Thank goodness for the three bananas that didn’t make it into the oatmeal bowl this week; these muffins would never have happened otherwise. Never mind that I was initially disappointed for not being able to come up with something more original for the ripe bananas. When I sampled one straight out of the oven I knew I’d be making these muffins again. I may have failed in the originality department but in taste and texture, these muffins get high marks.
I modified my favorite banana bread recipe by cutting the sugar a bit then added fresh cranberries and white chocolate chips. I used nonfat yogurt and replaced the butter with canola oil* to make these more cholesterol-friendly but guess what…you would never notice the difference. These soft muffins have a subtle banana flavor but it’s the perfect balance of tart and slightly sweet from the cranberries and white chocolate that makes these shine. They taste fresh and clean–not at all like the oily, overly sweet store-bought muffins we all see in coffee shops.
I’ve just enjoyed another for dessert tonight and I can’t wait to have one (or two) with my tea tomorrow morning. Give these muffins a try–they would be perfect for the holidays.
* Feel free to use regular vegetable oil or coconut oil if you are anti-canola.
Banana Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups 10 ounces all-purpose flour
- 8 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips I like Ghirardelli
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt I use Pavels nonfat
- 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 3 large ripe bananas mashed (1 1/2 cups)
- 2 large eggs beaten lightly
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
-
In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together then stir in the cranberries and chocolate chips. In another bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
-
Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula just until combined. Divide the batter into a greased muffin pan (I used a 1/3 cup muffin pan so I had a little extra batter that I baked in brioche tins). I used cooking spray.
-
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges are golden. I baked these at 325°F with my convection oven so they cooked a bit faster. Check the muffins after 15 minutes to make sure the muffins don't get too brown.
Beautiful muffins, Jean! Cranberries with white chocolate sounds delish!
Lovely muffins! I’d love to eat one with my afternoon coffee.
Cheers,
Rosa
Cranberries and white chocolate sound like a perfect couple! And the fact that they’re not made with butter just means it’s okay to enjoy more than a few, right? 😀
Happy Friday Jean, I wish I had one of your lovely muffins to start my day with a cup of tea!
The flavors are all favorites with me;-)
Jean these muffins sound wonderful to me. I love tart cranberries and with banana muffins perfect. Great photos, you have such a talent for capturing wonderful images that make us drool!
This recipe comes at a perfect time! I’m looking for a good banana muffin mixed with something new. Cranberries and white choco it is! Your muffins are looking good. I feel like I’m at a Starbucks or something with your gorgeous muffins! It has a very professional quality to them. Like how a muffin should look like!
Jean, these muffins are absolutely lovely. I have never thought of putting cranberries in banana muffins or bread, but now I can’t wait to try it!
We make muffins all the time here – definitely trying these with coconut oil!!!
I love that there are so many cranberries and so little sugar. Bananas add a surprising amount of sweetness without added sugar. They look delightful.
I love black bananas!! Look at the deliciousness that they can create! 🙂 The muffins sound incredible… I am especially lovin’ the white chocolate chips in there. 🙂
Glad that the 3 banana’s found a good home. Smile. These look simply delightful. I need to google canola oil. Typically use more olive and vegetable oil. 🙂 Hope your Sunday is going well!!!
I’m a lover of anything and everything banana; and love the cranberry and white chocolate combo, so these muffins look like a match made in heaven. Beautiful photos as always 🙂
I really love baking with cranberries. They go perfectly with white chocolate. These would be perfect for an after school snack for just for me with a hot cup of tea. Thanks for sharing, Jean:)
I think you know how I feel about muffins – these are a great flavor combination!
i love over-ripped bananas. they are so versatile, making their way into delicious treats like this one.
And chocolate and cranberry combo is a delicious one, founf out that thanks to this month chocolate party theme
What a lovely combination with the add of white chocolate and cranberries…very festive 🙂
Made these today and they are really really good! I think I would add the whole bag of cranberries next time. They are THAT good! Thank you!