Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins

This Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins are OH SO GOOD! This is a recipe by Tyler Florence of the Food Network (click here to check it out). I tried making it a few weeks ago, and ever since then my kids have been bugging me to make them again - well, except for the youngest one, he doesn't like bananas (I know, weird right?) I followed the recipe exactly except I added milk chocolate morsels. And I also sprinkled some of the chocolate chips and nuts on top right before putting them in the oven.

So, here's the recipe. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE CHIP

BANANA NUT MUFFINS

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 overripe bananas

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins or place baking cups in muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes.
4. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
5. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Set aside some of the milk chocolate morsels and pecan nuts (for sprinkling on the top later). Fold in the rest of the nuts, chocolate morsels and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula.
6. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out. Sprinkle the chocolate morsels and nuts you have set aside on top of the muffins.
7. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Here are some more recipes you might like:

Blueberry Muffins

Strawberry Squares

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

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Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight  |  Anyonita Nibbles : Tasty Tuesdays  |  A Peek Into My Paradise : TGIF Link Party  |  Charlie Beth's Life as Mumma Walker : Pin It Party  |  Create With Joy : Inspire Me Monday  |  I Should Be Mopping The Floor: Inspiration Monday  |  Love Bakes Good Cakes : Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends  |  Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen : Get Inspired Pinning Party  |  My Personal Accent : The Blog Strut Owl Style  |  Pink Recipe Box : Creative Wednesdays  |  Pink When : diy Sunday Showcase  |  Rain on a Tin Roof : Give Me The Goods Link Party  |  The Jenny Evolution :  Friday Flash Blog  |  Table for Seven : Share Your Stuff Tuesdays  |  The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party  |  The Thriftiness Miss : Weekend Wonders  |  This Gal Cooks : Marvelous Mondays  |  Titi Crafty by Camila: Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party

Turkey Cupcakes

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I thought a Turkey Cupcake would be a fun thing to do with my little boy. Well, anything that involves some kind of decorating and then getting to eat it afterwards is always fun, right?

I used Betty Crocker Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix for the cupcakes. I just followed the directions on the package but instead of water, I used milk, I added another egg and I also used twice the amount of butter needed. And I also put 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels in the batter. Why? Because I love chocolate, that's why (hi, I'm Cheng. I'm a chocoholic). LOL

I don't have any problem with using a box cake mix. But I just can't stand the taste of canned frosting. So I made chocolate cream cheese frosting for these cupcakes. I'll include the recipe at the end of this post.

I found this Turkey Cookie Decorating Kit at Michaels and I'm so glad I bought it. I mean, it doesn't get any easier than this, right?

CHOCOLATE 

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

recipe courtesy of  Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

5 to 5 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in cocoa powder and powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency.

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Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight  |  A to Zebra Celebrations : Link Party Tuesday  | Carrie This Home : Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop  | Charlie Beth's Life as Mumma Walker : Pin It Party  |  Create With Joy : Inspire Me Monday  |  Ducks'n a Row : Wonderful Wednesday  |  I Should Be Mopping The Floor : Inspiration Monday  |   Love Bakes Good Cakes : Freedom fridays with All My Bloggy Friends  |  Memories by the Mile : Tuesday Trivia and Link Party  |  Mommifried : Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party  |  Mommy Mentionables : Get Inspired With Us Pinning Party  |  My Personal Accent : The Blog Strut Owl Style  |  Oh My! Creative : Whimsy Wednesday Link Party  |  Pink Recipe Box : Creative Wednesdays  |  Pink When : diy Sunday Showcase  |  Table For Seven : Share Your Stuff Tuesdays  |  The Jenny Evolution : Friday Flash Blog  |  The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party  |  The Thriftiness Miss : Weekend Wonders  |  This Gal Cooks : Marvelous Mondays  |  Titi Crafty by Camila : Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party

Thanksgiving Teacher Gift

The kids and I are looking forward to the Thanksgiving  break -- one whole week without school -- woot woot! And of course we want to give the teachers a little something to let them know how much we appreciate them.

These are Hershey's chocolate bars that I wrapped just to make it a little bit more special. The paper is from the Gratitude Kit which is a free digital scrapbooking kit by allisonkimball.com (you can click here to check it out). Then I made the tag using my Silhouette Cameo. This is the first time I used the print and cut feature and I'm so pleased with the outcome. It was really easy to make, thanks to the great tutorial at the Silhouette Blog. I was actually getting over excited while I was making it that my 17-year-old daughter had to keep reminding me to calm down - LOL! ( Yes, I know, I'm such a dork :P )

This is what it looks like at the back. I just love gifts with the kids' own handwriting on them. I'm definitely the sentimental kind. What about you?

Here are more gift ideas you might like:

End of the Year Teacher Gift

FREE PRINTABLE Thank You Tag

Halloween Teacher Gift

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I linked this post to these wonderful parties:

Angels Homestead : Saturday Spotlight  |  A to Zebra Celebrations : Link Party Tuesday  |  Carrie This Home : Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop  | Charlie Beth's Life as Mumma Walker : Pin It Party  |   Create With Joy : Inspire Me Monday  |  Ducks'n a Row : Wonderful Wednesday  |  I Should Be Mopping The Floor : Inspiration Monday  |  Love Bakes Good Cakes : Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends  |  Memories by the Mile : Tuesday Trivia and Link Party  |  Mommifried : Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party  |  Mommy Mentionables : Get Inspired With Us Pinning Party  |  My Personal Accent : The Blog Strut Owl Style  |  Oh My! Creative : Whimsy Wednesdays  |  Pink When : diy Sunday Showcase  |  Pink Recipe Box : Creative Wednesdays  |  Table For Seven : Share Your Stuff Tuesdays  |  The Jenny Evolution : Friday Flash Blog  |  The Pin Junkie : Friday Link Party  |  The Thriftiness Miss : Weekend Wonders  |  This Gal Cooks : Marvelous Mondays  |  Titi Crafty by Camila : Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party