I swore to myself I’d never fall victim to the gluten-free thing. In my mind, gluten is the best thing to ever happen to the world. For whatever reason, it has been pegged as the trendy allergy among millennials, so I had to see what all the fuss was about.

This is similar to a recipe my mom usually makes for me (full fat/gluten/etc), but I tweaked it to fit into the health craze. My findings are as follows: muffins are super dense, best when warm (either fresh or microwaved), slightly grainy, and allow you to enjoy Nutella without guilt. Overall, I give them a 3.5/5, so not too shabby, gluten-free world.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (Gluten-Free)

Ingredients:

• 2 c gluten free-flour (rice/tapioca work great)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 4 bananas, spotty brown
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 bag mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 jar Nutella (or more, I won’t judge)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare muffin tin (without liners) by spraying lightly with PAM.
2. In medium bowl, mash bananas. Add sugar, egg, applesauce and vanilla.
3. In large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients.
4. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and add chocolate chips.
5. Fill muffin cups 3/4. On the top of each muffin batter, drop a generous tablespoon of Nutella into the batter. If desired, use a knife to give it a little swirl.
6. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and sides of top feel set when touched. Toothpick inserted in center will likely have Nutella all over it, so this method won’t work here.
7. Serve warm. Keep any leftovers stored in an airtight container and microwave for 15 seconds to warm upon serving.
8. Recipe makes about 24, ringing in around 120 calories each. YUM.