easy like saturday morning {banana muffin recipe}

I'm back!  Did you miss me? ;-)

Anyway, I've got a bunch of things I'd love to write about all of a sudden, so I'll start with this, and see how far I get.  First up - another recipe!

This is an adaptation of an old family favourite recipe that we've made more times that I can count, for banana muffins.  The original recipe comes from a book that's probably tucked away on everyone's recipe bookshelf (well, at least everyone in Canada?), called "Muffin Mania", by Cathy Prange and Joan Pauli - anyone recognize this?

It dates originally from 1982 - and honestly, I don't think I've ever made a recipe other than the banana muffins - because they were THAT good.  So when I looked at my fruit stash today and saw three large overripe bananas, I knew the time had come to turn them into muffins, before the fruit flies  swooped in and claimed them for their own.

I guess it's been a while since I made these babies, because I was somewhat astonished at the original ingredient list - wow - 3/4 cup of white sugar!? :(  The time had come to modify this recipe, hopefully not at the expense of the goodness of these little treasures - and I'm happy to say, I believe I rose to the challenge! Here's my own 2014 version of the "Best Ever Banana Muffins" - with thanks to the original authors for their inspiration.  Just keep in mind, even with healthier ingredients, these are still treats!  Depending on how many people are in your household, I would freeze any extra muffins before you're tempted to eat them all! :)

Even Better Banana Muffins 
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

3 large overripe bananas
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup sucanat
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup organic all purpose flour (I don't eat 100% gluten free - feel free to substitute another gluten free flour of choice here)
1/2 cup pecan pieces (optional)
Walnut pieces for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Heat oven to 375°

Mash bananas:

Add sugars, maple syrup, and a slightly beaten egg:

Add the melted coconut oil, and mix all wet ingredients together:

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt), and then add to bowl with the wet ingredient mixture, and mix together.  Sorry, for some reason I failed to take a photo of that step - but I did manage to snap a pic of my salt of choice lately - Himalayan pink salt (a bargain for under $5.00 at Costco!):

Himalayan pink salt is an unprocessed salt, which not only beautifully enhances flavours, but is also rich in mineral content (as opposed to the processed white table salt, which can actually have added sugar in it!)

Finally, add your nuts (if using) to the mixture, transfer to muffin tin, and pop into the oven:

And 20 minutes later....voila!

Then came the test - could these muffins maintain their moist, flavourful, density without a host of processed ingredients??

I think (hope?) the answer lies in the following photo:

Okay, I know it's not possible to taste the flavour or consistency of food via photos (YET), but hopefully, this photo illustrates just how delicious these muffins were.  Every bit as yummy as the original recipe.  Is there anything better than fresh muffins, hot out of the oven, with a dollop of REAL butter on them? :)  Throw in a glass of fresh squeezed O.J., and you've got just about the perfect Saturday morning breakfast.  But since this recipe makes 12 muffins - you've got one for every day of the week (and more!)

Enjoy!