Banana Muffins

By Effimiya

thick sweet batter that is full of mashed bananas, ground cinnamon and toasted nuts.

Banana Muffins are a snap to make. Just mix the dry
ingredients together in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine
the two and you are done. When you pull
the banana muffins from the oven their golden brown crusts are delightfully crisp and
although their crusts soften once covered and stored, their wonderful
moist texture and sweet flavor remain intact

The good thing about

these muffins is that they can be made anytime of the year

as bananas are always available with consistent quality. The important

thing to remember though is that some preplanning needs to be done. This

recipe uses bananas that have turned brown with age which are hard to find in
most grocery stores. Bananas are most often sold when their skin is still
bright yellow, sometimes even a little green, which indicates that the
flesh is still quite hard with little flavor. This may be great for eating raw but not for

making muffins when you want the bananas to be soft and sweet. For those times when you don't want to wait

several days for the

bananas to ripen you may want to have a few brown bananas already frozen in your

freezer. All you need to do for this is to place very ripe bananas in a

plastic bag either whole or you can peel and mash them (in food processor), stir

in 1 teaspoon lemon juice for each banana, and then freeze in an airtight

container or bag. They will keep about six months in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans
• 1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Details

Servings 12
Cooking time 25mins
Adapted from joyofbaking.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line and
place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted.

Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl
combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs,melted butter, and vanilla.
With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly
the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over
mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.) Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins.
Bake about 20 -or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for five minutes and then remove muffins
from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.