PLATES - No Sugar Added Banana Nut Muffins

Wow ... it's been almost three years since I've put a post here. Blame it on Facebook. Blame it on distractions. Blame it on changes in attitudes and latitudes.

 I've had a number of requests for my No Sugar Added Banana Nut Muffins. Rather than being a COG (Creepy Old Guy) who says "here's my email, drop me a line and I'll email the recipe," I can now say "here's my blog, it's there ... look for Banana Nut Muffin recipe." Hope the wait has been worth it.

How I developed this recipe ...
As a Type II diabetic, I was looking for something with lower sugar that would also satisfy my sweet tooth. I poked around on the internet and found this recipe, then tweaked it to make it my own (deleted the 1/2 cup of maple syrup, added some more bananas). This also works in the waffle maker (see notes below) ... !!!


Here's the basic recipe ... 

¼ cup melted oil (coconut, butter, or extra-virgin olive oil)

2 eggs, preferably at room temperature

1¼ cup packed mashed ripe bananas (about 5 bananas) ... extra is ok

¼ cup milk of choice (I've used cow's milk and almond milk)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1¾ cups whole wheat flour

⅓ cup old-fashioned oats, >> plus more for sprinkling on top

1 teaspoon turbinado >> for sprinkling on top

Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. If not using paper cups, grease 12 cups in a muffin tin.

In a large bowl, mix the oil and eggs and beat well. Mix in the mashed bananas and milk, followed by the baking soda, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon.

Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined. If you’d like to add any additional mix-ins, like nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, or dried fruit, fold them in now.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Don't over-fill as the batter will rise. Sprinkle tops with a few oats and some turbinado. Bake 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool. Serve w butter or cream cheese.

NOTES  ... 

I have mashed the bananas by hand. Fresh ones give you big chunks, riper ones get mashed better. What I usually do now is combine the bananas and the milk in a blended and whir. I really don't measure how much this provides, but if the mixture looks too runny I'l add some extra oats.

Bananas ... I've used fresh ones and ripe ones. The fresh ones give a more neutral taste, the ripe ones give a stronger banana flavor. The choice is yours.

I use butter or oil to grease the tins. I don't use paper cups and I've never used a commercial spray. I do have a Misto sprayer which turns any oil into a spray. Search for it on line.

No, I have not made this Vegan by replacing the eggs. In years past eggs were replaced with bananas and oil, so you could add more, or even use some chia seeds for thickening.

Like I said, if it looks too thin, add more oats (I like the taste and texture of Old Fashioned style oats). I like oats and usually add up to half a cup.

Keep an eye (and nose) on your oven. At 20 minutes, check the muffins by inserting a toothpick or skewer. If you've added a lot of mix-ins you'll probably need some more time. Do this in 3 minute increments. Running a thin, flexible knife around them and flipping them on their sides keeps them from sticking to the bottom. Again, I don't use paper muffin cups. 

I thought sprinkling oats and sugar on the top was weird until I had breakfast at the local Hilton hotel, and there on some of their muffins were oats and turbinado sugar.

Mix-ins ... I usually use a half cup of chopped nuts and a half cup of shredded coconut. This will usually offset the varying amount of bananas (that's why I say extra is ok). You can add less of each. 

VARIATIONS ... I made these as CHOCOLATE a couple of times. I omitted the cinnamon, added half a cup of cocoa powder, along with nuts and shredded coconut. Once I added two teaspoons of chocolate raspberry coffee grounds (finely ground). They were delish! I've also used this as a waffle batter ... just grease the sides (I used butter), spoon in the batter and cook. To make this recipe in a SAVORY style ... delete the cinnamon and vanilla. I used EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) as the oil, added Italian style spices spices (garlic, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and basil). As mix-ins, I used almonds, some olives, and Italian cheese. You could probably do this Mexican style with appropriate seasonings, nuts, jalapeños, and cheese.