Banana Bran Muffins

Having a few overripe bananas on hand prompted me to look through my trusty recipe box for the card detailing how to make Banana Bran Muffins. When I put the card on the kitchen counter, Chuck asked, “Are you going to use that to follow the recipe, or are we just going to eat the card?”

Indeed, the card shows lots of smudges, spills, and splatters, as it has been the guide for the muffins I’ve baked most frequently over the years. I used to call them “disappearing muffins” because although the muffins freeze well and are handy for busy mornings, they frequently didn’t make it through a day on the cooling rack. My son especially loved the combination of molasses, honey, banana, and bran that come together for a scrumptious baked good. I think, however, that we were all guilty of returning for “just one more…”

The New York Times recently ran an article about old recipe cards and cookbooks that show the wear and tear of the cooks who have used them and the special place they hold in cooks’ hearts. Nashville even had an art installation called “Dirty Pages,” in which women talked about recipes that have been meaningful to them, sharing the stained recipes they love. As the organization’s web site says, “these pages hold stories.”

My mother has used recipe cards from the earliest days of her marriage, and they are collected in a variety of boxes now, sometimes making the search for a recipe quite a challenge. My dad keeps his recipe cards in his briefcase, a bulging collection bound with a rubber band, and shared with friends and family alike. I still have my small recipe box and have a sentimental attachment to the cards inside it. Although I have transcribed many of the recipes onto the computer, I keep the cards as part of my kitchen battery, stains and all.

I am not sure of the origin of this muffin recipe, but I have adapted it a few ways over the years that I’ve been using it. When I was out of honey once, I substituted a bit of granulated sugar and some buttermilk. I reduced the amount of vegetable oil that the recipe originally called for and now add some applesauce for additional moisture. I’ve also baked this as a breakfast bread in a loaf pan with good results.

While the ingredients may seem numerous, they are items that many folks have readily on hand in their pantries. The molasses is a key ingredient, and I like that only natural sugars are used to slightly sweeten the batter.

Putting the muffins together goes very quickly. Be sure not to overbeat the batter once you add the wet ingredients to the dry. You want the muffins to bake up to be tender, not tough.

If you make these muffins, you’ll have a supply that can be frozen and defrosted quickly for breakfast on busy mornings. If they last that long.

Banana Bran Muffins

Sunnyside Cook

Dawn Dobie

Honey and molasses-kissed breakfast treat

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup mashed ripe banana --about 2 large bananas
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (such as canola or grapeseed)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg room temperature, beaten
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/3 cups All-Bran cereal
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (scant) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray standard size muffin tins with baking spray to accommodate 12 muffins.
• Mash bananas well with fork in medium bowl.
• Measure oil in measuring cup, add to bananas, and follow with honey, molasses, and applesauce. (The film of oil in the cup will let the molasses and honey easily release and pour out.) Add beaten egg and lemon juice to mixture and whisk to combine. Add cereal and mix well.
• Let mixture rest 5-10 minutes to allow bran cereal to soften.
• While banana mixture is resting, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, blending well.
• Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add banana mixture to it. Stir until almost blended, then sprinkle raisins on top and give a few more stirs. Do not overmix; batter will be lumpy.
• Using a standard ice cream scoop (about 1/3 cup), spoon batter into greased muffin tins, filling each cup about 3/4 full.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted in middle comes out moist, but clean.
• Remove from oven and cool in pans on rack for five minutes.
• Turn out of pan onto cooling rack and serve warm.

Notes

Recipe can be doubled.
Cooled muffins can be frozen in a large zipper freezer bag, using only one layer, for up to 3 months.