Banana Crunch Muffins

What do you do with four very ripe bananas? Make Banana Crunch Muffins. I saw Ina Garten make these on Barefoot Contessa and they looked very wholesome. I downloaded the recipe and realized they weren’t as wholesome I thought they were. 2 cups of sugar, ½ pound of butter, sweetened shredded coconut? Yikes!

Here is everything you need:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 extra-large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)

1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)

1 cup small-diced walnuts (I didn’t have any kind of nut to add)

1 cup granola

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

I put two sticks of butter on the stove and got them about half melted then took off the heat to let them melt the rest of the way and then cool off before I needed to use them.
Because Ina does it, I sifted the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer (this one happens to be Allysons, THANKS!) fitted with a paddle attachment.

I had to google "paddle attachment" and this is what one looks like if you weren't sure.
Add the melted butter and blend.

Combine the eggs,
milk,

vanilla,
and mashed bananas,

Add all this to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. But don't overmix.
Dice a banana,

measure a cup of granola. This is the local granola I bought at the Austin Farmers Market.
Add all this and one cup of coconut to the mixture and fold in gently.
Looks good!
One tip I learned from Ina on her cooking show is to brush vegetable oil on the top of the muffin tin to keep the batter from sticking.
Next, Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Look how mine puffed out and over, and then landed flat. I think these are ugly. I’m going to fix these by peeling off all the muffin tops (which some people really love, so I’m saving for later) and then icing these muffins to make them cupcakes. It’s not like they were healthy to begin with. I’ve found a couple recipes online that looked really yummy so I’m going to combine two recipes and make my own.

8 oz Italian Cream Cheese, otherwise known as Mascarpone

Half stick of butter, room temperature

1 t vanilla extract

2 t cinnamon

2-3 C powdered sugar (add more or less to make it a stiffness that you like)

1 tablespoons honey

1. Mix butter and mascarpone well.
2. Add vanilla and cinnamon, mix.
3. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, mix after each ½ cup addition.
4. Add honey to taste.