Banana Muffins

Have you got leftover bananas rotting on the counter? This is a delicious and quick alternative to the ubiquitous banana bread baked in a loaf pan. The texture is much finer than a traditional banana bread and for some reason, it’s a much lighter bake, but filling at the same time (well, if you eat two of them in a row, that is. But I’m not naming names.)

The recipe, from King Arthur Baking, says it makes 12 muffins, but I got 11. When I originally made it, I thought the recipe omitted baking powder, so I added 1/2 teaspoon, since it said they don’t rise very much. On a later reading, I realized the original recipe does indeed include baking powder — a full 2 teaspoons, which is not really necessary. They rose beautifully even with only 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.  I didn’t have the oat bran called for in the recipe, so I took some old-fashioned oats and whizzed them in the blender to break up the texture. It worked perfectly.

Serve with a cup of espresso or a pot of tea and bite into the crispy, crunchy topping. You’ll won’t miss that banana bread one bit, and you might even find yourself having a second muffin too!

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Banana Muffins

Author: Ciao Chow Linda via King Arthur Baking

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• Batter
• 1/2 cup (113g) yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup (50g) vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups (340g to 369g) mashed banana, 2 to 3 large bananas
• 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (113g) oat bran (I used old-fashioned oats that I whizzed in the food processor)
• 1 1/2 cups (177g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Topping
• 1/4 cup (53g) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (23g) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons (14g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon (14g) soft butter

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a standard muffin tin, or line with papers and grease the papers.
2. (I got 11, not 12 muffins from this recipe.)
3. Combine the yogurt, egg, oil, mashed banana, sugar, and oat bran in a bowl.
4. Whisk together and set aside for 10 minutes.
5. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg.
6. Work the topping ingredients together until the mixture is crumbly.
7. Whisk the banana mixture into the flour mixture.
8. Scoop into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost full.
9. Sprinkle muffins with the topping.
10. Bake the muffins for 20 to 24 minutes, until the muffins are set and browned. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and enjoy warm.

3.5.3251