BANANA NUT MUFFINS
Friday, March 27, 2015
Happy Friday, friends! I have been really good lately about not eating sweets. I was strong. I stood my ground. I fought back against temptations. Then I got a hankering for muffins.
The solution?
Bake banana nut muffins. Surely the banana will make them.. healthy.. less fattening.. right? Oh yeah, they're gluten free, so that means I can eat at least five or all of them. You know me, I love to scratch bake, but, we don't always have time for that now do we. Prepackaged dry ingredients aka baking mixes can be so truly helpful. Being the gluten free girl that I am ( fist bump to all of my gluten intolerant friends ) I keep a Glutino baking mix or two in the pantry at all times. It's a great foundation for all kinds of delicious muffin indulgences.
These gluten free banana nut muffins in particular are my absolute favorite. I don't care much for super sweet baked goods, so these lightly sweet muffins are just the ticket.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1 BOX GLUTINO BAKING MIX
2 LARGE BANANAS
1 STICK UNSALTED BUTTER (SOFTENED)
2 LARGE EGGS
1 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT
1 1/4 CUP OF MILK
1 CUP OF WALNUTS ( ROUGHLY CHOPPED )
1 1/2 TSP PUMPKIN PIE SPICE ( OPTIONAL )
+ HAND MIXER WITH WHISK ATTACHMENT
PREPARATION
Preheat over to 370˚ and line muffin tins. Mash the two bananas and set aside. Roughly chop walnuts, and any other nuts you would like to add, and set aside.
In a medium size bowl beat together the softened butter, two large eggs, and teaspoon of vanilla. The butter might not break down completely and that's okay. Add muffin mix and milk then beat on low speed until well combined.
Fold or beat in the mashed bananas and walnuts ( or any nut you like ) until well distributed through batter. Add the teaspoon and a half of pumpkin pie spice and beat on low speed until fully distributed though batter.
+ This is the point where you can add in any of the add ons that you like. Add some cinnamon for extra flavor, or honey for a little more sweetness. Cocoa powder is a really nice addition. Chocolate granola, I use Nature's Path, is an incredible add on. I strongly suggest it! If you don't want to add anything else into the batter, sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon on top of each muffin before baking.
ADD ONS:
1 CUP OF PECANS ( ROUGHLY CHOPPED )
1 TSP CINNAMON
1 CUP OF CHOCOLATE GRANOLA ( A HEARTY CUP FULL )
1 CUP OF FRESH BLUBERRIES
1 TSP COCOA POWDER ( UNSWEETENED )
1 CUP OF SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS
1/4 CUP OF HONEY (FOR ADDED SWEETNESS )
Spoon a generous amount of batter into each muffin tin. I use a soup spoon for this, and spoon in the batter twice for decent size muffins. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top of each unbaked muffin, and place in your 370˚ oven for 20-25 minutes.
My oven cooks low, so you might have to adjust the baking time depending on how hot your oven cooks. I do find that these muffins turn out best baked low and slow. When in doubt, look for lightly golden brown tops, and do the toothpick test. If the toothpick comes out clean, they're done!
These banana nut muffins are moist, flavorful, and just sweet enough! Our family loves them and I hope you do as well.
+ Store the muffins in a airtight container. Baggies, I've found, will make them taste a little like plastic. You can reheat these muffins the next day, in the microwave, and add a little butter.. it's heaven!
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