Fudgy Chocolate Banana Flax Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large muffin pan with paper liners.

2. Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or two forks, cream the oil and sugar. Add the bananas, applesauce, vanilla, and water and beat until smooth. Beat in the eggs.

3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, wheat germ, flaxseed, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the choco¬late chips.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin liners until they are almost full. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out just damp with small crumbs attached. Place the muffins on a cooling rack and let them cool for at least 5 minutes before digging in!

Notes

1. To store the muffins, place them in a zip-top bag with 1 paper towel and remove as much air as possible; store in cool, dry place.

2. To freeze leftover batter, pour into a zip-top bag, remove the air, and seal, or spoon into a lined muffin pan, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and place in freezer for about 24 hours until the batter is solid. Once frozen, remove the cups from the pan and put them into a zip-top bag, removing as much air as possible. Double-wrap them in a second zip-top bag to prevent freezer burn.

3. To bake, you have two options. You can thaw the batter in the bags and pour it into lined muffin tins (cut the bottom corner off the bag to make this easy!) and bake as usual, or you can place the frozen muffins in a muffin pan and place the pan in a cold oven. Set the oven to 350°F and add 20 to 30 minutes to baking time to allow the oven to preheat and the muffin batter to thaw.