Morning greetings, lovely readers!
I don't know about you, but time spent in the kitchen is one of the best ways for me to relieve any stress or anxiety I may have. I love getting in there and turning some music on (a bit loud!) and mixing a variety of ingredients together to create something yummy and delicious. It's also fun when my mom, sister and I do these things together, which is, more times than not, the norm.
Seeing as how we are grocery shopping less frequently at the moment, and we aren't wanting anything to go to waste, it's been fun getting to exercise our creative muscles a bit more. We had a small bunch of bananas that were a bit too ripe to be eaten by themselves, and whilst we usually freeze them for smoothies, I decided I wanted to do something different this time. My mom often makes banana nut bread with overripe bananas. This time, however, I wanted to do something new and different and surprise my family with a recipe that I was literally coming up with as I was going along. (Those kinds of baking sessions are my favorites!)
I thought of what I like best in muffins. And to me the perfect muffin has lots of spice and nuts and a crumbly topping. Heavenly bliss! That's exactly what I created with this recipe...there is the perfect amount of spice and the nuts add a nice crunch and the crumbly topping...well, you can't go wrong with any sort of brown sugar and nutty mixture, can you?
Here's what I came up with...I am including several substitutions so you can use whatever you have in your pantry.
Banana Spice Crumble Muffins
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice (or pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon)
5 mashed bananas (or however many you have...as close to five as possible)
12 Tbsp. melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk (any kind...dairy or dairy-free)
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. apple pie spice (or pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (your choice)
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and powder, salt and spices together. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, melted butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk. Combine thoroughly.
Gently stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture, making sure to get all the ingredients thoroughly combined. Be careful to scrape the bottom of the bowl for any spare flour. Finally, fold in the chopped nuts.
Scoop the muffin batter out evenly into greased muffin tins. Prepare the topping by using a fork to combine the ingredients. Sprinkle about 1 tsp. over each muffin.
Bake in a 350*F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely and enjoy!
Bon appétit, friends!
What yummy things have you been baking up lately? Do share below!
May your day be a beauty! ♥