Banana Muffins with Walnut Tops
Ever since I first flipped through my latest read, Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking
, these banana muffins caught my eye. They're actually a variation on the Espresso Banana Muffins featured in the book, since I'm cutting out most caffeine and didn't want to include the espresso (though I might take up her suggestion of stirring some chocolate chunks into the next batch). Anyway, this makes a good baker's dozen, so I had enough to share with friends, too!
, these banana muffins caught my eye. They're actually a variation on the Espresso Banana Muffins featured in the book, since I'm cutting out most caffeine and didn't want to include the espresso (though I might take up her suggestion of stirring some chocolate chunks into the next batch). Anyway, this makes a good baker's dozen, so I had enough to share with friends, too! These muffins were also a golden opportunity to take my new stainless steel KitchenAid Artisan 5qt Stand Mixer
for a whirl...talk about a new favorite kitchen gadget - I can't keep my hands off it! One caveat though. If you're used to light, cake-y sugary muffins, these are not for you. These are all about the banana and they're lighter on the sugar and denser than their store-bought or package-mix counterparts (which means they're actually filling, too - perfect for a working girl's breakfast on the go).
for a whirl...talk about a new favorite kitchen gadget - I can't keep my hands off it! One caveat though. If you're used to light, cake-y sugary muffins, these are not for you. These are all about the banana and they're lighter on the sugar and denser than their store-bought or package-mix counterparts (which means they're actually filling, too - perfect for a working girl's breakfast on the go). What You Need:
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 tsps baking powder (Swanson recommends aluminium-free)
- 1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
- 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts (this is where I depart from Swanson's recipe)
- 6 tbsps unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup Florida Crystals (natural cane sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 1 cup plain yogurt (I actually used Stonyfield Farms Organic Vanilla yogurt)
- 1 1/2 cups mashed over-ripe bananas (since the only bananas available in Greenlife Grocery were small little organic ones, I used six small-medium sized bananas)
- unbleached paper baking cups
- muffin tray (12-cup)
What You Do:
- Pre-heat oven to 375F
- Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and set aside
- In your stand mixer (or using a bowl with an electric whisk), cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs.
- Stir vanilla, yogurt and mashed bananas into the butter/sugar mixture then stir in the flour mixture. (Swanson recommends not over-mixing at this point as the muffins will become tough and chewy).
- Spoon muffin mix into baking cups placed in prepared tin. (I found Swanson's suggestion of using an ice cream scoop to do this was fabulous - why didn't I think of that?!)
- Top each muffin with a sprinkling of the chopped walnuts.
- Bake on 375F for approximately 25 minutes or until golden brown (use a cake tester to check).
- Cool, then enjoy!
My friends Heather and William recommend these as lunchtime and after-dinner treats as well as a quick breakfast item!
One one final note, I'm not the only one who's been playing around with variations on Swanson's recipe: check out these other ideas from foodies around the web:
Vegan Tickles came up with muffins that use vegan substitutions for the eggs and yogurt..., and Cooking in Space added blueberries for Espresso Banana Blueberry muffins...
Posted on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 21:03
by
moderngirl
in baking, food & health, Working Girl
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4 Comments
moderngirl
in baking, food & health, Working Girl
|
4 Comments
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Reader Comments (4)
Welcome to the Daring Bakers, good luck with this month's challenge!