The Most Flavorful Banana Muffins

Over the years I have grown to appreciate the deep soft sweetness gently aged bananas bring to baked goods. The deeper the aging the less sugar needs to be added to the recipe and the richer the banana flavor imparted to these delicious Banana Muffins.

The Best Bananas

I have been at odds with black bananas most of my life. Never a huge fan of bananas, I always viewed their quick descent past freckled yellow to spotting brown, then shrinking black, suspiciously.

As a girl I would occasionally eat a pristine banana. A banana that was bright yellow could be appealing. I might even eat one still tinged with green, the kind with an almost tart flavor that was just beginning to ripen. I liked bananas best when you could scarcely break off the stem to peel them without a knife. Even then I only wanted a bite or two.

My Dad avoided that kind of pickiness. He rarely bought bananas. Aunt Hen, on the other hand, bought bananas just to have some on hand. She saw them as a quick snack, something she could share over breakfast or offer a guest who might pass through her kitchen. If such an occasion didn’t come along she scarcely let it bother her.

Getting Good

When I came into Aunt Hen’s kitchen to visit, or get a glass of cold water from her refrigerator, I would sometimes look up and see her bananas there, spotted and shrinking. With the wisdom of childhood I would wrinkle my nose distastefully and ask why she didn’t go ahead and throw those ugly things away.  Without missing a beat Aunt Hen would shrug. With a little nod of her head she would tell me, “They aren’t ugly at all. Why they’re just getting good!”

Aunt Hen was no fan of tart flavors. She would buy fine looking yellow bananas for others but she wouldn’t eat them herself. Time had taught her to prefer the deep soft sweetness of overripe bananas. She chose to eat the ones that was no longer pretty. She liked them best once darkened to perfection and eager to express a bold flavorful stickiness that satisfied her sweet tooth.

Over the years I have come to understand the wisdom of Aunt Hen’s words. Now I know that perfectly aged bananas are a flavorful treasure that should not be overlooked. I still don’t care to eat dark bananas on their own. I have, however, grown to appreciate the depth of sweetness a gently aged banana can add to baked goods. The deeper the aging the less sugar needs to be added to the recipe. Aging also imparts a richer flavor to the Banana Bread or Muffins that come out of the oven.

Note: If you are wondering just how black bananas can get and still be optimal for baking, or how black is “too black”, check out Ripe Bananas for Baking: How Ripe Should Bananas Be? by my friend Alanna at Kitchen Parade. She has discovered a timetable that might surprise you!

Enjoy!

Banana Muffins

Course: Bread, BreakfastDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

muffins

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Total time

40

minutes

The deep soft sweetness of overripe bananas imparts rich flavor, with less added sugar, to these delicious Banana Muffins.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white flour

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

• 1 Tablespoon baking powder

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

• 1 cup milk

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1 1/4 cups mashed very ripe bananas (approx. 4 bananas)

• optional additions:

• up to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasted

• a handful of chocolate chips

• cinnamon sugar

• coffee sugar

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin tins.
• In a large bowl stir together the white flour, wheat flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the egg, milk, oil, vanilla and bananas until well combined.
• Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the wet mixture and stir until nearly combined. Add the nuts and chocolate chips, if desired (or save them to arrange on top of the batter if you have picky eaters that will pick them out of the muffins). Continue mixing just until combined.
• Fill muffin cups with batter until nearly full. Arrange any nuts or chocolate chips you have left out of the batter on top of some or all of the muffins. Sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar or coffee sugar (1 teaspoon instant coffee powder mixed with 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar) on top of the batter, if desired.
• Bake at 350F until golden and muffin top springs back when touched lightly in the center; approximately 15 minutes for mini-muffins and 25 minutes for regular sized muffins. Cool slightly on wire rack before removing muffins from pans.
• Enjoy!