Banana Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Muffins

You need to have these muffins in your life, period. If there was ever a muffin recipe that I'd make over and over, health not involved, it would be these. They taste like a cross between banana bread and chocolate chip cookies and they're filled with cream cheese. There's not much more to say about these, they're just awesome! Let's just also take a minute here to talk about some things that I'm finding important lately:

1. The Big E
2. RN job application madness!
3. Spinning and random paleo recipes
4. King Arthur Flour Company store up in Vermont (this WILL be happening soon)

Ok. I feel purged. These are all on my mind like crazy lately!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Muffins
yield: 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS
For the cream cheese filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temp
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the banana chocolate chip muffins:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1 large egg
1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
To make the cream cheese filling: mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until combined. Scoop out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a log about 1/2" in diameter. Wrap well and freeze until firm, about two hours.

To make the muffins: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line twelve muffin cups with foil muffin liners. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Mix together the mashed bananas, egg, melted butter, and buttermilk in a separate bowl. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not overmix). Stir in chocolate chips.

Take the cream cheese log out of the freezer and cut into 12 equal pieces. Divide half the muffin batter among prepared cups and place a cream cheese coin onto each. Cover with the rest of the batter. Bake muffins until tops are pale golden, about 32 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack; eat warm.


SOURCE
muffin recipe adapted from Epicurious