I decided to make banana muffins for the same reason as most, because I had extra bananas that now had brown spots on them. (I actually like eating bananas slightly under-ripe when eating them raw.) My first thoughts were banana blueberry muffins. Doesn’t that sound good? Yes, but there had been a forecast of thunderstorms coming and I was afraid to go out. I am very afraid of rain, as if the wicked witch of the West, I apparently think I’m going to perish every time it more than drizzles.

Enough about me, the muffins became an experiment on Banana Crumb Muffins with Cranberries instead, which turned out to be a real keeper!! These are the most delicate of muffins, and taste so grandmother-made (ok, I don’t even have kids yet). These could never be mistaken for store bought treats and will definitely send the message of love when you give them out.

Cranberry Banana Crumb Muffins

Banana Crumb Muffins with Cranberries

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 ripe bananas (with spots), mashed
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

crumb topping

  • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon cold butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (350 degrees F if using convection). Line pan with muffin papers.

1. Mix together AP flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Beat together bananas, sugar, egg, and canola oil. Stir the wet mixture into flour mixture just until moistened.
3. Fold dried cranberries into batter. Do not over mix. Spoon into each muffin cup.

muffin batter

4. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of AP flour, and cinnamon. Cut in cold butter until it resembles coarse sand. Sprinkle over the muffins.

crumb topping

5. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. Then put them on a wire rack and continue to cool.

bitten muffin

I couldn’t resist biting into one, straight out of the oven, so I don’t really expect you to wait for them to cool. I will probably be trying a variation with blueberries next week.

posted by jessica at 06:08 PM Filed under Desserts, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.