Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tray with 9 muffin papers.

Mash the ripe bananas in a large bowl until creamy.

Mix in the almond butter, eggs, milk of choice, pure maple syrup (if adding) and vanilla extract until the wet ingredients are well combined. Note: If your almond butter is chilled from sitting in the refrigerator, microwave it for 30 to 60 seconds, or until it is very easy to stir.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl (oats, sea salt, and ground cinnamon) and mix well until a thick muffin batter forms. If desired, mix chocolate chips into the oatmeal mixture.

Pour the banana oatmeal mixture into the paper liners, filling them all the way up. If you’d like, sprinkle the tops of the muffin batter with extra chocolate chips.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until muffins test clean and golden brown around the edges.

A great way of telling whether or not a baked good is cooked through is by taking the internal temperature. To do so, insert a digital thermometer into the center of one of the oatmeal muffins and wait until the numbers stop moving. Muffins are fully baked once they have reached 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

Allow the muffins to cool completely before peeling off the wrappers. If you try peeling them off when the muffins are still warm, you'll lose much of the oatmeal muffin cup to the muffin paper.