Banana Crunch Muffins

[highlander_ii]

My mom slapped about 8 bananas on the counter and said we needed to do something with them, so I logged on to FoodNetwork.com (where I get a LOT of recipes) and did a search for 'ripe bananas'. There were several promising recipes, but I really liked this one b/c it seemed fairly simple and we had all of the stuff for them:





Banana Crunch Muffins

The legal stuff: Copyright, 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 25 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 18 large muffins or 24 regular-sized muffins

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour


• 2 cups sugar


• 2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled


• 2 extra-large eggs


• 3/4 cup whole milk


• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)


• 1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)


• 1 cup small-diced walnuts


• 1 cup granola


• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut


• Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 18 large muffin cups (or 24 regular-sized muffin cups) with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.



When I made these, I omitted the walnuts (b/c I don't like them), and had to make a slight substitution on the granola b/c we only had 1/4 cup, so I filled the rest of the cup with quick oats and sliced almonds. I put both almonds and coconut on top before baking. These are soooo good!

Comments

[lassarina]

Mmmm, these look delicious. I think I would omit the walnuts also - I do so hate when crunchy bits intrude on my soft baked goods.