Banana Nut Muffins

Big Hoot gave me a food processor for Christmas and I am LOVING it. I have only a hand mixer and a blender, both of which seem ready to die, so I am learning to use the food processor instead. This past week, as the title suggests, I made banana nut muffins. We had TONS of bananas on hand from our co-op and I needed to use them up. I thought muffins would be handier as a grab and go snack than a loaf of bread. I used the following recipe from Food Network. My notes are shown in italics.



Banana Nut Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 overripe bananas

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup pecans, chopped *I used walnuts instead.

*I added 1/2 t. of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter 2 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*I used a food processor rather than a mixer and 'whipped' them together in mere seconds. I used a 1/3 c. measuring cup to ladle the batter more evenly into the tins. My muffin tins made 18 muffins. I had a few larger ones and they didn't set as well in the center. In the future I plan to better mash the bananas they had me set to the side and add some chunkier nuts to the top for 'decoration'. Stored in an airtight container it seems they will last about 5 days, though they are getting a little sticky and are better microwaved a few seconds these last 2 days.