Banana Muffins

I got out of the blogging habit while I was on the road for five weeks for work.  Too much trouble to lug two laptops and power cords onto the plane along with my regular carry on.  Not to mention I wasn't doing much cooking.
Anyway, I ended up with an excess of ripe banana in the freezer.  Enough that I used two different recipes to make Banana Muffins and they both turned out beautifully.  Even though the recipes were very different, the end results really were quite similar.  The only change I made was to add a simple crumb topping to dress them up a little. And of course the baking time needed to be reduced for the recipe that I adjusted for muffins instead of a loaf. 

Banana Pecan Muffins

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

½ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 to 1 ½ cup mashed bananas (about 3)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Blend the flour, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bow.  Mix in the chopped nuts.  In a second bowl, cream the shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.  Blend in the mashed banana.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry stirring just enough to moisten, about 20 seconds. Spoon the muffing batter into a greased muffin tin and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and the tops spring back when touched.

Classic Banana Bread


2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Yield: 1 loaf, 14 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Topping

¼ cup brown sugar

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon soft butter