Happy Friday! It’s been a bit of a long week and my mostly successful attempts at smoothie making left me with a bunch of leftover bananas. Luckily, I enjoy baking with bananas and it gave me the perfect excuse to make these Hidden Mickey Banana Muffins! Packed with bananas, chocolate chips, and a touch of Disney magic, these muffins are a delicious twist on a traditional banana bread!
While I do like a traditional loaf of banana bread, it’s really convenient having it as muffins. It’s easy to grab one for breakfast, afternoon snack, or even a dessert. Chocolate chip banana bread is my favorite version, but if you’d rather add nuts or leave it plain, you definitely can!
To make this banana bread, start by making the Mickey chips as they’ll need time to set. For these, I used dark chocolate melting wafers. I really like Ghirardelli’s but you can also use Wilton or another brand. To make the Mickey shapes, I used silicone molds made by Daiso. I’m not sure if they still have them in store, but they’re usually available on other retail sites. Amazon also has some alternative molds that would work.
Place the cocoa candy melts in a disposable piping bag. Heat in the microwave, checking every 30 seconds until melted. Pipe the cocoa candy melts into the silicone mold. Once filled, tap the mold on the counter to clear out any air bubbles. If you don’t have a piping bag, you could also just melt them in a bowl and then spread them into the mold. It’s a little messier, but will work. Scrape off any excess chocolate using an off-set spatula. Place the filled mold into the refrigerator to harden, about 15 minutes. Once set, pop out the chocolate Mickeys and store in an airtight container until ready to use.
Next, make the muffins by whisking together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture. Be careful not to overmix the batter, it should be thick with some banana chunks. Stir the chocolate chips into the batter–just the chocolate chips, not the Mickey chips!
Transfer the batter into a well greased 12 cup muffin pan. I don’t use cupcake liners for these, but you definitely can if you’d like. Bake the muffins at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Place the muffins on a wire cooling rack. When they’re about room temperature, gently press a 2-3 Mickey chips into the top of each of the muffins.
Enjoy these Hidden Mickey Banana Muffins!
Hidden Mickey Banana Muffins
Ingredients
Chocolate Mickey Chips
- 4 ounces cocoa candy melts
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 ripe bananas mashed
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Equipment
- 1 12-cup muffin pan
- 1-2 Mickey Mouse silicone molds
- 1 piping bag, optional
Instructions
Chocolate Mickey Chips
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Place cocoa candy melts in a disposable piping bag. Heat in the microwave, checking every 30 seconds until melted.
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Pipe the cocoa candy melts into the silicone mold. Once filled, tap the mold on the counter to clear out any air bubbles.
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Scrape off excess chocolate using an off-set spatula.
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Place the filled mold into the refrigerator to harden, about 15 minutes.
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Pop out the chocolate Mickeys and store in an airtight container until ready to use.
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
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In a medium bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
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Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture. Be careful not to overmix the batter, it should be thick with some banana chunks.
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Stir the chocolate chips (not the Mickey chips) into the batter.
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Transfer the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Transfer the muffins to a wire cooling rack. When they’re about room temperature, gently press a 2-3 Mickey chips into the tops of the muffins.