Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins - total time 45 minutes

Banana bread muffins used to be something I baked pretty frequently.  I always bought bananas and never seemed to eat all of them before a few turned "extra ripe".  Every time I would tweak the recipe... add cinnamon, mix in some brown sugar, a little lemon zest... I would bring some over to my grandma and she would tell me if it was a good tweak or if something was missing.  Then we would talk for an hour or more about random things.  She always had a good story to tell, even if I had already heard it seven times it was still fascinating.

Over Thanksgiving my dad wondered aloud where I got the cooking and baking gene from.  Definitely not from my parents; they will fully admit to that.  It is completely from my grandma who taught me so much.  Who cooked and baked from scratch nearly every day.  Who showed me how to garden and how much fun it could be.  Who inspired a craft project one hour and timed me in my math tables the next.  Who taught me how to be thrifty and appreciating what I have.  Who had a kind heart, but knew when tough love was needed.

After she passed, I didn't bake banana bread muffins for a while...  I have only made them a few times since then and it brings back those happy memories every time.  It's just one of those things that will always be connected.  I brought out my recipe card, stained with butter grease and smashed banana... and made one tweak. 

As we celebrate the holidays, do you have a tradition that has passed down over generations that reminds you of specific friends or family members?  If you are looking for a banana bread recipe, this one is pretty basic.  Maybe it could become part of your family tradition.  All I know is this recipe is grandma-approved... :)

3 ripe bananas
.5 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate chips
salt

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mash banana and butter together in mixer until combined.  Add sugar and whip together at medium speed.
2.  Add eggs and vanilla... again, mix until combined.  Add salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and a half cup of flour at a time.  Fold in the chocolate chips.
3.  Put muffin liners in muffin pan and lightly spray with olive oil.  Spoon out muffin batter into the liners, about 75% full.  Sprinkle a little sugar on top to add texture to the muffin top.  Bake for 20 minutes.