Crunchy Banana Muffins For The Hydrangea Society Tour In Atlanta

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I am meeting my friend Sandra Jonas of Recreating Eden for the annual  AHS 2012 Garden Tour  featuring many beautiful hydrangea-filled gardens here in Atlanta.  Sandra and I have been virtual friends for over a year but it seems every time we tried to meet,  one of us had an illness in the family.    Finally, tomorrow looks like a go and frankly, I can't wait to meet this wonderful lady.  As we are meeting fairly early in the day, and there seems to be quite a few gardens to tour, I am bringing along some muffins for a mid morning snack.

Banana muffins always seem to come up when there are a few of them over ripening in the kitchen.  I don't know where these came from.  Maybe a product of house guests from last weekend.  But they aint going to waste...not in this house.

If you like banana bread or muffins, these are a must...simply to die for!

Banana Crunch Muffins 

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 18 large muffins


Ingredients:

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

1 cup granola

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional ( I used just granola for a topping)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. 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.

Source: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook