Banana Nut Muffins

All desserts are a yes in my book. My roommate however prefers baked breakfast goods, muffins in particular. Some how it took me nearly 4 years to figure this out, but now that this is an established fact, muffins make regular appearances in our breakfast rotation. One of her favorites is banana nut muffins. Once they are baked, they are devoured. She will start eating them as soon as they are out of the oven and snack on them until they are gone.

I like to make a full dozen regular sized and a full dozen mini, to satisfy your appetite for breakfast or just a small snack. I've made several loaves of banana bread and finally mixed together a few elements from my favorite recipes to develop these muffins.

Banana Nut Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes


Yields 18 regular muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oat flour (gluten free)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened, or apple sauce
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbs triple sec or liquor of your choice
• 4-5 ripe bananas, broken in to 2 inch sized pieces
• 1/2 cup nuts of choice (optional), I love walnuts or pecans in this recipe

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a cupcake tin (either full-sized or mini) with liners. 
2. Combine the four, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. 
3. In a food processor (or you can use a mixer, it just takes a bit more time) process the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the machine running, add the liquor and vanilla extract through the feed tube. 
4. Add the eggs and pulse to combine. Do not overly process the eggs or your muffins will be dense and tough. Add the bananas and process until combined and liquified. 
5. Scraped down the bowl and sprinkle the flour mixture over the banana mixture. Pulse until combined. Add in the nuts and pulse once or twice to combine. 
6. Fill prepared tins 2/3 to 3/4 full. If using a full sized tin bake for 27-30 minutes. If using a miniature tin, bake for 15-17 minutes. The muffins will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, but the muffins are still glossy, not dry in appearance.