Chocolate Banana Crinkle Muffins

To a large bowl, add the first 6 ingredients, through optional salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.

To a medium bowl, add the egg, oil, sour cream, vanilla, and whisk to combine.

Stir in the bananas.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until just combined. Batter is quite thick and is prone to having dry bits hiding at the bottom of the bowl. Make sure everything is incorporated without unnecessarily over-mixing or muffins will be tough.

Stir in the chocolate chips until just combined.

Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or spoon, turn batter out into prepared pans. Each muffin cavity should be filled to about 3/4 full, but not exceeding, or batter could overflow.

Sprinkle the top of each muffin generously with sugar, about 1 teaspoon each. It looks like a lot but I like the visual pop and contrast of the white and dark; noting some absorbs and some is lost to the pan.

Bake at 350F for about 22 to 25 minutes, or until muffins are set, domed, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter, noting it’s not a perfect test and you may hit melted chocolate chips which shouldn’t be confused with raw better. Don’t overbake, which is very easy to do with dark-colored items and start watching them closely at 20 minutes.

Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until they’ve firmed up and are cool enough to handle.