I confess: I'm a big fan of banana bread. Not only does it taste great, but it's the best use of overripe bananas I've found. That why, when Rodney Williams of the Strawberry Creek Inn shared his recipe for Banana-Nut Muffins with me, I was eager to try them. Not your average banana muffin---these muffins are bodacious, and it's my pleasure to name them a Best of Quick Breads here on Inn Cuisine.
Featured under Breakfast Breads in the charming cookbook Memorable Mornings from the Strawberry Creek Inn, here's what Rodney shares about these tasty muffins...
The secret to their extra banana-ey goodness (hey, new words are added to the English language every year!) is a little bit of crème de banana, a heavenly substance you can find at most stores that sell distilled spirits and liqueurs. One sniff and you'll immediately start dreaming of banana-flavored cocktails, but try to snap yourself out of it quickly---we've got Banana-Nut Muffins to make.
While the following recipe will list Crème de Banana as an option rather than necessity, I urge you to include it as the recipe suggests. Oftentimes it's that one, unique ingredient that makes huge flavor difference and in this case, it's the addition of banana liqueur.
Banana-Nut Muffins
A "Best of" Inn Cuisine, recipe courtesy Strawberry Creek Inn B&B
Yield: about 1 dozen (12) muffins
Dry Ingredients
- 1 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped (may substitute slivered almonds)
Wet Ingredients #1
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon Crème de Banana (optional, but an excellent addition)
Wet Ingredients #2
- 3-4 overripe *bananas
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift first 4 (four) ingredients into a large bowl; fold in toasted nuts. Whisk wet ingredients #1 together in a separate bowl. Place wet ingredients #2 in another bowl and mash together until smooth using a potato masher or large spoon. Combine wet ingredients #1 and #2, whisking until incorporated. Add combined wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix only until combined. Do not overmix. Butter or spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Using a 2 & 1/2-ounce ice cream scoop, fill each muffin hole with batter; batter should come just to the top of the muffin hole. Bake in the middle of a 350 degree F oven for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out ALMOST clean. Carefully turn each muffin on its side to cool using a spatula spreader or a paring knife, to prevent sogginess on the bottom.
*Bananas should be VERY ripe (i.e., as much black as possible on the skins), but not spoiled. You should be able to easily mash the bananas using a potato masher or large spoon. This is a good use for bananas that have gotten too ripe to eat whole. You can freeze them before they spoil---but after they have over-ripened---and thaw just before making your muffin batter.
These sound wonderful with the banana liqueur added!
Posted by: Susan | 03/07/2012 at 09:02 AM