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I make a banana bread at least once a week and I've tested many recipe variations through the years. These delicious muffins are by far, the best to date so I thought I would share the recipe. The recipe is adapted from [amazon 0307449459 full]
I'm always on the hunt for food that I can add to B's lunch box. These banana muffins are full of good natural ingredients, they make superb portable food and can be eaten on the run if there’s no time for a proper breakfast.
- Preparation: 15 minutes
- Cooking: 30 minutes
- Makes 12 large muffins
- Provides fibre, iron and B vitamins including folate
- Suitable for freezing
Ingredients:
For the Streusel
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
For the Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour or 1 1/2 cup all-purpose & 1/2 cup whole wheat
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk, sour cream, or whole-milk yogurt
1 1/2 cups whole walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)
Directions:
Make the streusel topping
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the cubes of butter, and using your fingertips, work it into the dry ingredients until pea-size or a little bigger crumbs form; set aside in the refrigerator.
2.Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, or generously butter with softened butter; set aside.
Make the muffins
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add in and beat the vanilla and the bananas.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, beating until the flour is absorbed. Beat in the buttermilk (milk with a slight squeeze of lemon)/sour cream/yogurt. Fold in the walnuts, if using.
4. Use a 2-inch (1/4 cup) ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffins, pressing some of the mixture into clumps with your fingertips, for added texture.
5. Bake, rotating the pan about two-thirds of the way through the baking time, until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.
6. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Use a small offset spatula or a table knife to gently lift and turn the muffins on their sides in the muffin cups. Let cool completely in the pan.
