I have lived in Oregon all my life, and actually love the rain – within reason. But it is nearly February, it’s still raining, and Neeners is getting itchy to get out in the garden and plant which makes her very crabby. For the sake of both our sanities I whipped up a batch of her favorite muffins. It kept her quiet for all of 20 minutes, but I will consider that a small victory. This recipe was inspired by the Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook, but as usual I have changed it all around. Here is my version.
First we need bananas. You will want them at least a shade past where you would want to eat them. Kind of like this: But if they are so ripe they have turned black, all the better.
This is really a simple recipe, and the hardest work is just mashing the bananas. I like them when there are still enough little banana chunks in there because I like to get a good banana bite when I dive in.
Next grab a bowl and mix all of your dry ingredients together, then toss in the coconut. PS: If you have decided to add chocolate chips or Macadamia nuts, now would be the time to add them to the flour as well. . Mix all the liquid ingredients together in some sort of pourable bowl or mixing cup, stir the bananas into the liquids, and believe it or not you are almost done.
The trick to a good muffin or quick bread is minimal stirring. Stirring a lot will develop gluten, which equals a tough muffin. Here we are going for soft, so less is more.
Time for the muffin pans. I use the large size, but the regular size is just fine. Scoop the batter in until it’s about half an inch below the top of the pan. Then sprinkle with some brown sugar, more coconut, and maybe a chocolate chip or two – your call.
Pop them into a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the top is set. Cool. Eat. Forget about the rain.
You can also opt for the Banana Coconut Bread route. Use the same recipe, just grease two loaf pans and divide the batter evenly. Have fun sprinkling a bunch of stuff on top.
Bake for between 60-70 minutes. Use a wooden skewer or toothpick and make sure it comes out clean when you check the center of the loaf. Once you hit the 60 minute mark, things will go quickly, so check every five minutes. Here’s one with, and one without chips.
Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and get them on a rack until cooled all the way. Or not. I could not wait, and no harm done.
Hope you enjoy!! xoxoxxo
Banana & Coconut Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut plus a little extra for sprinkling on top
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips roughly chopped (optional)
- 1 cup Macadamia nuts roughly chopped (optional)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup canola/vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans with baking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, soda, and salt.
- Stir in coconut.
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and bananas.
- Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring only until mixed.
- Pour into greased baking pans if making bread. If making muffins, scoop into muffin tins, and fill to about ½ inch from the top of the pan.
- Sprinkle a handful of coconut on top of each loaf or muffin (and some extra chocolate chips or Macadamia nuts if you are so inclined)
- Bake until baked through in the center, about 60-70- minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center for bread. About 20 minutes for muffins.
- Allow loaves to cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes. Remove and place on a cooling rack until cool. At that point you can wrap and freeze or dig in!