In theory, we have the perfect banana-bunch-consuming relationship. I like them nearly green, and David likes them ripe. I eat one every morning on the way to work (or I did, you know, when we were still doing that) and David throws them in his evening protein shakes. Logically, we should be getting through the whole bunch, every week. And yet, ever since David discovered my compulsion to turn over-ripe bananas into bread so as not to waste them, we seem to have a suspicious amount of brown bananas perpetually laying around. So the baking cycle continues…While I have a collection of delicious banana bread recipes in my cookbook shelves, a good muffin seems to be harder to find. I decided it was time to make my own, and after much experimenting, calculating, fiddling, tasting etc, I believe these will do the trick.

I expect certain things from a muffin: Mildly sweet, but not overwhelming. Some whole grains-this is breakfast, after all. Light and airy in texture, so I don’t feel weighed down going into the rest of my day. Something yummy on top (muffin tops are the best part for a reason, after all).

So here we go: A little brown sugar and a lot of banana deliver the sweetness. The oat flour and rolled oats deliver the whole grains. Yogurt (and minimal mixing) make them light. Crunchy oatmeal topping gives you something delightful to nibble. If you decide to make extra topping, I won’t judge you.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Recipe by Too Many Spoons

Servings

9

muffins

Cost

10

$

Total time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• Oatmeal Topping: 3 Tbsp melted butter, 3 Tbsp oats, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes, 1 Tbsp flour

• 1 cup white flour

• 1/2 cup oat flour

• 1/2 cup rolled oats

• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 3 very ripe bananas

• 1/4 cup melted butter

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup whole greek yogurt

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. (I don’t use liner papers, finding I get a better rise without them).
• Prep the oatmeal topping: Mix all topping ingredients together in a small bowl, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix together the white flour, oat flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, with a spoon or whisk.
• In a small bowl, mash the bananas really well with a potato masher or the back of a fork.
• Make a casual well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter, egg, yogurt, and mashed bananas to the dry ingredients. Mix gently, starting inside the well, then just folding the wet and dry ingredients together as you work outward. The batter will be wet and sticky. Be careful not to overmix.
• Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling almost all the way to the top.
• Sprinkle the oatmeal topping over the muffins, using 1-2 tsp per muffin.
• Bake 25-30 minutes, until nice crackly domes have formed, and the tops are golden brown. In my oven they are usually perfect right around the 28 minute mark.

Recipe Notes

• 9 muffins? I know, I know. No matter how I try, I just can’t get to 12 without some really strange measurements (1 1/2 egg?? no thank you) and I’d rather have 9 full size muffins than 12 dinky ones, so 9 it is.