Chocolate Banana Muffins with Cookie Dough Streusel Topping

You know those recipes printed inside food product boxes? When I was single, fresh-out-of-college gal, and learning-to-cook, newly-married-gal, those recipes were my go-to recipes. I think I ripped every product box open and read every recipe on the inside. Sometimes there would be more than one recipe! Gold mine!!!


These days, I feel like I have so many recipes I want to try, a gazillion (approximately) cookbooks, my mom's old recipes, creating recipes of my own...and let's be honest here, a whole lot of Kind Bars for breakfast and taco nights for dinner...that I just don't look at those brand packaging recipes any more. (THAT was one long sentence. Sorry.)


As I was tossing yet another empty butter box, a recipe inside caught my eye. Whew...saved it right before it hit the trash can. Chocolate Banana Streusel Muffins.

Here's the original recipe...I found it on the Land O' Lakes website.


This morning, no school, which means: extra time to make muffins for breakfast. Yay!

I made a couple of small changes to the recipe. The original recipe gets all of the chocolate from the streusel itself. I wanted the muffins to be chocolate, too. Also, as I was making the streusel, it occurred to me...this is no ORDINARY streusel, this is COOKIE DOUGH streusel.  It's a wonder any ended up on the muffins at all.


Don't worry as you're scooping the batter into the muffin cups. It doesn't look like enough, but the streusel will fill up the rest.

I liked these best at room temperature, so even if you don't have a leisurely morning in which to make them, whip them up the night before. You'll feel like a rock star serving these to the kids at 6am.

Chocolate Banana Muffins with Cookie Dough Streusel Topping

{adapted from Land O' Lakes}

for the streusel
1/2 unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
pinch kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

for the muffins
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
3 TBSP Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffins tins with paper liners.

Make the streusel: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, and pinch salt. Cube the butter and add to the bowl. Stir, then use your fingers to distribute throughout, until the butter is broken up and combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, pressing the mixture together into small clumps. (Not all of the mixture will clump together.) Set aside.


Make the batter: In a small bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the mashed bananas, egg, and vanilla. Add in the flour/cocoa mixture and beat on low just until combined.


Scoop batter into the prepared muffins tins. Top with the streusel.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
(I thought these were BEST at room temperature, but who am I to stop you from eating one warm?)


Cookie dough streusel? Let's make this happen.

*I do have a partnership with Land O' Lakes, but this was not a sponsored post...just a happy coincidence.*