Of course you can make these as muffins if you like! Just bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Or you can make a standard 8-by-4-inch loaf, baked for 50 minutes. It’s also a fun and

forgiving batter to experiment with in any funky-shaped pan you like, so if you have mini Bundt pans or Yoda-head mini pans, now is the time to use them.

Grating the ginger with a Microplane, which is a very, very fine grater, yields almost a puree.

If you don’t have a Microplane, you can simply mince the ginger very finely, almost to a paste.

Make banana bread even more special with fresh ginger and chocolate chips. These loaves taste delish warm out of the oven, but the ginger is even more pronounced if you let them cool a bit, so these are a wonderful make-ahead treat. I love mini chocolate chips here because they disperse so nicely in a mini loaf, but if you use the regular size no one will be mad atcha.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-compartment mini loaf pan.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas very well with a small masher or a strong fork, until no large chunks are left.

In a large mixing bowl cream together the coconut oil and sugars. Mix in the mashed bananas, applesauce, milk, vanilla, and ginger.

Add 1 cup of the flour, along with the baking soda and salt, and stir to mix, being careful not to overmix. Add the remaining 1 cup flour and the chocolate chips and stir to combine. Again, be careful to mix only until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Scoop equal amounts of the batter into the compartments of the mini loaf pan. Bake until the tops are lightly browned and feel firm if you tap them, 35 to 38 minutes.

Once cool enough to handle, transfer to wire racks to cool completely.