Crumb-topped banana muffins

Recently, while searching for a new way to make use of the quite ripe bananas that frequently inhabit my kitchen (as I generally only eat the first half of each bunch that I buy and save the other few for baking purposes), I came across this fantastic recipe for crumb-topped banana muffins. It's fairly straight-forward but is very likely the best muffin recipe I've ever used, full of flavor and very moist.

This past weekend, I visited my grandparents in east Tennessee (and oh what a glorious time of year it is to be in this part of the country!). Upon walking into their kitchen, I was a tad bit excited to discover three very ripe bananas sitting there on the counter, just begging to be turned into a delightful little treat. How could I refuse? Especially since I got to use such cute utensils as these:

So I set to work, and within no time, the muffins were in the oven and the whole house was filled with a lovely aroma of banana and sugar and spice.

And, twenty minutes later, out of the oven they came, a fairly successful batch, if I do say so myself. However, the best part (for me, anyway) was packing several of these up and heading to the mountains to enjoy them along with the splendor of the magnificent fall afternoon that God gave us. Glorious, utterly glorious.

Anyway, whether or not you're able to get to the mountains to enjoy the lovely fall colors (which I highly recommend, if at all possible), perhaps you can at least make some yummy muffins and enjoy a beautiful sunrise/sunset wherever you are. So, grab some ripe bananas, and have fun!

Crumb-topped banana muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

Topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, to taste

1 tablespoon cold butter

1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. In a large bowl, mix the first four ingredients.

2. In separate bowl, mix bananas, sugar, egg, and butter.

3. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until just moistened.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. (If you don't use muffin cups, be sure to grease the muffin pan.)

5. Combine first three topping ingredients.

6. Cut in butter until crumbly.

7. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until muffins test done.

9. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Not really sure what I'm getting myself into, but...

...here goes nothing! I certainly would not consider myself either a baker or a cook, though I do indeed enjoy both baking and cooking. One of my earliest and favorite memories from childhood is of baking cookies with my mom; I vividly remember standing on a chair so I could reach the counter as she taught little ol' me how to measure out flour for whatever we were baking.

Clearly I also enjoyed licking the bowl afterwards... Ok, fine, I'll admit that I still do (though thankfully these days I'm a little less messy in so doing)!

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure at this moment what direction this blog is going to go; the primary purpose here initially is to post recipes of the various items I've made for work over the past week. Beyond that, we'll see. And, an additional disclaimer besides the fact that I am merely an amateur baker/cook at best, I also am not in the least a photographer (though my brother is!), so I apologize in advance for the not-so-great photos that correspond with the recipes.

But, that said, here's to many more hours in the kitchen, "trying new recipes, learning from my mistakes, being fearless, and having fun!" And for starters, here's a recipe I came across on someone else's blog last week, which I made with, I think, decent results:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Marbled Banana Bread

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup semi or dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter chips
2 medium bananas, mashed
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk in chocolate and peanut butter chips until combined. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together banana and peanut butter until creamy, about 1 minute; beat in granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk, until well combined - about 2 minutes.

Divide half of the batter into medium bowl; sift in cocoa powder, and beat until combined. Alternate spoonfuls of banana batter and chocolate batter into the pan. When all the batter is in the pan, swirl a knife sparingly through the batters to marble them. Sprinkle with additional chocolate and peanut butter chips, if desired.

Bake for 60-65 minutes or until bread pulls away from pan, is well risen, deep golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour; run a knife around outer edges and invert onto wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 6-8 servings

Happy baking!