Banana Crunch Muffins

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I wish I could participate in all of the “foodie” events out there! It seems like every week an event is announced, and I promise myself that I will participate, but then time gets away from me. This happens way more often than I’d like to admit.

Ever since I heard about Ruth‘s event – Bookmarked Recipes - I knew it would be a great event for me to participate in. I’m the queen of bookmarking recipes!! But then, just like every other great event, time has been getting away from me, and I haven’t had a chance to participate yet. I’m changing that now!!

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been designated to make the treats for birthdays at work. Well, we had one a few weeks ago – on July 3rd. We only had a half day at work that day, so we decided to do a birthday breakfast instead of treats after lunch, since we would all be leaving at lunch. I was asked to make some muffins to contribute. I knew I’d be able to find a great recipe in one of my cookbooks, but I decided to hit my bookmarked recipes to find one. I went through my recipes marked as “muffins”, and one title – Banana Crunch Muffins – stood out to me. And I actually had some on-their-way-out bananas at home. I clicked on the link, but it no longer existed! Then I realized that the blog it was bookmarked from – Mommy Cooks – (which I’ve mentioned recipes from several times) no longer existed. Luckily, Elizabeth, the writer of Mommy Cooks, started up a new blog – The Flowering Dogwood. So I went over to her new blog to see if she had re-posted the Banana Crunch Muffin recipe. As luck would have it, she had just posted about these muffins that same day I went looking!

These muffins were delicious! I was expecting more of a “crunch” with the granola, and I didn’t really get that, but it did add another layer of flavor and texture. I had some dried bananas that I topped mine with, but they would be great sprinkled with some extra granola as well. And they were a hit at work!

Banana Crunch Muffins
from The Flowering Dogwood – who got it from Ina Garten

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup granola cereal
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
dried banana pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. (I got more like 28 regular sized muffins)

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attatchment. Add the melted butter and blend.

In a separete bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour mixture.

Scrape the bowl and blend well; DO NOT OVER MIX.

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

Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, if desired.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from pan, and serve.

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