Welcome to the September edition of the Secret Recipe Club, where we get to secretly snoop out a fellow foodie blog and try new recipes on the sly. Today is the grand reveal, when we all find out who was snooping around our blog and trying out our recipes! I look forward to it all month long; it’s almost like Christmas once a month!
This month, I had the pleasure of snooping around Dinners, Dishes and Desserts, written by Erin, a SAHM to a little boy, and a “Midwest girl who loves to cook and bake”. She has a lot of Asian inspired recipes that I strongly considered, like Asian Meatballs for example, but in the end I went for a sweet breakfast treat. Silly of me, for someone who blogs about “healthy food”, I know! I had a good reason, though: I was attending a bridal shower brunch, and I purposely signed up to bring a baked good so that I knew there would be something there that I could eat (dairy-free and egg-free). And not that you care, but I’m glad I did, because pretty much I ended up eating my muffin and a ton of fruit! (mentally patting myself on the back for my think-ahead smarts)
Oh, which breakfast treat did I make, you ask? I started with Erin’s Cinnamon Roll Muffins (by the way, she has lots of awesome muffin recipes, this is just one of many that I considered!). Now, Cinnamon Roll Muffins would be perfect just like that, but I added my own special twist and turned them into Chocolate Banana Cinnamon Roll Muffins. I suppose a little over the top… but so worth it!
Here are the specific changes I made:
- I replaced the egg with banana, mostly because I was getting a little tired of using flax gel as a substitute, but also because I wanted to add a little banana flavor. Smart move; the result was a delicious and flavorful muffin!
- I used raw sugar instead of brown sugar, and reduced the amount of sugar in the filling (you know, so I can pretend it’s healthy).
- I used part white whole wheat flour. See, healthy!
- Added a little cocoa and doubled the cinnamon in the filling.
- Swapped out the powdered sugar glaze for a decadent chocolate glaze that took the muffins over the top.
Chocolate Banana Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Ingredients
Dough:
- ½ cup raw sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 banana, mashed
- 1 cup buttermilk*
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Filling:
- 2 TBSP butter, melted
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- 1 TBSP cocoa
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Glaze:
- 2 TBSP palm shortening (or softened butter)
- 2 TBSP cocoa
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2+ TBSP hot water
Instructions
Dough:
- Whisk together the sugar, baking soda and salt. Add banana and vanilla; stir together. Add buttermilk and stir again. Add flour and stir until blended. Place dough on a floured countertop and knead gently for about a minute until you have a soft roll-able dough. Roll the dough into a large rectangle.
Filling:
- Stir together all filling ingredients and spread over dough with a pastry brush or small silicone spatula.
Assembly:
- Roll the dough and filling up jelly-roll style. Slice into 12 pieces (I measured about 2-3 finger widths for each one), and place cut side up in lined muffin tin (or silicone muffin pan).
Bake:
- Bake at 375F for 15 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes. Place a sheet of wax paper under a wire cooling rack; gently place slightly cooled muffins on wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze:
- Stir together the shortening, cocoa and powdered sugar in a small bowl with a fork until crumbly. Add hot water, 1 TBSP at a time, until you have achieved the desired consistency (mine took 2 1/2 TBSP). Drizzle over cooled muffins. Allow time to set before serving.
*I just added some lemon juice to non-dairy milk.
Considering that you have to roll out the dough and do the whole cinnamon roll, thing, this is not as QUICK as most muffin recipes.
It is much EASY-er, though, than regular cinnamon rolls, but with much of the same flavor, if not exactly the texture.
It’s pretty CHEAP, using mostly basic pantry ingredients that most people have on hand.
As for HEALTHY, well, no, not really. I feel good about the healthy swaps I made, but in the end, it’s still a treat that should be reserved for special occasions. Like bridal shower brunches, for example. Anybody getting married?
Want to join in on the Secret Recipe Club fun? It’s easy; just follow the instructions here . Many thanks to Amanda of Amanda’s Cookin‘ for organizing all of this, and hosting Group A this week!
I’m also posting at Your Recipe, My Kitchen, Sweet Indulgences Sunday, and These Chicks Cooked.
Check out the other Secret Recipe Club reveals below:
Oh, these are just gorgeous. Great pick for the SRC!
These look delicious! Love the chocolate glaze.
Chocolate and Banana - two of my favorites.
Oh definitely trying this for the next brunch. Love the drizzle on the muffins
At showers, the food can get pretty unhealthy, you did the right thing 
Chocolate & Banana combo always make for a perfect treat!
Love the choice and the changes…yummy looking muffins. Must try the banana for egg sometime. YUM!
Love that you made these muffins - they are yummy! Chocolate is a great change to them!
What a beautiful cupcake recipe! I love the idea of swapping bananas for eggs, I am really curious to try that next time. Thanks for the tip!
YUM! Those look and sound delicious! SO uncomplicated too!
Oh these look awesome! I love the addition of the banana - I definitely would want one of these for breakfast =)
These sound amazing! Love the chocolate/banana combo!
Wow! These look amazing, something that my kids would definitely love!
Your muffins look wonderful and I agree on the good planning on your part to bring them along.
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
These muffins are absolutely amazing!! gloria
These look great! Love the idea of cinnamon rolls as a muffin, and the addition of the banana sounds awesoem!
These are heavenly, I mean, a cinnamon roll with banana and chocolate? It almost doesn’t get any better than that. They look insanely gooey and delicious! Amazing take on your blog assignment!
Oh wow. Just, wow - these look SO good! Great choice for this month’s SRC!
These look so yummy, and good for you making them healthy, too!
Wow - you had me at chocolate and banana… I love muffin recipes, even if they take a little more time. They are so great for grabbing on the way out the door! Great recipe pick!
These look great and I love your way of thinking…A muffin and ton of fruit? Would go over well with me!
Love the combo of all of those flavors! Your muffins look great.
Oh my goodness! Those muffins have my mouth watering. They look so so good!
I will have to try this recipe soon…. I seem to “collect” muffin and quick bread recipes to try out on my oldest. This one screams to me that it will be a hit with him. Very nice!
These look delicious! I love muffins with a nice filling in the center. I’d like to invite you to share your recipe on Sweet Indulgences Sunday.
http://www.wellseasonedlife.com/2011/09/sweet-indulgences-sunday-22.html
I just had to tell you that I made these muffins this morning and they are phenomenal. I love the banana mixed in the batter - what a creative and delicious idea! Thanks for the breakfast inspiration! (My kids were of course nuts about them, too.)
So glad you enjoyed them!