How to Make Banana Muffins That Rival Any Fancy Bakery’s
You bought a bunch of bananas with aspirations of smoothies and on-the-go snacks…and now they’re staring at you from the kitchen counter, all brown and sad. No worries, friend: This moment calls for banana muffins. Not sure where to start? Here’s how to make banana muffins that will rival any you’d find at a fancy bakery (and that will put your brown bananas to good use).
Ingredients You’ll Need:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
¼ cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
How to Make Banana Muffins:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray (or alternatively, line each cup with a cupcake liner).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine, about 30 seconds.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the bananas, eggs, milk, melted butter and oil until fully combined.
4. Using clean hands, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour the wet ingredients into the well. Whisk the wet and dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix. (If using mix-ins, fold them in at this point.)
5. Using a cookie scoop or quarter-cup measure, divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins, filling about ¾ way full. Bake until the muffins are just starting to turn golden and spring back when touched (or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean), 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the muffin tin.
Tips for Making Banana Muffins:
The browner the bananas, the better (as long as they’re not rotten). They’ll make your muffins sweeter and moister than if you use unripe bananas.
Don’t over-mix the batter—a few stray dots of flour are OK. If you mix the batter too much, the muffins will be tough instead of tender.
You can add mix-ins to customize your muffins: Walnuts, chocolate chips or blueberries are popular choices, but do what sounds delicious.
Struggling to remove an unwieldy, hot muffin tin from the oven? Leave a corner cup empty so you have something to grab onto (and so you don’t accidentally jab a thumb into your hard work).
A cookie scoop (like this one) will make easy work of dividing the batter equally among the tin, but you can use a quarter-cup measure or large metal spoon in a pinch.
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute equal amounts plain whole-milk yogurt or sour cream.
To adapt the recipe to make mini muffins, adjust the baking time to 10 to 15 minutes.
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