Who knew Monkey Muffins were so popular??

I try lots of recipes from lots of different sources.  Just like anyone else, I have my resources of ones I know will be good (because they always are), the ones that do not require a culinary degree to complete and family/friend recipes that you can just always count on.  I have made a lot of recipes from Cheeky Kitchen's blog recently because she has a lot of tasty recipes that also meet Tyler's healthy requirements.  She has a lot of great kid-friendly recipes too.  I have come to realize that the most wasteful thing you can ever do is throw out bananas.  There are 800,000 things you can do with a ripe banana with things 99% of the population has in their pantry so it is my life mission to never throw another one away again~!  Ok, that was a little dramatic but you get my point. 

I noticed a muffin recipe on her blog the other day that looked yummy, healthy and called for bananas.  So I knew at the end of the week I would be making them if our family did not finish our bananas!  We are all big fans and since then I have seen several recipes for the same thing as cupcakes, muffins and cakes...I honestly thought she made up the name of her muffins to be Monkey Muffins but I guess I was the last to know...Smitten Kitchen recently posted about a Monkey Cake she made for her son...

Here is Cheeky Kitchen's recipe but I served these plain, no icing.  I always make the mistake of adding extra chocolate chips to recipes like this....do not go over.  1/2 a cup is plenty! 

Monkey Muffins

Treat your little monkeys to this silly snack. Of course, they aren't really muffins at all. They are actually kinda healthy-ish cupcakes that hide a bundle of ripe banana's, whole wheat flour, and a handful of chocolate chips inside. Perfect for afterschool snacks, lunchtime snacks, or anytime you feel like snacking on something deliciously fun, moist, and full of incredible banana and chocolate flavor.

4 ripe banana's

3 T. butter

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. Coach's Oats ( I think old fashioned oats would be fine--I used steel cut oats and they were a little crunchy for my liking-Tyler was fine with it but I will try to get my hands on Coach's Oats for next time)

1/2 c. white flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat together banana's, eggs, butter, and sugar until smooth. Add in remaining ingredients. Spoon into muffin tins, lined with cupcake wrappers. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or just until the center of the muffins bounce back when touched lightly. Cool before serving.

*Light & Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

3 T. cornstarch

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. butter

4 (oz. cream cheese)

1-1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar

In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and water, whisking together over medium heat until the cornstarch thickens. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge until cool. In a large bowl, beat together cooled cornstarch mixture, and remaining ingredients with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy. Frost cooled Monkey Muffins with a generous helping of frosting.

*Easy Chocolate Drizzle

1/4 c. chocolate chips

2 T. butter

Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted, about 45 seconds. Spoon into a plastic zip-top bag, snip off a small corner of the bag, and drizzle over frosted cupcake. Enjoy!

*I won't embarrass myself torture you all with my mad photo skills on this one, just trust me!  They are great and super easy!