Totally Delicious Banana Walnut Muffins

This recipe is simple and the result is well worth it! These were about the best banana muffins I have made and surprise! I actually had all the ingredients in the house! If you can't eat nuts, they are just as good without them but there is something about bananas and walnuts that is almost magical...

Totally Delicious Banana Walnut Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour (plus a couple of tbsp to dust pans if necessary)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 6 tbsp melted butter: sweet or salted
• 2/3 c brown or golden brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 - 1 c chopped walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips (if desired)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a medium muffin pan by either spraying it with cooking spray, using cupcake liners or using melted butter to coat each cup then dusted with enough flour to just coat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg together . Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mash bananas. Using a spatula or wooden spoon (or mixer if you prefer), mix in the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract and milk.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the moist ingredients and continue stirring until combined and no dry bits remain. Then add nuts and/or chocolate chips. The batter will be quite thick.
5. Spoon the batter into cups (prepared as directed in #1), distributing evenly. It will come just below the top of each cup of the tin, which will give you a nice rounded muffin top.
6. Baked at 425 for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees without removing the muffin pan. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, depending upon your oven, or until a toothpick or thin knife blade comes out clean. 
7. Remove from oven, wait a few minutes and then transfer muffins to wire rack to cool. If using butter/flour, you may want to gently brush off some of the coating from the bottoms before serving.

NOTE: Not all ovens are created equal and some run hotter than others. You learn that by experimenting. Our gas range runs about 10 degrees hotter than our electric oven did, so test the muffins a bit earlier to ensure they don't overbake. Lowering the temperature after 5 minutes (as instructed) gives the tops a nice crusty rounded finish that is the benchmark of a good muffin. Make sure to allow a good amount of time to preheat the oven to begin with so you ensure that it has reached the correct temperature.