Baby banana bread muffins.

I’m a sucker for a sale. Especially when it’s for something as cute (and practical…) as baby bananas. Unfortunately, I tend to overbuy--not the best idea for tiny, perishable fruit. I ate one bunch in time. They were the perfectly-portioned pre- and post-spinning snack. The second bunch, which turned over-ripe before its time, became the star ingredient in some miniature muffins (ha, how fitting).

Sometimes I feel bad when I tweak a recipe so much it bears little semblance to the original. But, in the name of nutrition and experimentation, I did make multiple additions and substitutions. The muffins turned out to be delicious. And you don’t just have to take my word for it. Alex (of the seldom updated delicious bowdoin blog) agreed.

Ingredients:

Dry mixture:	Wet mixture:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour	6 very ripe mini bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup ground almond meal	2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup whole wheat flour	2 tbsp canola oil
1-1/2 tsp baking powder	3 tbsp applesauce*
1/4 tsp baking soda	1 egg, room temperature, beaten
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg	Fold in:
1/8 tsp ground cloves	1/4 cup chopped pecans
pinch of salt	unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

*made mine in the Blendtec with Granny Smiths

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. In bowl one, combine all dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle.
3. In bowl two, combine bananas, sugar, oil, applesauce, egg. Add this mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir until just moistened and slightly lumpy. Fold in nuts.
4. Spoon batter into (pre-greased) pan of choice. I used mini muffin tins.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of pan or muffin comes out clean. Mine took about 12 minutes.

 

Aw, adorable!  My blog is becoming a bit of a hodge-podge. Returning to its artistic roots soon enough.