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Monday, April 9, 2012

Very Ripe Banana Muffins



When buying bananas I prefer to get a few from different stages of ripeness.

An entire bunch of green bananas tend to ripen at the same time while a bunch of very yellow bananas present a different problem as they usually all become over ripe in just a few days.

Either way I usually end up with some very ripe bananas that are past their prime and basically not enjoyable to eat.

A few very ripe almost neglected bananas had been sitting on my counter for several weeks patiently waiting to become the star ingredient in some delicious recipe.
When I finally gave them some attention they were very close to giving up waiting for me to come to their rescue.
Almost convinced to add them to the compost bin I was compelled to spare them from such an ill fate.

Perhaps a tasty banana cake could have rescued them but that idea quickly faded as I thought of how much of that cake I would end up eating. A wonderful banana loaf may have been their way of escape but there weren’t enough bananas for that. A mental image of some very tasty banana chocolate chip cookies came to mind but unfortunately there were too many bananas for that idea.

A batch of muffins seemed be the answer to their plight but I still didn’t have a favourite banana muffin recipe to fall back on.

The lack of a very good recipe was quickly resolved as I visited my recipe book collection and came across a cook book titled 500 Muffin Recipes. Skimming through the index a recipe for Very Ripe Banana Muffins caught my eye and seemed to hold some possibility.

Quickly running out of options it was certainly worth a try.

There is now a very delicious recipe for Banana Muffins in my permanent recipe file that I’m more than happy to share with you.

Only four hundred and ninety nine recipes to go!


Very Ripe Banana Muffins

1 cup mashed over ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder.
  3. In a blender place banana, oil, brown sugar and egg and blend only until well mixed.
  4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients.
  5. Stir until mixed, being careful not to over mix.
  6. Gently add nuts if using. Sprinkle a few on top.
  7. Fill paper lined or greased muffin tins to the top with batter.
  8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.
  9. Makes 8 to 9 large muffins.
Notes, Tips and Suggestions
  • It can’t be stressed enough that the bananas need to be very, very ripe for this recipe.
  • Totally blackened peels are a good indicator of the right stage of ripeness.
  • The original recipe didn’t call for putting the first four ingredients through a blender; however this method gives a fluffy, light texture to the muffins you wouldn’t otherwise get with the original method.
  • The absence of milk or any other liquid is not an omission, I had to reread the recipe a few times before realizing that there was no other liquid added.
  • Blueberries or chocolate chips could be good alternatives for the nuts.
  • If you absolutely can't deal with over ripe bananas before it is really too late, remember that they freeze very well. Please leave their skins on as it can get pretty cold in that freezer.

11 comments:

  1. your hungry daughterApril 14, 2012 at 11:46 AM

    Out of those 499 that remain, is there a cream puff variety of muffin?

    These look very yummy. I have many "blackened" bananas waiting for their life's purpose. I think they are about to discover it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. your daughter who is one step away from tasty muffinsApril 15, 2012 at 1:19 PM

    So... I don't have a blender. Will an immersion blender do? Or does this miss the point?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I believe you will get the same results with an immersion blender.
    Now go ahead, take that last step and bake those muffins already!

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  4. I love everything about this blog. The pictures, the stories, the writer, and the recipes. However, if there is one thing I love best is reading the conversations between the blogger and her cream-puff enthusiast daughter. I just think you guys are great. Thank you for making me smile each and every week.... :)
    So glad you're back !! LOVE IT !!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Liz,
    So nice to hear from you.
    Your kind words encourage me to keep blogging.

    As for the comments between myself and my cream puff loving daughter...well, shall I say that they seem to have taken on a life of their own and quite unintentionally I might add!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ...just wondering if those "blackened" bananas ever made it into any muffins.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your overstuffed and overjoyed daughter.April 16, 2012 at 9:13 AM

    Muffins have been made and they were delicious! I didn't have any nuts (so ashamed) so chocolate chips made it instead. Very moist and easy to make. Proof of their success included indulging in 2.5 muffins after they (barely) cooled. The 0.5 came from Daniel's who was too slow in eating his. What can I say. I am certainly no mama-bird.

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  8. I love banana recipes because I, too, seem to have an overwhelming number of "blackened" bananas at times. This is a great recipe (thanks Ma for buying that muffin book for me so long ago!) and sometimes with muffins or banana bread I used a hand mixer for the wet ingredients instead of a blender. There might be a few more chunks but it still gets it pretty smooth.

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  9. Sounds like the rescue of "blackened" bananas is on its way to becoming a movement.

    As the saying goes "Waste not...want not."

    ReplyDelete
  10. elizabeth, who loves her cat very much,April 17, 2012 at 5:50 AM

    You know what this blog needs? Norah's corner...

    ReplyDelete