Banoffee Muffins

My youngest daughter started the week with a 2 hour visit to the orthodontist. She had an appliance removed and braces put on the bottom teeth. She was very patient with the process, and we made a bee-line for Chick Fil A for lunch before the soreness set in. But it did indeed catch up to her and she has been eating softer food all week.

That kind of week calls for soft, sweet comforting foods like muffins. I have already shared a recipe with you for healthier muffins in my Bursting Berry Muffins. The muffins I am sharing today are not healthy, but they are delicious and EASY!

So, it all started with a recipe I found on Pinterest for banana bread that is made with cake mix. What?! That’s brilliant! I tried the recipe straight up the first time, but made them muffins, because everything is better when you can grab and go. But as I tend to do, I tweaked it and added chocolate chips, because why not??

After having made them several more times, they have now evolved into what they are today, my own take on Banoffee pie. If you have not heard of Banoffee pie, it is a strange and wonderful dessert from the UK that combines toffee pie with a layer of bananas. Truthfully, I have not tasted Banoffee pie, but have heard tales of it. I thought it sounded strange at first, but once I added toffee bits to my banana muffins, it all makes sense now.

The beauty of this recipe is it’s simplicity. Not only does it use simple things you likely have on hand, it is a great use for past-their-peak bananas. You start with a boxed Butter Pecan cake mix and add eggs, butter and bananas. And of course, chocolate.

I usually defer to dark chocolate as the solution to all of life’s problems. But there is some kind of magic alchemy with bananas and milk chocolate. It is a better balance of flavor somehow. So, I add milk chocolate chips and Health Toffee Baking bits to these lovely muffins.

You can use the bananas sitting on your counter that are going funky right now, or you can use those fossils you have in the freezer. (I know I’m not the only one that has those….) If you didn’t know you could do this, let me tell you, it’s life-changing. When you see them start to get a little too brown, pop those babies in the freezer until you have time to try this recipe. They will slumber away peacefully until called to duty. If your bananas are frozen and you don’t want to wait until they thaw naturally, you can pop them in the microwave to soften them up.

This recipe is easy, fast and delicious and makes about 20 muffins. They are, of course, best fresh from the oven with a nice cup of coffee or tea, but they keep quite nicely in an airtight container for about a week.

Feel free to experiment with different cake mixes and mix ins to make your own signature muffins.

Recipe adapted from http://www.thecoersfamily.com