Banana Crunch Mini Muffins

Mushy bananas are made for one thing – baked goods. Banana bread and Banana muffins, banana pancakes…they all require this not-so-secret ingredient that just so happens to look gross but yield fantastically tasty results. I was looking forward to this recipe for Banana Crunch Mini Muffins all weekend…and with Monday dinner baking, that left plenty of time to pull these muffins together.

Personally, I like to use mini muffin tins as I find they cook more evenly and are a better portion size than larger varieties which can end up being too dense, too mushy, or just plain too much. Keep in mind that this recipe is portion sized for large muffins – so if like me you’re making 24 mini muffins, you should measure and mix your ingredients for only 12 muffins (All Recipes lets you do this easily right on their website).

Mix all the dry ingredients (minus the coconut, granola and walnuts) together in one bowl. Same for the butter, milk, vanilla extract and egg in a separate bowl. Fold each of them together – then add the mushed up banana. Then bring the coconut, granola and walnuts in. Mix everything together so it’s a nice even texture (no surprise granola or banana chunks should be in there) then spoon it all into the mini muffin tins.

Now it’s just about patience. You should sacrifice one perfect muffin by poking it with a toothpick or a knife (should wipe mostly clean, maybe with one or two token crumbs) – sure, you don’t have to do this…but if one muffin is the price of delicious perfection, the that’s just what it takes.

Plus it gives you an added excuse to do some taste testing – since it’s not like that’s a muffin you’re going to be serving to others anyway…

These muffins took 14 minutes to cook -which I found slightly surprising only in that I thought the time would go down more with the smaller muffin sizes. But in my experience, you should always trust yourself (and know your oven) more than following any exact number in a cookbook or on a website. You’ll know when the edges are just brown and crispy enough. You’ll also know if despite what the recipe calls for, it’s going to take a few more minutes until they are perfect.

Image: Rachel Segal