It’s muffin season again.
Each winter I seem to get on a muffin kick for a few weeks and then don’t bother to make them any other time of the year.
This was my second batch this week.
My muffin making is rarely planned ahead of time so the ingredients end up being whatever we have on hand or inspired by overripe bananas, extra apples, etc.
Cran-nana Nut Muffins
Makes 4 big, dense, doughy muffins
- 2 bananas
- 2 tablespoons of yogurt/applesauce/pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
Whirl the above three ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
In a medium bowl whisk together:
- 1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour*
- 1/2 cup oats
- generous pinches of ground cinnamon and ginger
- little pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined. Add
- 1 chopped banana
- 1/8-1/4 cup chopped nuts
- 1/2 cup cranberries. (You can use dried, fresh, or frozen cranberries, dried will make a sweeter overall muffin but I kind of love the tartness and freshness of the not-dried kind. I used chopped brazil nuts in these because it’s what I had but walnuts would be a great addition.)
Scoop batter into 4 buttered muffin tins and bake at 375* until the tops start to brown, at least 30 minutes.
*You can omit the coconut flour but if you do either omit the yogurt or add a little extra flour. Coconut flour soaks up a lot of moisture. It also adds fiber, protein, and doughiness to these muffins.
Disclaimer: My baked goods don’t exactly follow the same rules as most, i.e. my muffins are dense and doughy. The texture of my baked goods is due to a combination of factors; I rarely measure precisely, I usually bake without refined sugar, and my “recipes” have less added fat than tradition baked goods. I like this style, which is why I bake this way, but if you are a lover of tradition (buttery cookies, fluffy cakes, etc.) than my “recipes” probably aren’t for you. Oh yeah, and by the way, I don’t follow recipes so I don’t expect you too either. I’d love to hear what kinds of spin-offs of these muffins you create in your own kitchen!
Happy Muffin Season!
Ohmygoodness! These look delicious! I may just have to make them gluten free!! Plus “cran-nana” is so fun to say!!
Your spoon is gorgeous! I like your disclaimer – and I agree with your preference for dense, doughy, and health-centric. YUM! I’ve adapted a bread recipe with similar results.
Isn’t that spoon the cutest ever? I bought it at a craft show last month, unfortunately I can’t remember the artists name!
let me know if you remember – or if you see the artist again!
I’ll ask my artist friend, she’s always at shows with him.
Found it, the website is http://www.woodspoon.com but I don’t see the little cut-out spoons on there like the one I bought.
thanks!
I love how dense and doughy this looks!
I totally hear you on the muffin kick!! I made pumpkin spice muffins and chocolate chai orange muffins this week. They’re so comforting and delicious when it’s chilly out.
Wow, chocolate chai orange sound amazing! I almost made a chocolate chai cupcake this morning but opted instead for gingerbread.
I think these look awesome, especially the top of the muffin! (the best part!).. And love the name, so cute!
Thanks Katie!
So crazy that you decided to bake cranberry muffins, as I had the same idea and just went with it today too. Except I’m really liking how yours have no added sugars. Next time I have some ripe bananas on hand, I’m going to take your lead and do the same. Sounds delicious! 😀
I must have been reading you for at least a year because I remember muffin season from last year. Yummy looking.
I think you have been reading for over a year Johanna but muffin season doesn’t follow the calender, last year it came in February. It’s more of a state of mind :).
These look so hearty and delicious! I made a batch of muffins like these before, with cranberries, bananas and walnuts. 🙂
Yep, it’s a good combo!
I definitely bake muffins more this time of year too! I have been thinking about creating a muffin recipe that doesn’t have sugar because I’m trying really hard to cut it out of my diet as much as possible. I’m glad you posted your “recipe” for these. I’m going to make them this weekend!
I love that this only makes 4 muffins – that’s 8 less that I’ll be tempted to scoff! And I just happen to have an overripe banana sitting in the fridge waiting to be used up…It’s stone fruit season in Australia though, so I think they might end up peach, walnut and banana muffins
Mmmmm, stone fruit…:)
These look so good! I can just tell that they are probably a very moist muffin, which is key 🙂
On a side note, I LOVE that wooden bowl–too cute. And I’ve been meaning to try coconut flour in baked goods, I just keep getting discouraged by the price at grocery stores, haha.
I resisted for months because of the price but I can testify, it will last a looooong time. In the end I justify the price to myself by saying “that’s like 2 cups of coffee at a cafe or one glass of wine at a restaurant”, neither of which I buy more than once or twice a month but it still puts it in perspective.
These look like just the kind of muffin I like! I’ve been using a lot of fresh cranberries in baked goods lately – I love the tartness! I also have a lot of coconut flour to use up, so these will be perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
i love the size of your muffin…what kind of muffin pan do you use??
It’s a “regular” muffin tin, I just loaded it up to the top with batter to make them on the larger side.
I LOVE this recipe – easy and healthy! Sometimes I find it hard to finish eating a really dense, standard-size muffin so I used my 24 mini-muffin pan and it came out just as good. Now I can eat 1 or 2 with coffee and not leave half a muffin on my plate – reducing my carbon footprint one dish at a time! Many thanks for this great recipe!
:)!!! So glad you enjoyed it! I finished my last one a few days ago (it had been frozen) with coffee and thought to myself “I should have this for breakfast more often”. I don’t like a very sweet baked good for breakfast but these lightly sweet muffins with coffee sure hit the spot!
Dense, doughy muffins are the best kind! I have a very brown banana sitting on my counter at home and I know where it’s going tonight 🙂