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.