can't beat 'em
Now I’m no Martha Stewart, so when I made these fresh for breakfast the other morning, I made sure I warned my family not to get too comfortable with this routine. But I made the batter the night before (took about 10 minutes), filled the muffin tins, and just fired up the oven the morning of. No biggie.
These are light & fluffy, delicately sweet, & they have chunks of bananas in them alongside the mashed bananas. If you look closely at the picture, you can see it. And they are another Great Recession type special – use up your old bananas.
C’mon, be a good monkey. Eat a banana muffin!
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. all purpose gluten free flour (check the sidebar – I use Bob’s)
1/2 tsp. + 1/8 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 c. milk
2 medium-sized ripe bananas, 1 mashed & 1 diced
1. In medium sized bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, baking powder & salt. Set aside.
2. In larger bowl, mix butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg & mix until well combined. Next, add in milk and mix again until incorporated as well. Do the same with the mashed bananas (reserve the diced). Mix well.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until just combined. Fold in the diced bananas. Be delicate. Like a little lady. Don’t mash the poor diced bananas.
4. Either grease or line 12 muffin cups. Fill each 3/4 full.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the middle muffin comes out clean.
Enjoy. Who doesn’t love a tasty little banana muffin? See you next time, back at the Hall of Justice.
Warmly,
Nicole
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As Adam and I mentioned to you over the weekend, these little puppies were delicious! Just perfect…
Thank you so much for this blog!
These muffins are amazing!! My husband said he would never have guessed they were gluten free.
Thank you!!
Hi, Denise & Helene,
It is my distinct pleasure! Keep reading!
Warmly,
Nicole
This recipe is one of my favorite staples nowdays!
I have been experimenting with it also…adding and/or substituting other things in it like blueberries, or half blueberry – half banana; It seems quite versitile as I used frozen (well rinsed and drained) blueberries – I was concerned about too much moisture from that, but it didn’t seem to affect it at all!
I always double the recipe and make half right away and save and refridge the other half(dough) and then bake it nearer to the end of the week (that way I always have fresh muffins for breakfasts!)
Another thing I have been doing is adding a smidge of cinnamon which is nice, and I always top any muffin I make with a combo mix of cinnamon and sugar – makes a lovely crusty top!
Do you think that these could be made with pumpkin instead? I’ve been trying to find a pumpkin breakfast treat to make…
Hi, Sacha,
To be honest, it might since bananas have a lot of moisture and so does pumpkin puree, but I couldn’t be sure without trying. If you try it, let us know how it turns out! The batter should be thick, generally.
Warmly,
Nicole
Could you make this into bread instead of muffins? Any adjustments suggested?
Hi, Kirsten,
You could definitely make this into bread. I have the most success with gluten free breads when they are well-supported, since the dough is heavier than its conventional counterpart. So try a pan either on the small side, or just a relatively narrow one so more of the batter is in contact with the walls of the container (for support). And increase baking time. Just keep toothpick testing! And if it starts to brown too much before it’s cooked through, tent with foil.
Warmly,
Nicole
Thanks to Jessica for that note about cinnamon-sugar on top (I’d just put mine in the oven, and took them out quickly to add what did indeed turn into a nice crusty topping). I’d like to thank Nicole for yet another useful recipe. After a year of going gluten-free, I’ve been starting to get a bit sulky lately. (Who needs gluten? I do! It really does terrific things! How am I supposed to create my perfect sponge cake for my perfect tiramisu?! Pout, pout.) These muffins cheer a whole family right up!
My note: I made these in mini-muffin tins (made 34 muffins), and the baking time came to 20 minutes.
Ever since finding “Tom’s bread” recipe here last August (and making two loaves a week ever since), I have consulted your site regularly, and am so grateful it’s here!
Hi, Catherine,
I promise you can make sponge cake, tiramisu, and anything else you like, all gluten-free. The cookbook has a great recipe for gluten-free lady fingers, which are great alone or in tiramisu. Can you hold on until March 2011?! Thank you for the notes about mini-muffins. That’s always useful info. I’m so glad the blog has been helpful to you. That’s really nice to hear. Thank you for posting!
Warmly,
Nicole
March 2011, eh? I’m glad you have a date for your cookbook, Nicole! (But it’s a long time to wait for tiramisu!) Just can’t wait to buy your book. If there is justice in the world, it will make you rich.
In the meantime, may I selfishly ask if you know of any sponge cake recipes one can find online? I feel ungrateful asking for MORE, MORE, MORE… but I figure if someone knows of one, it would be you.
All best,
Catherine
Hi, Catherine,
I’m sorry about the wait for tiramisu! But if I post recipes that are in the cookbook, then I have to replace them in the cookbook with more, newer recipes, and then we go round and round and round (and I go even a bit more insane)! The book won’t make me rich, but I sincerely think (okay, hope) it’ll make gluten-free much more accessible and much less stressful. I don’t have a spongecake recipe in the book, so I will make it my next recipe formulation, just for you… :) I promise it is next on my kitchen to-do list.
Warmly,
Nicole
Just what I was looking for! Looking forward to making these to store in my freezer for those days I need to grab something on my way to work.
Thank you!
Hi, Penny,
Ooh that’s a great idea {note to self – make own stash for freezer}. You are very welcome. Thank you for posting!
Warm regards,
Nicole
This is similar to the banana blueberry muffin recipe from your book, isn’t it? This morning, we made our first batch of gf muffins according to the recipe in the book, with a few variations (I know you are no friend of deviating from a recipe at first try, but, relax – they turned out wonderful). We used only one banana (mashed, as that was all we had, and chopped up dried mango instead of the blueberries, and they came out just wonderful! We glazed them with mango jam and added some sprinkles just for fun, and I can only hope that the other non-gf kids won’t try to gobble them up, leaving my gf requiring kid hungry :-). They will go on an overnight field trip, and I am looking forward to the report on how they tasted on the second day…
Thanks!
Ulrike
Hi, Ulrike,
Yes! These are very similar to the banana blueberry muffin recipe in the cookbook. I am actually very pleased that you improvised! Improvising with add-ins like bananas and mangoes is much different from improvising with the basics of a recipe — like the ratios of fat:flour:eggs:liquid:leavening agent. For a quickbread (like muffins), that ratio has to remain relatively constant to get reliable results. Too much liquid, and the muffins will rise and then cave in. Too much leavening agent, and they will taste “funny,” and be kind of stiff. You get the idea. My only concern is that you be successful enough to keep going. Many people only start out with enough confidence for one recipe. If that recipe doesn’t go as planned, they tend to give up. I just don’t want anyone to give up!
Thank you so much for posting about your experience. And go forth and modify!
xoxo
Nicole
Wow! These are so unbelievably good. I’m just not sure If I will ever get my kids to eat anything else for breakfast!
Hi, Lisa,
My children are ruined for “ordinary” food. It’s a blessing and a curse! Glad the muffins worked out well for you.
xoxo
Nicole
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