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.

Strawberry Banana White Chocolate Chip Loaf

 Strawberry Banana White Chocolate Chip Loaf

That's quite a mouthful for a loaf, but as delicious as this creation of mine is, it's well worth the effort! Here you get the scrumptious blending of fresh strawberries with bananas and white chocolate chips. Are you drooling yet? I am. A fresh take on an old favorite - banana bread. I wanted one to eat (of course) and what to freeze (what restraint) so I used a smaller aluminum foil loaf pan and a smaller round bundt-type pan that I happened to have lying around. I placed both on a cookie sheet to bake and they turned out beautifully. I love it when that happens!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup granulated white sugar

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 2 large eggs

• 3 mashed bananas
• 1/3 cup mixed berry or plain low fat yogurt

• 1 teaspoon rum extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries, tossed in 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan (preferably Pyrex) with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and rum extract; beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture; just until moist. Don't over-mix. Stir in the white chocolate chips and then gently stir in the strawberries. 
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick (or knife) inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Carefully run a knife around the inside edges to loosen, remove from pan and cool completely on a parchment paper-covered wire rack.

One wasn't enough. I made one in a 4c bundt pan and one in a small loaf pan

Note: To make it easier to remove the loaf without cracking, you can place parchment or wax paper in the loaf pan, overlapping the edges to use as a "handle." Spray with cooking spray before pouring the ingredients in. Then you can just lift it out when it's baked. The pans were flimsy, so I placed them on a cookie sheet, 10 minutes on a lower rack in the oven and then 20 minutes or so on the middle rack to cook evenly without burning.

Raspberry Banana Milk Chocolate Loaf

Raspberry Banana Chocolate Loaf

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 50 min

A combination I couldn't even imagine until I created it. Sometimes you just have to use what you have on hand and go for it with gusto! Just how much goodness can one loaf hold? Try it out and see for yourself!

Raspberry Banana Milk Chocolate Loaf

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup granulated white sugar

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 2 large eggs

• 3 mashed bananas
• 1/3 cup mixed berry or plain low fat yogurt

• 1 teaspoon rum extract
• 1 cup milk, dark or semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips (I used milk chocolate)
• 1 cup halved fresh raspberries, tossed in 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Fold, don't stir and make sure the raspberries have been dredged in flour before adding

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan (preferably pyrex) with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and rum extract; beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture; just until moist. Don't over-mix. Stir in the chocolate chunks and then gently stir in the raspberries. If you want, you can sprinkle a few additional chocolate chips and raspberries on the top.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick (or knife) inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Carefully run a knife around the inside edges to loosen, remove from pan and cool completely on a parchment paper-covered wire rack.

Note: To make it easier to remove the loaf without cracking, you can place parchment or wax paper in the loaf pan, overlapping the edges to use as a "handle." Spray with cooking spray before pouring the ingredients in. Then you can just lift it out when it's baked.