I was watching Friends the other day, a normal happening in my house and the two random episodes that I watched mentioned mini muffins.  This then made me think of the little packages of Hostess mini muffins that were all the rage in middle school.  You were someone if you had mini muffins.

Yeah, it was weird.

I usually did not have mini muffins because they were expensive and my mom wasn’t going to waste money on junk food.  Because let’s face it, muffins, even in mini form, are generally not a health food.  Especially when they’re made by Hostess.

But boy are they delicious.  And something about them being mini made them even better.  Little food is always better.  That’s just science.  I decided to attempt to make a better for you mini muffin that would still taste good but wouldn’t be full of all this stuff.  That’s what’s in those little bites of happiness.  Yum….

My favorite muffin was always banana walnut but I decided to switch the walnuts for chocolate because duh, chocolate.  My version uses dark chocolate, but you can use whatever you have on hand.  I also decided to add just a few chips to the top rather than mix them throughout because I thought they would be just a little too big for mini muffins.  But you do you.  And you should do these mini-muffins.

Banana Chocolate Mini Muffins- gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and egg-free.  I promise there is something in there! 

• 1 1/2 cup almond meal
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed and 5 tbsp water mixed together)
• 1 large banana, very ripe
• 4 tbsp almond milk
• 3 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• handful of dark chocolate chips, optional

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and mix together your flax egg and set aside. Line a mini muffin tin with muffin cups or grease with a little coconut oil.
2. Put all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together so there are no clumps.
3. In another bowl, mash the banana so it is fairly smooth.  Add in the rest of the wet ingredients, including the flax eggs, and whisk with a fork to combine and smooth.
4. Pour the wet into the dry and use a spatula to combine everything. Drop about a tablespoon of dough into each well.  These won’t rise a ton, so you don’t have to worry about them spilling over.  If you’re using chocolate chips, press about 3 or 4 into the top of each muffin.
5. Bake the muffins for about 10 minutes and pull them out to check.  If they are brown around the edges and fairly firm in the middle you’re good.  If not, bake for another 2 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes and then place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

These will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week or you can make a bunch and put them in the freezer to pull out whenever you need a mini muffin!

What were some of your favorite middle school snacks?