My Nieces Banana Nut Muffins
I love to bake with my nieces! This is their recipe for Banana Nut Muffins. It produces rich and moist muffins that are loaded with ripe bananas, toasted nuts and flavor. I especially enjoy the added textural feel that comes from the bananas that are simply mashed with a fork. Also, those small pieces of banana left behind from hand mashing pack a lot of flavor. Youll understand further when you read the recipe. Its hard to believe that these two young girls, on their own, gleaned this technique from watching Tyler Florence on the Food Network, then applied the technique to their recipe. These girls amaze me.
I love to bake with my nieces! This is their recipe for Banana Nut Muffins. It produces rich and moist muffins that are loaded with ripe bananas, toasted nuts and flavor. I especially enjoy the added textural feel that comes from the bananas that are simply mashed with a fork. Also, those small pieces of banana left behind from hand mashing pack a lot of flavor. Youll understand further when you read the recipe. Its hard to believe that these two young girls, on their own, gleaned this technique from watching Tyler Florence on the Food Network, then applied the technique to their recipe. These girls amaze me.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, fresh ground
- 4 medium overripe bananas*, divided (about 1 1/4 cups total)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup whole milk (room temperature)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- Carbohydrate 459.8999475 g
- Cholesterol 1515.94 mg
- Fat 287.0243125 g
- Fiber 30.2986999464035 g
- Protein 102.67627 g
- Saturated Fat 129.481615 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Dozen (1449g)
- Sodium 4171.363 mg
- Sugar 429.601247553596 g
- Trans Fat 25.525536 g
- Calories 4712 calories
Step-by-step
- Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12-hole muffin tin with paper liners or grease with butter; set aside.
- Spread nuts on parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until fragrant and deep golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer nuts to cutting board to cool then chop coarsely and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; set aside.
- In a small bowl, gently mash 2 of the bananas with a fork so they still have some texture; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, beat remaining 2 bananas and sugars together until well combined and smooth.
- Add melted butter, milk, egg, and vanilla and beat until completely incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in toasted nuts and reserved mashed bananas.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
- Rap muffin tin on counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Let cool in muffin tin set on wire rack for a few minutes before turning muffins out.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
A standard grocery list for banana nut muffins hides the chemical necessity of utilizing fruit at the absolute threshold of viability. Skins should show heavy black spotting and yield entirely to thumb pressure without leaking liquid, because starch conversion peaks at this late stage to maximize natural sweetness without adding refined sugar. Four medium fruits yield roughly one and a quarter cups of pulp, which splits cleanly into two distinct culinary jobs.
Pureeing half the fruit smooth with granulated and brown sugars incorporates air and moisture evenly into the melted butter and whole milk emulsion, whereas hand-mashing the remaining bananas with a fork leaves small cellular pockets intact that burst during baking. This dual-texture method prevents dense, gummy pockets while ensuring distinct bites of fruit remain identifiable. Toasting walnuts or pecans on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for ten minutes releases essential oils trapped inside the nut meats, drastically improving aroma compared to raw additions.
Fresh fruit provides bright top notes, while frozen and thawed overripe bananas soften structurally and release extra surface moisture that requires careful folding to prevent gluten overdevelopment in the unbleached all-purpose flour. Stirring the batter only until dry spots disappear keeps the crumb tender. Rap the filled standard twelve-hole muffin tin firmly against the counter before baking to dislodge trapped air bubbles, then monitor the centers with a wooden toothpick until it emerges clean at the twenty-five to thirty-minute mark.
