Banana Muffins

Heather says:

Muffin recipes are a great introduction to baking. They aren’t fussy and a flat muffin is still a delicious muffin. Don’t get smug and try to pass these off as health food; they aren’t. They are however delicious and semi-portable. What is semi-portable? Great in a lunch bag, not so great while driving.

Just as an FYI the optional streusel topping isn’t so optional, in my opinion.

Optional Streusel Topping

2 TBSP cold butter, cut into small cubes or grated
1/8 cup rolled oats
1/8 cup white sugar
1/8 cup brown sugar
a pinch of cinnamon

Use a fork to stir these ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Simple Banana Muffins

Yields 9 – 10 muffins (depending on the size of your bananas)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose or plain flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 medium bananas, mashedOptional Streusel Topping

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Mash the bananas and set aside. In this case, a little oxidation is a good thing, it helps bring out the banana flavor.

Grease a muffin tin, you can use butter or cooking spray.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and stop as soon as they are mixed. Overmixing leads to flat muffins.

Fill 9 muffin cups with 1/3 cup batter each and sprinkle with the topping. If you have a standard ice cream scoop, this is the perfect size for muffins. I use a measuring cup and spatula.