Banana Spice Muffins

You know how it is, you always crave what you can't have.  I've never been able to eat bananas.  They give me a really bad stomach ache and I've avoided them like the plague.  My mother was the same way.  But if you search banana on this blog you'll find Banana Rum Cake and Banana Buttermilk Pancakes, and I often sneak banana into my favorite Bran Muffins.  No, I don't have a death wish, but recently I discovered that if I heat the mashed banana in the microwave for a minute or so before adding it to these recipes, I can eat it just fine.  Who knew?  Now I can't get enough of the stuff.  If you're one of the two other people on the planet who can't eat bananas, this is big news.

I love this particular mix of spices.  I've used cardamom where you'd usually find cinnamon, and it makes all the difference.  The first bite won't catapult you right back to the old Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, and that's a good thing.  The aroma is more exotic and sophisticated.  Grate the nutmeg over the batter with a micro-plane; you won't believe the difference it makes.  In fact I'm in the process of converting a lot of my spices over to fresh ground....more on that in a later post.

 

These are light, fluffy and moist.  The holy trinity of muffins, as far as I'm concerned.  They have a fall-apart texture which I love; the oat flour and oat bran help with that.  And the crumble topping gives the whole thing some added crunch and sweetness. 

Don't let the long list of ingredients throw you, it's mostly spices and basic stuff.  You can substitute plain flour for the oat flour, if you must, but I highly recommend keeping some around for baking.  It really creates the most wonderful texture.  I like to throw in a little oat bran or wheat bran into my muffins whenever I can, too, not only for the health factor, but because I think it makes them lighter.  

15 seconds in the microwave will bring leftover muffins back to a fresh out of the oven state.

Banana Spice Muffins
oven to 375
makes 12 muffins
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup oat bra
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
heaping 1/4 tsp cardamom
heaping 1/4 tsp ground ginger
heaping 1/4 tsp allspice
heaping 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

• Whisk together the above dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. 

crumble topping:
1/4 cup oat flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 Tbsp butter (I was out of butter and used coconut oil, it worked fine)

•  Mix together the flour, sugar, oats, nuts and butter with your fingertips until it is all combined and has a coarse crumb.  Set aside.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup mashed banana (about 2 small)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

• Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the eggs, banana, buttermilk and nuts.  Mix thoroughly.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix together just until blended.
• Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or use liners.  Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.  Top with the crumb topping and bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool on a rack.

Note:  I based this recipe on my Pumpkin Streusel Muffins, which are amazing.  If you don't like banana, try those, or my Spiced Vanilla Pear Muffins; they're all variations on a yummy theme.

My policy is to eat one hot from the oven.

You only live once.