We’re clearing out freezer space here to make room for – wait for it – more frozen meals! Most of the time, our freezer is full of various ingredients, such as summer produce (peppers and peaches, anyone?), that we can use out of season. But since we’ll likely have less time for elaborate cooking, or heck, cooking in general, very soon, we’re making room for already-prepped meals.
But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about banana muffins (or banana bread, if that’s what floats your boat). I mention the freezer because, in addition to our own produce, we’re also fans of freezing ripe bananas. If we’re at the big grocery store, we like to buy the discount bags of “overripe” bananas (in quotations, because there’s almost always still-green bananas in there, yay!), eat some, and freeze the rest for smoothies and baked goods later on.
Anyway, I had a hankering for banana muffins the other day, and we needed something sweet for fika that wasn’t a truffle or a Girl Scout cookie. So, today, I bring you a recipe for said muffins! I like to add walnuts and coconut to mine for extra crunch, texture, and fiber, as well as replace a bit of that all-purpose flour with whole wheat for nuttiness, but the muffins are good without those modifications, as well. Heck, if you want them extra-special for dessert (because we all know a muffin is just a naked cupcake), add chocolate chips. I won’t tell.
Ahem. Banana muffins!
Banana Nut Muffins
Nuts and coconut are optional, but take plain banana muffins to a different level of texture and taste. Use chocolate chips to turn these into even more of a dessert. Experiment and see what you like!
you will need:
- 2 c unbleached all-purpose flour (you can sub up to 1 c wheat flour)
- ½ white c sugar
- ¼ c brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 c melted butter or neutral oil (butter is tastier, but whatever floats your boat)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼-½ c milk, sour milk, or buttermilk
- 3-4 very ripe bananas, thoroughly mashed into a pulp (about 1 ½-2 cups)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional add-ins: up to 1/2 c each of nuts, unsweetened shredded coconut, and/or chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the mashed banana, melted butter, eggs, ¼ c of the milk, and vanilla.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients (as in, push them to the sides of the bowl so there’s an empty space in the middle), add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and fold with a spatula or wooden spoon until the mixture is just combined. The batter will be lumpy; however, if the batter is super dry with large pockets of flour, or is not coming together, add in the remaining ¼ c milk, a tablespoon or so at a time, until combined. If using add-ins, gently fold them into the mixture.
- Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups, filling them about ⅔ full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for at least 5-10 minutes before attempting to remove them from the pan.
Psst – if you want banana bread instead, just use a 5×9 inch loaf pan instead, and increase the cooking time to 45 minutes to 1 hour.
The Crunchy Baker 
These look amazing, hope I get the distinct pleasure of trying a bite of one sometime soon!!!
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