Munching & Crunching

For any banana lovers out there, these are the muffins for you. You can really change the flavor by how you choose your granola - so choose wisely. I used maple pecan in the first batch and vanilla almond in the second batch. I preferred the maple flavor in these. I also topped one batch with granola and one batch with banana chips. To be honest, I sold the banana chip batch, so I never tasted them. I welcome any opinions if you'd like to weigh in on that matter. I do know the granola topping was very successful. Anywho, I find these quite easy to make, but they still sound somewhat exotic. The original recipe also has coconut and 1 cup walnuts (and only 1 cup granola).



Banana Crunch Muffins
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (Adapted from Ina Garten)
Makes 18 muffins

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)
2 cups granola
Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional

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 and granola 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.