One-Banana Muffins
I have texture issues so when it comes to buying fruit to eat out of hand, bananas are NOT my first, or even fifth, choice. But for reasons that don't warrant going into, I ended up with a single banana ripening on my counter.
I decided to make banana muffins so I googled for an appropriate one banana recipe.
Serenity Now's blog had what looked like the perfect recipe for me, but I made some changes.
Banana Muffins with One Banana - makes 1 dozen large muffins or 1 loaf of muffin bread
1 large, very ripe banana
1 cup regular white sugar
1 egg with enough milk to make 1 cup*
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, softened, or 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil, or 1/4 cup vegetable oil plus 2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
* Add the egg and 2 tbsp sour cream to a measuring cup, and then enough milk to make 1 cup. Baking soda likes some acid to help it act in baking but since I didn't have any yogurt, I used the sour cream.
** I was short of butter so I decided to replace it with vegetable oil. Since my banana wasn't over ripe (I didn't want to wait until the next day to make these), I replaced the additional 2 tbsp vegetable oil with maple syrup to sweeten the batter.
Optional add-ins: 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, a dash of cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a 12 large muffin tin with muffin/cupcake papers. (If making a loaf, butter the tin generously so it won't stick.)
In a large mixing bowl, break up the peeled banana and cream with the sugar, using a hand blender, until the banana is pureed.
Add in the flour, baking soda, egg/milk mixture, oil (oil and maple syrup) and the vanilla extract and beat just until everything is just combined. (If including the cinnamon, add at this point as well.)
Fold in the nuts or chocolate chips and, using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin tins.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out cleanly. This is a very liquid batter so the baking time is a bit longer than you might be used to. (I found that my chocolate chips all fell to the bottom, probably due to the density of the batter. Mini chocolate chips might be a better choice.)
NOTE: If baking in a loaf pan, you'll need to bake this for 50-55 minutes depending on your oven.
I decided to make banana muffins so I googled for an appropriate one banana recipe.
Serenity Now's blog had what looked like the perfect recipe for me, but I made some changes.
Banana Muffins with One Banana - makes 1 dozen large muffins or 1 loaf of muffin bread
1 large, very ripe banana
1 cup regular white sugar
1 egg with enough milk to make 1 cup*
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, softened, or 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil, or 1/4 cup vegetable oil plus 2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
* Add the egg and 2 tbsp sour cream to a measuring cup, and then enough milk to make 1 cup. Baking soda likes some acid to help it act in baking but since I didn't have any yogurt, I used the sour cream.
** I was short of butter so I decided to replace it with vegetable oil. Since my banana wasn't over ripe (I didn't want to wait until the next day to make these), I replaced the additional 2 tbsp vegetable oil with maple syrup to sweeten the batter.
Optional add-ins: 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, a dash of cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a 12 large muffin tin with muffin/cupcake papers. (If making a loaf, butter the tin generously so it won't stick.)
In a large mixing bowl, break up the peeled banana and cream with the sugar, using a hand blender, until the banana is pureed.
Add in the flour, baking soda, egg/milk mixture, oil (oil and maple syrup) and the vanilla extract and beat just until everything is just combined. (If including the cinnamon, add at this point as well.)
Fold in the nuts or chocolate chips and, using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin tins.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out cleanly. This is a very liquid batter so the baking time is a bit longer than you might be used to. (I found that my chocolate chips all fell to the bottom, probably due to the density of the batter. Mini chocolate chips might be a better choice.)
NOTE: If baking in a loaf pan, you'll need to bake this for 50-55 minutes depending on your oven.