Banana Muffins

From Joy of Baking. I halved the recipe to make 6 muffins, and used a bit more than the amount of banana called for. I used larger-sized chopped walnuts, omitted the cinnamon and cut back the sugar to 60 grams (would be 120 grams for the full recipe). Mine took the full 25 minutes to bake.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (110 grams) walnuts or pecans
  • 1¾ cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon (1 gram) salt
  • 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
  • 2 large (100 grams) eggs lightly beaten
  • ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 1½ cups (300 grams) mashed bananas you will need 1 pound or 450 grams bananas (skins on) which is 3 large bananas
  • 1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners or butter or spray the muffins cups with a nonstick spray.
  2. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.
  3. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and chopped nuts.
  4. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the eggs, melted butter, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery muffins.)
  5. Evenly spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins.
  6. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for five minutes and then remove muffins from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.