Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Thanks to my mother's delicious baking and allowing me to help in the kitchen as long as I can remember, whenever I eat a banana I cannot help but think of her epic Double Chocolate Banana Muffins. A chocolate-banana muffin, often spiked with peanut butter, with dark chocolate (or peanut butter) chips. Not too sweet, with all three flavors distinguishable, they are second only to her blueberry muffins. So when the lunchroom had a big bowl of small ripe banana yesterday, I couldn't help but slip three into my bag and begin to taste the fresh-baked muffins.

I desperately emailed my mother for the recipe (how could I have forgotten to bring it?) and luckily she responded before I left school for my internet-less house. I hurriedly copied down the recipe and pulled out a bowl as soon as I got home - I had to finish before my tango class at 7:30, and it was already 6 o'clock.

The main problem: a lack of chocolate chips. I pulled out a chocolate bar and the sharpest knife I could find and began chopping. 15 minutes later, I had the requisite cup of chocolate chips.

The second but by now customary problem: the lack of measuring cups. I ended up with too much flour and had to add some more oil (the egg had been small but I feared tampering with the rising effect, so I didn't add another, anI had no more bananas).

Third hurdle: no muffin tins. I had paper cupcake liners, and flaneros - the molds for making flan, which are like cones with the top cut off. The flan molds supported the paper sides but there was space between the bottom of the liner and the narrow base of the flanera.

The result: good muffins, a bit too dense due to the lack of liquids and strangely shaped bottoms, but good nonetheless...and a sweet reminder of home. My host mother liked them, I dropped a pair off for my host grandparents, and I'm planning on subjecting them to popular opinion after lunch today. And if they aren't a hit...more for me!