Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 24 muffins

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (1 1/4 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tin(s). In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and oil; whip vigorously until creamy and light in color, about 5 minutes (it's a great arm workout)! :) Add mashed bananas and vanilla extract to the egg mixture. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only as much as necessary to incorporate the ingredients, since overmixing will toughen the batter. Stir in chocolate chips, and pour batter into muffin tins, filling only about 2/3 (I recommend using a 1/3 cup measuring device for accuracy).
2. Bake in center of oven until the top is stringy, and a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean, about 16-18 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes then place on a wire rack.

Notes: This recipe was originally Banana Nut Bread, but I felt like having some chocolate at the time I was making it so I put in chocolate instead of nuts. Use the same ingredients above if you wanted to make the bread, only put in about 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts. You will need a 9" x 5" loaf pan, greased. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before slicing. Makes 1 loaf.

Recipe from The Everything Vegetarian Cookbook by Jay Weinstein (page 314)