So I gotta say, I love banana bread. Not only is it a fantastic way to use up overripe bananas, it’s also so tasty. Especially nice and warm, with a schmear of cream cheese. Good stuff, man.
I also love muffins, and though they require a bit more work pre-baking, the benefit is that you don’t have to do any slicing to get them into your mouth. Also, clean-up is a breeze, since I’m a lazy bugger and use paper muffin cups when I bake. =)
The goods:
3 fairly squishy bananas
3/4 cup sugar (you can do a mix of white and brown sugar for extra flavor)
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted
1.5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla (or just splash some in like I do)
several dashes ground cinnamon
The method:
-preheat oven to 350 degrees
– grab a muffin tin and plop in your paper liners (or foil liners, or just spray the everliving tar out of the pan if you’re going liner-free)
– in a large bowl, mash together the bananas, sugar, eggs, and butter.
– add vanilla and cinnamon, whisk to combine
– add all your dry stuff, stir until just combined (the muffin method means DON’T OVERMIX, Y’ALL)
– portion out into your muffin cups – you’ll get 12, I promise.
– bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops spring back when tapped with a finger. or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
You could go ultra-decadent and top them with a cream cheese frosting once they’re cooled, but i almost think that’s overkill. I do, however, recommend eating them warm, with either some butter or some cream cheese. Enjoy!