Monday, May 10, 2010

Too many Bananas

These started out as Raisin Bran Muffins, but I had no bran, nor old-fashioned oats and I did have ripe bananas and walnuts and coconut…and raisins. Being playful, I changed quite a few things around and made some lovely muffins that have full banana fragrance and flavor and are joined sweetly by playmates walnuts, coconut and raisins.

Since I played around so much with the recipe, it ended up making more than 12 muffins. You could probably get 18 muffins from this recipe, but I chose to put the additional batter in a mini-loaf pan instead.

Playful Banana Muffins
Based loosely on Raisin Bran muffins in The King Arthur Flour Bakers Companion

3 ripe bananas
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 stick of butter, melted (1/2 cup) and cooled a bit
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons molasses
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup rolled oats (oats for oatmeal)
¼ cup dried coconut
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup roughly chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin and a mini-loaf pan by spraying with baking spray or by greasing and flouring them. Set aside.

Peel and mash the bananas in a bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the buttermilk, butter, eggs, brown sugar and molasses. Add the bananas and mix to combine.

In another bowl mix together the flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda, oats, coconut, raisins and nuts.

Quickly, with as few strokes as possible, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until combined.

Fill prepared muffin cups with the mixture, filling each cup almost to the top. Pour the rest of the batter into the prepared mini loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 14 to 18 minutes for the muffins, or until they spring back when pressed lightly in the middle and about 25 minutes for the mini loaf pan banana bread, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Removed when ready from the oven and cool on a wire rack 5 minutes, then turn out of the pans and let cool until ready to serve.

5 comments :

  1. How many times will we be faced with too many bananas ... and come out ahead like this. Sounds lovely.
    My last too many bananas came out as Honey Banana Jam.

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  2. I've been there. Too many bananas may be considered a not so good thing :P by some! But, its always a good thing looking at all the stuff we can do!

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  3. Ha,ha, you sound like me. I want to make these but opps, I don't have the main ingredient. :)
    Way to work with what you had.

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  4. Can you really have too many bananas? This looks like a perfect way to deal with the overflow. Yes, bananas do play well with all those flavors.

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  5. Oh yum these look fabulous and I love all the add ins. Can't go wrong with bananas

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