February 29, 2012

Odds and Ends


What do you do with all your odds and ends of sad old fruits and veggies? Sadly, a lot of mine go to waste, as I forget about them in the bottom crisper drawer sometimes. However, I'm very good about old bananas! I know how great they are in baked goods, and it's easy to just pop them in the freezer for safekeeping. Note - it's best to peel them first and then store them in plastic wrap or a bag. Peeling a frozen or defrosted banana is cold and annoying.

I was in the mood to bake something - anything!- so I looked around online for a muffin recipe that would use my freezer 'nanas. This recipe had the best reviews online, so I figured it was worth a shot.

AHMAHGAH was it ever! These are absolutely delicious. Great crumb texture, fantastic banana flavor, and the brown sugar crumb topping is just the kicker. I made modifications (of course!) to the original, but nothing drastic. The crumb recipe made a LOT, so I think next time, it would be great to layer batter-crumbs-batter-crumbs for a sweet surprise *inside* the muffin.

Banana Crumb Muffins
adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar (use 1/2 cup only b/c the crumb topping is so sweet)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.               

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.               

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins. (Or layer batter, crumb, batter, crumb)    
       
Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

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