Gram had two great banana recipes. One was a three layer banana cake with chocolate frosting, the other was banana bread. We wanted to make banana chocolate chip muffins, so we tinkered with both recipes to come up with these. So the next time you have very ripe bananas, try these; you'll love them.

Lightly grease 2 12 cup muffin pans and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the VANILLA. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and CINNAMON. Stir into the bowl with the butter mixture and mix until just blended. Fold in the bananas and the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the muffin pans, filling 18 of the muffin holes ¾ full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Prep. time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 18 minutes
Makes: 18 muffins