Monthly Archives: July 2009

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

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pb_banana_muffins1Currently baking from Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More by Carole Walter.

Peanut butter. Bananas. Chocolate chips. What’s not to like? Even without the bacon, Elvis would be inhaling these. I almost did, except I had already inhaled a batch of the banana oatmeal muffins that I had baked earlier in the day. Needless to say, the scale doesn’t like me much right now.

But back to these muffins. This might just be the recipe that redeems Walter’s book. The batter came together easily, with no overly complicated instructions. After creaming the peanut butter and butter together, sugar and an egg is added to the mixture. Then, mashed bananas and yogurt is alternately mixed in with the dry ingredients. To finish off the batter, chopped Spanish peanuts and mini chocolate chips are stirred in.

These muffins baked up nicely domed tops. The crunch of the peanuts added a nice texture to the muffins. The peanut butter wasn’t overpowering, but went well with the bananas.

In a moment of supreme self-sacrifice, I sent all of these muffins to work with Bryan. I’m totally regretting not keeping one (or three) for myself. Fortunately, I have two very ripe bananas still sitting on my counter . . .

Baked Beans

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baked_beansI’ve been thinking about making my own baked beans ever since I returned from a trip to Eastern Tennessee back in May. I had some decent barbecue while I was there, but it was a side of beans that really stands out in my mind. After a bit of internet browsing, I stumbled on a blogger who had tried Alton Brown’s recipe and really liked it.

So, after my marathon trip to Maryland that lasted almost 4 weeks, one of the first things I did when I got home was to make these beans. And they are fantastic! They aren’t too sweet and have a bit of heat from the jalapenos and cayenne pepper. I seeded the jalapenos, so if you are looking for more heat, leave the seeds and membranes in.

Really, the only problem I had was the amount of grease from the bacon and I was able to spoon most of it off. Like several other reviewers, I found that my beans were done after about 5 hours of baking.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

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oatmeal_banana_muffins4In the bottom of my fridge is a collection of flours, powders and nut meals. Last time I checked, I had spelt flour, wheat bran, almond meal and dried buttermilk powder. I also had a bag of oat flour, so when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.

This was my second attempt at these muffins. The first time I tried them, they came out wet and heavy. This time around, I decreased the amount of milk, oil and bananas, as well as lowering the amount of leavening. I also added some lemon juice. which you could certainly leave out. The only yogurt I had in the fridge was vanilla, so that’s what I used. If you use plain yogurt, I’d add about a half of a teaspoon of vanilla extract. If you don’t have oat flour, you can blitz oatmeal in a food processor to make your own flour.

Besides being gluten free and full of fiber, these muffins are just plain good. They are a bit crumbly, but are tender and moist from the banana. Recipe after the jump. Continue reading →