270g unsalted butter (room temperature)
160g caster sugar
160g soft dark brown sugar (I only had 50g of this so made the rest up with soft light brown sugar and they this worked as well)
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
380g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
110g rolled oats
220g raisins

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and line 4 baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
2) Put the butter and sugars in a large bowl and mix (using an electric handwhisk - alternatively use a freestanding electric mixer) until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla extract and mix on the lowest speed until combined.

3) In a separate bowl sift the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon. Add the oats and mix well. Add to the butter mixture and beat until well mixed (I use a wooden spoon at this point). Stir in the raisins until evenly dispersed.

4) Arrange equal amounts of cookie dough on the lined baking trays making sure they are equally spaced apart to allow for spreading. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. They will firm up when taken out of the oven so if they still seem squishy don't worry too much. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly on the trays before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

5) Enjoy...with the drink of your choice!