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How to Make Healthier Banana Muffins
Banana bread has been a favorite of mine since I was a child. I have been making different versions of banana bread over the years and this version is one of my kids' favorites. They absolutely love the size of mini-muffins and will walk away with a few in their hands. We tend to go through these muffins quite quickly, especially if I happen to have them out while my kids have friends over at the house. They are pretty popular.
What I really like about this recipe is that it does not use oil. I use applesauce in place of the oil, and the kids (and husband) cannot tell tell the difference. The more I learn about vegetable oils, the less I like to use them and have switched to using olive oil or coconut oil exclusively. I actually prefer adding applesauce to my quick breads and muffins. They still come out extremely moist and they are, I think, even a little fluffier than muffins made with oil. When using oil, breads and muffins tend to seem a little heavier to me. Ones made with applesauce are just lighter in texture overall. You do not lose any flavor by using replacing the oil with applesauce. I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it, too!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 C all purpose flour, I used unbleached
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 3-4 medium bananas, very ripe and mashed
- 3/4 C sugar
- 1/4 C applesauce
How to:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a muffin pan with cooking spray, I use a butter flavored spray. You could also use cupcake papers in the muffin pan or a bread pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon (I swear by Penzey's Vietnamese Cinnamon, it is awesome and can be ordered online). After you have mixed these, make a depression (hole or well) in the center of the dry ingredient mix that you will pour the wet banana mixture into when it is ready.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mash the three or four bananas (four will give you more flavor but may take a couple minutes longer to bake). Add the egg, sugar and applesauce. Blend well. Pour into the center of the dry ingredients.
- Carefully fold the dry and wet ingredients together so as not to spill flour all over the counter. Yes, I have done this and it can be a mess, you really don't want to clean that up.
- Fill muffin cups 1/2 - 2/3 full of batter with a spoon. Bake for about 18 minutes, I start checking mine around 12 - 15 minutes in to make sure they look good. Remove from oven when they start begin to lightly brown.
- Let cool for about 5 - 10 minutes. I like mine with butter on them and if they are still a little warm, the butter melts right in. The mini-muffin size is great, kids love to pop them into their mouths and we went through this batch of muffins rather quickly. Enjoy!
