This is not your average breakfast muffin. Imagine a fudgy brownie—chocolatey, rich, ringing every bell—and then picture yourself dancing around your kitchen, exuberant with the knowledge that these are sweetened with just bananas, applesauce, and cocoa powder. That’s something to get up for in the morning! And I’ll say what I want to say without saying it: Fiber never tasted so good.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 12–14 muffins

　　1/2 cup organic coconut oil, softened to room temperature or melted

　　1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

　　4 medium overripe bananas, mashed

　　2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

　　1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

　　1/4 cup water

　　2 large eggs

　　1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

　　1/4 cup good-quality cocoa powder

　　1/2 cup wheat germ

　　2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

　　1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, pulsed in food processor or chopped

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large muffin pan with paper liners.

　　

Step 2

Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or two forks, cream the oil and sugar. Add the bananas, applesauce, vanilla, and water and beat until smooth. Beat in the eggs.

　　

Step 3

In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, wheat germ, flaxseed, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

　　

Step 4

Spoon the batter into the muffin liners until they are almost full. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out just damp with small crumbs attached. Place the muffins on a cooling rack and let them cool for at least 5 minutes before digging in!

　　Cooks' Note

　　To store the muffins, place them in a zip-top bag with 1 paper towel and remove as much air as possible; store in cool, dry place.

　　To freeze leftover batter, pour into a zip-top bag, remove the air, and seal, or spoon into a lined muffin pan, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and place in freezer for about 24 hours until the batter is solid. Once frozen, remove the cups from the pan and put them into a zip-top bag, removing as much air as possible. Double-wrap them in a second zip-top bag to prevent freezer burn.

　　To bake, you have two options. You can thaw the batter in the bags and pour it into lined muffin tins (cut the bottom corner off the bag to make this easy!) and bake as usual, or you can place the frozen muffins in a muffin pan and place the pan in a cold oven. Set the oven to 350°F and add 20 to 30 minutes to baking time to allow the oven to preheat and the muffin batter to thaw.

　　From Relish: An Adventure in Food, Style, and Everyday Fun © 2013 by Daphne Oz. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.Reprinted with permission by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.