Saturday, February 11, 2012

Super-Moist Banana Muffins

I wanted a banana muffin recipe that was really far away from dry and fairly basic to put together. The center of these muffins resembles bread pudding partly because of the higher ratio of banana used. I kept the recipe pretty plain and simple, but of course, then had to think of some ways to complicate the issue (see below for tips) next time.

Super-Moist Banana Muffins
(Makes 6 large muffins or 12 standard)

3 ripe bananas (mashed well)
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons vanilla

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the wet ingredients well. Separately, whisk the dry ingredients. Fold wet into dry carefully so the batter is just mixed. Pour batter into a muffin tin lined with unbleached baking cups such as the kind made by If You Care. Bake muffins for 30-40 minutes until tops are crisp and lightly browned. Be sure to let them cool for at least 15 minutes before you eat them because they are actually better that way.

To make things a little more complicated:
- Add espresso powder.
- Add chopped chocolate-covered pecans.
- Mix finely chopped walnuts, brown sugar, and a little sea salt for a crunchy topping.
- Before baking, top with a little butter for a crispy top.
- Reserve 1/3 of the batter, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to it, and marbleize by adding it on top of the regular batter and running a knife around it to swirl.
- Top with shaved coconut and add a teaspoon of coconut extract to the batter.
- Add 1/3 cup peanut butter to the batter and whisk a little warm peanut butter, powdered sugar, and cream for a glaze for finished bread or muffins.

7 comments:

  1. ...and danielle too will do these. They are moist and purposefully dense. Very delicious!

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  2. Oh, good God, I almost feel guilty eating these for breakfast, they're so decadent! Any time I'm given an option to add peanut butter to a recipe, I do it, so I added it to the batter and made the glaze like you suggested. I made these yesterday afternoon, so we tried them for the first time after dinner when they were already cooled completely. They were really good and very dense. When I ate one for breakfast this morning, I popped it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Holy moly! This changed everything, in a really great way. Once they're warm, they really do take on a bread pudding consistency. Yum!

    Notes, hhmmm...One egg is listed, but it doesn't say to beat it. I went ahead and beat it lightly before I added it to the wet ingredients. Also, I have standard-sized muffin tins, and this amount of batter filled 12 completely. And that's about it.

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  3. I'm so glad you liked the consistency. We were afraid people wouldn't "get" it. They are purposely dense, but also moist. It's a very unique muffin, I think.

    I made the beaten egg change and added a note about servings. One question. Was the cook time still 30-40 minutes even with the smaller muffins?

    Kate is the coolest!

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  4. I cooked mine about 45 minutes. I was using those weird reusable silicone baking cups, though. Do you think that would make a difference in the cook time?

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  5. Yes, maybe! Have never used 'em. We have the one-piece silicone muffin pans, and with paper liners, they rock.

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  6. from danielle,

    I made these muffins a few nights ago, and they were delicious. They are really dense and moist. Mine took exactly 30 minutes on 350 degrees in a non-stick Calphalon muffin tin. This batch made 10 muffins for me that were medium size. I would definitely make this recipe again.

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