Banana Muffins

It doesn’t matter whether I buy 1, or 5 bananas, I never seem to eat them all before they turn brown. While I personally prefer my bananas almost green, brown ripe bananas give me a great excuse to make banana muffins or banana bread. The recipe comes from a cookbook of recipes submitted by firefighters, and sold by our local fire department. My mom was gifted the book from my grandmother (my grandpa was a firefighter), and this has been our family’s go-to banana muffin recipe ever since. These muffins are soft and moist, with a slighty chewy crust on top. I prefer them without nuts, but you could always make them banana nut muffins by adding chopped walnuts on top.

Banana Muffins
Yields: About 15 muffins

Ingredients:
3 large bananas, mashed
1/3 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mash the bananas, and add them to a large bowl. (I like to mash the bananas in a zip-lock bag, then cut the corner off to add to the bowl). Add the melted butter, sugar and egg to the bowl and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to banana mixture, and stir just until well incorporated.

Grease a muffin pan with non stick spray, and use an ice cream scoop or small measuring cup to fill the muffin tin 3/4’s of the way. Sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, or until the sides and tops of the muffins are lightly browned.

*Freezer-Friendly Tip* – Freeze in a zip-lock bag or air tight container. Let the muffin defrost at room temperature or heat in the microwave for 20 seconds. If you have ripe bananas, but don’t time to make muffins, mash them in a zip-lock bag and freeze the bananas until you are ready to use them.

Source: Fireman’s Cookbook, also seen on AllRecipes.com