I despise banana-flavored candy. Laffy Taffy, Runts, popsicles, Lifesavers, Now and Laters, jelly beans, Dum Dums, Pez, Dubble Bubble, Starburst – I will ALWAYS toss out the banana flavored ones.
When I was a kid, my banana-flavor loathing prejudiced me to all things banana. I thought I hated bananas, and by extension, any foods baked with bananas. And so I turned up my nose at banana bread, banana cream pie, banana pudding, and sadly, banana muffins.
Thankfully, I came around to baked banana goodness on a family vacation to Toledo when my great grandma tricked me into eating zucchini bread. “Here, have a piece,” she said, with a sly smile. Wildly suspicious, my sister and I asked what was in it. “Oh, just try it. I promise you’ll like it.” And she was right – it was delicious.
That zucchini was my gateway bread. The next morning when she offered me a piece of her freshly baked banana bread, I tried it without first scrutinizing the list of ingredients, and I finally realized what I’d been missing.
While I can’t imagine duplicating my great grandma’s magical banana bread, I think I’ve found a pretty darn good banana muffin recipe. I tried to make them a little more heart-healthy than your average muffin, subbing a bit of wheat flour for some of the AP, and a bit of heart-healthy spread for some of the butter. They came out delicious – sweet and moist and buttery – and they didn’t taste like health food at all.
Continue reading for the Banana Walnut Muffins recipe
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large bananas, mashed
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup butter, melted (I used half butter and half margarine)
- Walnut halves and pieces
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the bananas, sugars, egg, vanilla, margarine, and butter. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin cups and top each with a couple walnut pieces.
- Place the muffins in the preheated oven and turn the temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.
Linked to: Talking Dollars and Cents, Gooseberry Patch, Eat at Home
