Maple-Sweetened Morning Glory Banana-Chocolate Chunk Muffins

About This Breakfast

These muffins skip wheat flour almost entirely — one tablespoon of coconut flour does the structural work, backed up by the egg. Mashed banana and a full ¾ cup of almond butter make up most of the batter, so the crumb is dense and moist rather than light and cakey, closer to banana bread than a bakery muffin. The only added sugar is ¼ cup maple syrup, and since the chocolate is unsweetened baking chocolate — not chocolate chips — you get real bitter chunks running through a mostly banana-sweet batter rather than a sweet muffin studded with sweeter chocolate. Banana and maple carry the sweetness; the chocolate stays dark and slightly bitter; the almond butter gives the whole thing a nutty backbone. Bake them at 350°F for around 20 minutes and they puff slightly, staying moist rather than dry, since there’s no flour to soak up excess liquid. They work for breakfast on a morning when cereal won’t cut it, or as an afternoon snack with coffee. Because they lean nutty rather than sugar-sweet, they hold up next to a strong coffee better than a typical bakery muffin would. Make a batch over the weekend and you’ve got grab-and-go breakfasts through the week — they keep well and don’t need reheating to taste good.

How to Make Maple-Sweetened Morning Glory Banana-Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Whisk Bananas and Almond Butter Smooth

The batter should look smooth and glossy with only tiny banana flecks remaining, not chunky. Go to step 2

Fold Chocolate Chunks into Batter

Look for chocolate chunks distributed evenly through the batter rather than clumped in one spot. Go to step 4

Check Muffins for a Puffy, Baked Finish

Muffins are done when the tops are puffy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Go to step 5

Serving Suggestion

Serve warm, ideally within a day of baking, alongside strong coffee — the bitterness of the unsweetened chocolate and coffee play off each other well. A smear of extra almond butter or a scrape of butter over a split, warm muffin adds richness without adding more sweetness. These aren’t frosted or glazed, so they’re suited to breakfast or a snack rather than dessert.

Dietary Information: Naturally Sweetened, Almond-Butter Rich

There’s no wheat flour in this recipe — just one tablespoon of coconut flour holds the batter together alongside the egg, so the muffins are lower in refined starch than a typical flour-based muffin. Almond butter contributes fat and protein rather than the muffin relying on added butter or oil. The only added sugar is ¼ cup maple syrup, and the chocolate is unsweetened baking chocolate rather than sweetened chips, so total sugar per muffin is lower than most bakery versions. Bananas add natural sweetness along with potassium and fiber. Portion size matters here: at ¾ cup almond butter and a full bar of chocolate split across 8 muffins, these are calorie-dense and filling rather than light, so they work better as a full breakfast or substantial snack than a small treat.

Ingredient Notes

Ripe bananas: Heavily speckled, ripe bananas contain nearly three times the fructose of less-spotty ones, which contributes to better flavor and more moisture in baked goods like muffins. (Source: americastestkitchen.com)

Bar unsweetened baking chocolate: Unsweetened baking chocolate can be substituted with 3 tablespoons cocoa plus 1 tablespoon fat per ounce, and contributes deep, unsweetened chocolate flavor without added sugar. (Source: extension.usu.edu)

Cup natural almond butter: Natural almond butter made from dry roasted almonds typically has no added sugar or sodium and delivers a strong, natural almond flavor to baked goods. (Source: americastestkitchen.com)

Substitutions

Swap the almond butter for another smooth nut or seed butter — cashew or sunflower seed butter both work, though sunflower seed butter can turn the crumb slightly green from a reaction with the baking soda, which is harmless. Maple syrup can be replaced with honey in the same amount. The egg is harder to substitute without changing texture, since it’s one of the main binders alongside the small amount of coconut flour; a flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed plus 3 tbsp water, rested until gel-like) will work but gives a denser, slightly gummier result. Coconut flour is very absorbent and isn’t a straight swap for other flours — if you only have almond flour or all-purpose flour on hand, you’ll need considerably more of it and the texture will change. For the chocolate, a bittersweet or dark bar (70% or higher) chopped into chunks can stand in for the unsweetened baking chocolate, but the muffins will taste noticeably sweeter overall.

Storage and Make-Ahead

Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week — the almond butter and banana keep them moist longer than a standard flour muffin. To freeze, wrap individually once fully cooled and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for an hour, or microwave straight from frozen in 20-second bursts until warmed through. Reheating isn’t necessary; they’re good at room temperature, but a brief warm-up brings out the chocolate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use chocolate chips instead of the baking chocolate bar?

You can, but the muffins will taste much sweeter, since chocolate chips are sweetened and the unsweetened baking chocolate here is meant to stay bitter against the banana and maple. If you swap in chips, expect a sweeter, more dessert-like muffin.

Why coconut flour instead of regular flour?

Coconut flour is extremely absorbent, so a small amount — 1 tablespoon here — can do the job of a much larger amount of wheat flour in a wet, banana-and-nut-butter batter. It’s not a 1:1 swap for other flours; using regular or almond flour in the same quantity will leave the batter too loose to bake properly.

Why are my muffins dense rather than fluffy?

That’s expected here — with almost no flour and no separate leavening beyond a small amount of baking soda, these bake up closer to banana bread in texture than a light bakery muffin. If yours came out gummy or undercooked in the center, they likely needed a few more minutes; check with a toothpick at the 18-minute mark.

Can I make the batter ahead and bake it later?

It’s best mixed and baked the same day. The mashed banana starts to discolor and the batter loosens as it sits, and the coconut flour’s absorption changes over time, so a rested batter won’t bake up the same way.

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