Virtuous Whole Grain Banana Muffins
In case you haven’t noticed from my past recipes, I am always looking for ways to use up those leftover bananas. For some odd reason, I purchase the same amount of bananas year round, regardless of our internal demand. In the summers, morning smoothies ensure that we go through at least one or two bananas per day, but in the winter and early spring, the last thing on my mind is a monstrously chilly beverage. So here I sit, once again, with a bunch of quickly ripening bananas, simply begging to lend their sweetness to a baked goodie.
Trying desperately to keep it healthy, I was elated when I found a whole wheat banana muffin recipe on Recipezaar that numerous people swore rose beautifully. They did not lie. I altered the recipe in several ways (reducing the fat a touch, adding some flavors, etc.), but still used their moisture ratio as my guide. These muffins turned out, dare I say about a whole grain muffin, relatively light and fluffy! Keep in mind; these are muffins, not cupcakes. They aren’t overly sweet, yet they are perfect (in my opinion) for early morning taste buds or with afternoon tea. I added raisins for an extra jolt of natural sugar, but you can swap them out for nuts, chocolate chips (I can’t stand chocolate in muffins/bread, just me though), blueberries, or other add-ins. You will still need some of that hot water in the ingredient list though (see the recipe to know what I am talking about).
I “frosted” one fresh out of the oven with a quick mixture of some leftover mashed banana, nut butter, ground flaxseeds, and some flavors to taste (molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg). For a sweeter added touch, “frost” them with your favorite jam.
Whole-Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Banana Muffins
This Recipe is Milk-Free, Soy-Free, Tree Nut-Free, Peanut-Free
- 1/2 Cup Raisins (or more if you like)
- Boiling Water (about 1 cup should do)
- 1-3/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Wheat Germ
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Mashed Ripe Banana
- 1/4 Cup Grapeseed or Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 Cup Honey or Agave Nectar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Place the raisins in a small bowl, and cover them with the hot/boiling water.
Preheat your oven to 325ºF and grease 12 muffin cups.
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Briefly set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, blend the banana, oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla. Drain the raisins, reserving the liquid. Add 5 tablespoon s (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) of the hot raisin water to your mixing bowl.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in your large mixing bowl, stirring just to combine. Do not over mix. The baking soda begins to react as soon as it hits the liquid, so over mixing will cause the muffins to loose some of their fluffiness … a few lumps are okay.
Stir in the plumped raisins, and divide the batter evenly between your 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until they just begin to take on a golden hue, and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin, comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the muffin cups, then remove to a wire rack.
Yields 1 Dozen Muffins
Wheat-Free Option:
Use spelt or oat flour in place of the wheat flour, and substitute ground flax for the wheat germ. I would guess that you could also use your favorite gluten-free flour blend (with xanthan gum as directed) to make them gluten-free / casein-free too if you wished).
Tips:
Be sure the bananas are quite ripe; this will add sweetness to the muffins.
Measure the oil in a ¼ cup, then use the same cup to measure the honey. The oil coating on the measuring cup will help keep the honey from sticking.
Happy Baking!
19 thoughts on “Virtuous Whole Grain Banana Muffins”
Perfect use of the leftover bananas; and WOWZA I love your “frosting”!!
These look delicious! I have made all whole wheat banana muffins before and they do rise up nice and fluffy. I think it must have to do with the amount of moisture the banana adds? Yours look beautiful!
sounds just delicious 😀
I’m also always looking for a healthier muffin. These sound perfect, I’ve bookmarked them!
Any recipe that can say “virtuous” and “banana muffin” in the same title is one I want to try! They look great. And you’ve reminded me I MUST make your sweetener-free banana bread again soon! 🙂
oh baby, those look good. I make banana muffins but never thought about adding cinnamon
I would go with sorghum flour for make it gluten free and maybe a little mix with arrowroot or tapioca starch as well.
I set about making this before realising I had no raisins or wheat germ. I went without raisins and used flax meal instead of wheat germ. These were fluffy and delicious, even with my tweaks. Thank you for sharing!
wow, and the “frosting” puts it over the top 🙂
these look so amazing – would love to feature it on our new blog and link back to your site to promote you! would love to share this recipe with others who are sensitive to allergies! thanks for sharing.
rhonda
These look moist and delicious, and the “frost” is a beautiful touch!
Hey! I keep trying to send you an email, but your inbox is overflowing. Let me know when I can try again. 🙂
FYI…I’m a huge muffin lover :0) And these are so tantalizing!!!
the frosting is brilliant, too!
Pausing long enough from eating these muffins to say they are amazing!! Moist and fluffy and just sweet enought with the raisins. Yum!
I made these muffins tonight and used chocolate chips and pecans in place of raisins. Also to make them go farther I made them into mini muffins and baked them for about 15-17 minutes. Huge hit! They’ll be wonderful to go with breakfast in the morning!
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