I love banana muffins. It’s just something about them that makes my mouth water. If I go to a cafe and they are serving banana muffins, I partake. I think a big reason why I love them is that they remind me of my grandpa’s banana pancakes. No one, besides him, has mastered the pancakes. The muffins are as close as I can get to my childhood.
About a year ago, I was living with my cousins and their two children. I was blessed to be living at the beach with a view of the ocean. The weather was incredible and the sunshine was perfect. The household lived off bananas. Instead of getting 5 or 6 bananas for the week, my family would purchase double. There were many weeks when we couldn’t get to all the bananas in time before they were dark and mushy.
I made a proclamation: I am making banana muffins.
So I searched high and low for a recipe that would make moist muffins. I don’t know about you, but dry banana bread/muffins should be a crime. I found a recipe that I liked and had to change the way I made them due to the tools I was using – a spoon and bowl. I thought this was going to mess the muffins up, but they actually made the best muffins I had ever put in my mouth.
Normally, this recipe is used with a KitchenAid or mixer (which you are more than welcome to use). But after making the muffins with a KitchenAid and with a spoon, I liked the spoon version better.
This is why I like the spoon version – I don’t over mix. Sometimes I get a little crazy with the KitchenAid and whip up the mixture too much. The muffins seem drier when that happens. I like using a spoon because I fold the mixture until blended. They are light, soft, and delicious.
Trust me on this: my cousin and I ate 85% of the muffins the day they came out of the oven. She asks me to not make them when she is around. Watch out with the streusel – you’ll want to eat the whole bowl before putting it on top of the muffins.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 ripe bananas
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mash bananas with fork. After bananas are mashed, use spoon to mix and continue to break down bananas. The bananas mixture will be runny. Transfer to another bowl and set aside.
- Cream together the softened butter and brown sugar with a spoon. Mix, mix, mix! It won't be as perfect as using a mixer, but try your best. Add eggs one at a time and then incorporate the banana mixture until well blended. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Do not over mix. Spoon batter into prepared cups.
- Melt butter.
- Add butter to bigger bowl and put dry ingredients on top. Use fingers to mix butter with dry ingredients. Break down mixture to make the streusel crumbly.
- Add crumb topping onto muffins and bake.
