A New Twist on Classic Banana Muffins

You know I'm bananas for bananas (wink wink).  And although I don't eat them often, I do love a good homemade low-fat banana muffin.  I like to use the biggest, ripest bananas I can find for the strongest flavor possible.  A few weeks ago my friend Julie clued me in to a way to get an even stronger banana flavor in my muffins.  Are you ready for this?  Roast the bananas first!

You can try it with your favorite banana bread recipe or you can use mine.  If you use mine, just be aware that it's low-fat and the texture will be dense and chewy.  This is how I like it!

Roasted Banana Muffins
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

3 medium bananas, unpeeled
3/4 cup sugar
4 oz. natural applesauce
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup.  Place the bananas on the baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.  The peels will turn black and juices will start to seep out. 

2. While the bananas are baking, prepare your muffin tins with liners or spray with non-stick spray.

3. Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Peel and mash, draining away some of the juice if there seems to be an excessive amount of liquid.Add the sugar and applesauce to the bowl with the mashed banana.  Stir to combine.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Make a well in the center and add the banana mixture.  Stir until everything is combined but do not over-mix.  Fold in the nuts.

5. Spoon batter into muffin tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan; cool completely.

Makes 12 regular or 6 jumbo muffins*. 

*Jumbo muffins may require 25-28 minutes in the oven. 

Have you ever roasted bananas?

Banana Bread - Pure & Simple

Go ahead and call me crazy, but I don't think anything belongs in banana bread other than bananas.  That means no nuts, no dried fruits, and definitely - DEFINITELY - no chocolate chips!  Chocolate chips would be the quickest way to ruin a perfectly good loaf of banana bread.  Walnuts are forgivable - occasionally and in small quantities.  But chocolate chips?  I just don't think we could be friends anymore.  Ha ha, I joke.  Or do I?

As I was saying, I prefer my banana bread pure, simple, and unadulterated.  And all in all, pretty darn healthy.  My egg replacement is ground flax seed, so there is a bit of healthy fat from that but I use applesauce instead of oil so it's a very low-fat recipe.  It isn't the lowest in sugar but hey, we all have our vices.  Feel free to use less if you'd like.  You could also sub in whole-wheat flour for some of the white.  I can't vouch for the results but please leave a comment below if you try it.

I like to enjoy this for an evening snack with some tea but it's definitely healthy enough that you could have it for breakfast.  If you'd like to make muffins instead of a loaf, pour the batter into 12 muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. 

This recipe is adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook: 11th Edition.

Basic Banana Bread
(printable recipe)  

 Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. ground flax seed

3 tbsp. water

1 cup mashed banana (about 3 very ripe bananas)

3/4 sugar (I prefer Sucanat)

1/4 unsweetened natural applesauce

1 tbsp. old-fashioned oats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease the bottom and sides of a 8x4x2-inch loaf pan and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Make a well in the center and set aside.

3. In another bowl, combine the flax seed and water and whisk well.  Add the mashed banana, sugar, and applesauce and stir to combine.  Add wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined.

4. Pour into prepared pan.  Sprinkle oats over the top and bake for 50-55 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to wire rack.  Allow to cool completely.  Wrap tightly and store in refrigerator.  As with most quick breads, this is best enjoyed the next day.

Makes 1 loaf.

Do you put chocolate chips or nuts in your banana bread?

* If you ARE one of those people, you can add about 1/2 cup walnuts and uh, I don't know how many chocolate chips.  Those have never entered my banana bread so I wouldn't know.  But you can Google it.