May 7, 2012

Banana almond butter muffins

The first time I made muffins with nut butter and bananas, they were a bust.  I thought that since they contained bananas, a little bit of maple syrup would be enough to sweeten them. And I figured a few tablespoons of peanut butter would add a lot of flavor. Wrong on both counts. The result was a mediocre muffin that didn’t taste like much of anything.

I quickly realized that this is one time when I couldn’t skimp so much on the fat and sugar. So for round two I used more nut butter and sweetener, and switched to almond butter and brown sugar. I also added cinnamon to further boost the flavor. Bingo! These are terrific – the almond butter adds a lovely richness, and they’re nice and crunchy on the edges. (Note that the muffins are at their best soon after baking – as they sit, the crunchiness goes away. Still good, though.)

So if you’re in the mood for a slightly indulgent breakfast treat, these banana almond butter muffins will make you very happy.  And if you want to be absolved of any guilt, here you go: they’re 100% vegan and whole grain.

Banana Almond Butter Muffins

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oat flour (or grind rolled oats in a food processor)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
1 heaping cup mashed super-ripe banana
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk, curdled by adding 1 teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup smooth, unsalted organic almond butter
¼ cup high-oleic safflower oil
1 1/2 tablespoons ground flax seed vigorously mixed with ¼ cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup sliced almonds

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In one bowl, mix the flour, ground oats, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. In another bowl, thoroughly combine the banana, almond milk, sugar, almond butter, oil, flax and vanilla. Stir the wet and dry mixtures together, combining only until mixed.

Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking oil spray (I like Spectrum’s canola spray with flour). Fill the cups nearly to the top, then top with sliced almonds. Bake for about 20 minutes, until they are golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before eating.

Serves 12

See more recipes: Baked goods and desserts, Vegan

Comments

  • susan

    new to vegan baking.. but seem to have trouble with muffins collapsing in the middle. thanks for any advice.. is it ingredients? filling muffins too full? thanks again.

  • Man in Verona

    These were delicious and very light. ALmost as good as chocolate soy gelato.
    But only after delicious raw kale salad.

  • I have made them this morning & they tasted fabulously & apart too! :) Yum Yum Yum!
    You have a cool blog! 😉

    Many greets from a foodie from Belgium! :)

  • whatwouldcathyeat

    This comment sounds suspiciously like my husband. But he never comments on my blog, so it can’t be him!

  • whatwouldcathyeat

    Sorry Susan, I’m not sure what would cause that problem. Try some of my muffin recipes, they should work fine for you!

  • These look fantastic! I love the ingredients list – I’m putting these on my list to try when we’re craving muffins 😀

  • Man in Verona

    I heard your husband left you in Brooklyn and moved to Verona where he has a new career posting comments on blogs.

  • I have to admit that Man in Verona’s comments made me laugh, husband or not. :)

    And these look wonderful! I’d definitely make them if I weren’t allergic to bananas. And I absolutely hate it when I think I’m creating this amazing recipe and it comes out mediocre, but I guess that’s a part of baking.

  • Steph

    I made these today and they were good! The almond butter was indeed really rich and definitely came through in the final product…it tasted like I was eating a muffin with almond butter smeared on top :) I got 1 1/2 dozen medium-sized muffins out the recipe and the texture was not overly dense at all despite the WWWF. Thanks for sharing!

  • Anna

    Is there any watt get a nutritional breakdown on your recipes? I have to count carbs, sodium, fat etc…… Thank you!

  • whatwouldcathyeat

    Hi Anna, I don’t provide nutrition data (no time, and it’s just not my approach), but I think you can input recipes and get the info at nutritiondata.self.com

  • Anna

    Thanks for your advice. It’s not my approach either but my doctor’s heart healthy strict!! Thanks again!

  • Lisa

    These are my favorite! I am literally making them every weekend for breakfast all week. They have even received the stamp of approval from my meat-and-potatoes boyfriend. Thanks Cathy!

  • whatwouldcathyeat

    That’s great, Lisa. I haven’t made these in a long time, I’ll have to let my new bananas ripen for this purpose!

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