Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins for Passover

Sharing is caring!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins for Passover are not only easy to make, but they are also delicious, moist, and dairy-free.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins for Passover are a perfect dessert or snack.

Make them with or without the chocolate chips—they’ll be delicious either way!

And banana nut muffins for Pesach are also delicious.

And bananas have health benefits!

General information regarding cooking:

The following information may not particularly pertain to this recipe but rather answers general useful questions related to cooking.

What are the different oils used in cooking?

“High-heat” oils have neutral flavors and have been processed in order to handle high temperatures and are good for sautéing, searing, and frying. These include canola oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, and grapeseed oil, each with its own “best for” with chefs.

Some oils have their own flavor and are good for sautéing and roasting and add a little extra to the dish. These include extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and peanut oil. Extra virgin olive oil works well with roasting or sautéing, but not for deep frying.

Coconut oil is good in dishes where a slightly coconut flavor enhances the dish, and peanut oil is good for deep frying and will add a subtle nutty taste and smell. Many Asian dishes call for peanut oil in the ingredients.

Then there are oils that are not used with heat but rather for dressing up foods, such as sesame oil, flaxseed oil, and walnut oil, among others.

What does it mean when recipes say “to taste” about an ingredient?

When recipes say “to taste,” it means that you can put in as little or as much as you like to your own taste. Some recipes have many ingredients that a cook can adjust to their own taste when cooking (not so much when baking though).

The best way to calculate what your taste is with a recipe that you are not yet familiar with is to first taste the dish and then add the “to taste” ingredient GRADUALLY, a little at a time—a splash of this or a pinch of that—until the dish is just the way you like it. Make sure to stir the ingredient after each time you add it so that the flavor will distribute evenly and become part of the dish. Then taste again. Repeat until you reach your personal preference.

Note: If you plan on using the recipe again, it is highly recommended to make a note of what and how much you added so that you can refer to it next time.

What does it mean when a recipe says that an ingredient is “optional”?

If an ingredient is “optional,” it means that you can add it in or not based on your own preference. An optional ingredient can be flavor related (i.e., salty, sweet, spicy, etc.), appearance related (garnish), or even something like nuts or chocolate chips in baking.

What does “savory” mean?

“Savory” refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.

What cooking measurement expressions mean:

Drop – ¹/₆₄ teaspoon (or less—it’s however a literal drop comes out)

Smidgen – ¹/₃₂ teaspoon

Pinch – ¹⁄₁₆ teaspoon (what you can grab between your finger and thumb)

Dash – ⅛ teaspoon (what comes out when you shake out of a shaker or bottle)

Tad – ¼ teaspoon

Dollop—a glob on a spoon (like with mayonnaise or ice cream)

Scant—a scant cup is almost a cup, just below the line.

Heaping—above the line of the spoon (teaspoon, tablespoon)*

Some useful cooking terms:

Sauté: Cooking quickly in a small amount of oil or fat in a frying pan on a relatively high heat that causes a slight browning of the food on the outside.

Sear: Browning the outside of meat at a high temperature.

Sweat: Cooking vegetables (often onions) in a little oil or fat on a low heat until they become soft and translucent (no browning).

Simmer: Heating liquid to just below the boiling point (has slow bubbles).

Boil: Cooking food submerged in water hot enough to have rapid, rolling bubbles.

Poach: Cooking in a liquid, or partially submerged, on low heat.

Roast: Cooking with consistent dry heat in an enclosed space, over 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake: Cooking with dry heat in an enclosed space, under 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Broil: Cooking with intense heat from above.

Grill: Cooking with heat from below, typically over a flame or coals.

Braise: Cooking already-seared meat in a small amount of liquid in a covered pot.

Blanch: Quickly submerging food into boiling water and then immediately into ice water to stop the cooking.

Steam: Cooking with vapor from hot simmering water from below.

Shred: Creating long, thin strips (not necessarily uniform) of vegetables, like in coleslaw.

Grate: Scraping food against a surface with rough, tiny holes that break it down into very small, fine pieces.

Zest: The scrapings of the colorful outer skin of a citrus fruit.

Mince: Cutting into the smallest pieces possible.

Dice: Cutting into small cubes.

Chop: Cutting into small (bite-size) pieces.

Julienne: Cutting into long, thin strips (like matchsticks).

Glaze: a thin liquid with high-sugar or high-fat coating applied to food or baked goods that gives a shiny look and adds flavor.

Fold in: To gently combine a light ingredient into a heavier one.

Al dente: Cooking rice or pasta to the point before it gets soft (is slightly firm).

Emulsify: Forcing two liquids together that don’t normally combine (like oil and vinegar) into a smooth sauce or dressing.

Deglaze: Adding a liquid to a hot pan after searing meat to loosen the browned bits (called fond) that got stuck.

Slurry: A mixture of liquid and dry starch, such as cornstarch or potato starch, into a paste that is used to thicken sauces and soups. One can use flour to make a slurry as well.

Roux: (pronounced “roo”) is acooked mixture of fat and flour.

Baking and dessert necessities for Passover

I like to make sure I can bake anything with very short notice. To that end, I keep a variety of supplies and ingredients in the house that will allow me to do just that. 

I can’t tell you how many times I was glad to have whatever I needed within reach for the last-minute visitor or for when one of my kids went to a friend or had a school event without much prior notice.

I have slowly collected things over the years as I needed them (or if I found a good sale) and like to keep more than one of the smaller items in case I don’t want to wash dishes in the middle of baking.

