One great thing about having bananas always on our grocery list, is having brown speckled bananas around every now and then! I’d been working the entire Memorial Day weekend which wasn’t so bad since I was still able to visit with my in-laws who were in town, but I woke up quite early this morning just out of habit since I start work at 7AM. I had enough time to try a new recipe for banana muffins I found online on BrownEyedBaker’s website. I didn’t have a chance to snap a picture since they were quickly whisked away to be shared at B’s work. I made a few changes to suit my taste. I use raw almonds to top my muffins since they will toast while the muffins are baking.
These muffins have enough sugar to develop a nice crisp and sweet top-no frosting necessary! They are also ready so much faster than banana bread, which I still prefer for it’s dense texture and more complex flavor. But in a pinch, these are great!
Dry Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients:
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup melted butter, slightly cooled
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed (*ripened bananas can be peeled then frozen in plastic bags for later use. Just thaw in the microwave!)
Topping (optional): Raw sliced almonds
Directions: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Microwave butter until just melted, set aside to cool and to use when preparing wet ingredients.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and eggs together for about 30 seconds until the sugar dissolves and mixture is light. Beat in oil, butter and vanilla into the egg mixture, then stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until blended.
Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Top each muffin with almonds. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes.
]]
UPDATE:
I made these muffins sans nuts and added a vanilla pudding frosting to make them more like cupcake treats. I made them together with my Strawberry Dream Cpcakes and Chocolate Cupcakes with Chaocolate Ganache. I call them Banana Cream Cupcakes:)
Vanilla Pudding Frosting:
1 package vanilla pudding ( 3.4 oz box)
1 cup cold milk
A few large spoonfuls of Cool Whip
Whisk Instant Pudding and cold milk for 2 minutes. Refrigerate to allow to set.
Fold in desired amount of Cool Whip
To decorate cupcakes: I cut a little well in the center of each cake then filled it and the center of the top of the cupcake with the frosting using a pastry tip.
Nesting On A Hill 