My basic “equipment” includes:

• a hand mixer (you probably don’t need a stand mixer for Passover)
• a small kitchen scale
• baking pans
• mixing bowls (or just large bowls)
• cookie sheets 
• dry measuring cups
• liquid measuring cups
• whisks
• rubber spatulas (really good for when you don’t want to leave anything in the bowl)
• baking (or parchment) paper

While you can certainly manage without the above (such as a whisk, where you can use a fork in a pinch), if you tend to do a lot of Passover baking, these are good to have around.

In addition to the equipment, there are several basic baking ingredients that are used regularly if you are going to want to bake and may be helpful to have at the beginning of the holiday.

Just make absolutely certain that they have a Kosher for Passover certification or don’t require one. When in doubt, ask an Orthodox rabbi (there are also some Orthodox organizations that post Passover information online).

Some of the items on this list, however, are not basic but rather are only used for specific recipes. Regarding these, you might not want to invest in them in advance, but only if you need them.

Unless you have been making Passover at home and know which is which, you might want to plan ahead, at least until you get used to what your yearly baking needs are.

• matzo cake meal
• potato starch
• white sugar
• brown sugar
• powdered sugar
• salt
• baking powder (leavens chemically, so it just needs to be certified Kosher for Passover)
• baking soda (leavens chemically, so it just needs to be certified Kosher for Passover)
• cocoa powder
• ground cinnamon
• ground ginger
• ground cloves
• ground nutmeg
• baking chocolate
• chocolate chips
• vanilla/vanilla sugar
• oil
• margarine or butter
• eggs
• extracts (real or imitation)
• whipping cream (get non-dairy for dairy-free desserts)

Having other kosher for Passover spices in your pantry can also be helpful. Just make certain that everything is certified kosher for Passover.

In addition, whipping cream, powdered pudding mix, and powdered sugar can allow you to be able to make a variety of fillings, frostings, and toppings.

Lastly, it’s not a bad idea to have toppings, such as chopped walnuts, raisins, and, if you can find them kosher for Passover, especially if you have kids, the oh-so-important container of sprinkles.

While some of these can easily be found in the average grocery store that carries kosher-for-Passover items for the holiday, stores that carry only kosher foods should have all or most of it.

I always save the leftover closed items for the following years, especially if they are not easy to find, and just pack them away in a suitable place.

Food on Passover

Torah-observant Jews do not eat chametz (the fermented products of five grains: wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye).

In addition, Torah-observant Ashkenazi Jews do not eat kitniyot (or kitniyos as pronounced in Ashkenazi Hebrew). These include legumes, corn, rice, and similar foods that were deemed forbidden to eat by rabbis in the medieval period and are still not eaten today. Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews do not follow this tradition.

Many observant Ashkenazi Jews will not even eat the derivatives of these kitniyot, while others do (each family holds their own traditions regarding this).

Then, there are Ashkenazim who don’t eat “gebrokts” (or gebrochts).

Gebrokts (gebrochts) means “broken” in Yiddish, and in this case refers to matzo that has absorbed liquid. Not eating gebrokts is observed by many in the Hasidic Jewish community and Ashkenazim who have taken on this tradition, where they basically don’t mix anything wet with matzo.

So, things like matzo sandwiches, fried matzo, and even matzo balls are a no-no for them.

There is a joke that sums it all up:

On Passover, we should remember people who have little to eat on this holiday. They are called Ashkenazim.

Over the years, I have learned to adapt “normal” food for Passover so that my family won’t complain about boring, tasteless, or repetitive meals.

I find that having good food and variety makes the week of Passover a very pleasant experience, and I hope this recipe will help make yours just that!

A little about bananas

Bananas are a healthy and comparatively inexpensive fruit. The most popular type found in grocery stores starts out (and is shipped to destination countries) green but turns yellow by the ripening process. Unripe, they are not sweet but get softer and sweeter as they ripen.

Bananas normally have approximately 80-110 calories, depending on size, and are almost exclusively made up of carbohydrates and water, with only a little protein and no fat. In addition, bananas have nutrients, antioxidants, and a variety of other health benefits.

When used in baking, the overripe bananas (the kind that you would often throw out as non-edible) give the most flavor. And you can freeze bananas (even those that are ripe and flavorful enough for good eating).

Continue to Content

Yield: 16 standard muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins for Passover

Print

Moist, non-dairy, banana muffins rich in chocolate chips, kosher for Passover

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup matzo cake meal (finely ground matzo meal)
• 3/4 cup potato starch
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips*
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 3 medium-sized bananas, as over-ripe as possible, mashed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or flavoring
• 1 teaspoon baking soda **
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Mix the egg, oil, vanilla, and bananas until smooth.
2. Add the matzo meal, potato starch, sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix well.
3. Mix in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips.
4. Using a large spoon or ladle, pour batter into the paper-lined or greased standard muffin cups until they are 2/3 to 3/4 full. ***
5. Take from the remaining chocolate chips and sprinkle on top.
6. Place in an oven that has been preheated to 350°F.
7. Bake for 15-20 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (normally the top will have browned slightly, but sometimes the middle is still not done).

Notes

MAKE SURE ALL INGREDIENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE SO ARE CERTIFIED KOSHER FOR PASSOVER.

* Feel free to use more if so desired.

** While baking powder is a leavener, it does not leaven through fermentation but rather through chemical reaction, so it is kosher for Passover, and you can find it labelled as such.

*** The higher you fill the muffin cups, the higher they will turn out, but the quantity will be less. Also, be careful not to overfill, or they will spill onto the muffin tin.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 306Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 168mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 2gSugar: 26gProtein: 3g

Sharing is caring!