Banana Nut Muffins

Name: Banana Nut Muffins
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 48 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ¾ cup (85 g) walnut halves, roughly chopped into ¼-inch pieces; 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled; 2 tsp (8 g) baking powder; ½ tsp (3 g) baking soda; ½ tsp (3 g) fine salt; 1 tsp (2 g) ground cinnamon; 3 large (340 g) very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork until mostly smooth (about 1½ cups); ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed; ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 5 minutes until warm, not hot; 2 large (100 g) large eggs, at room temperature; ½ cup (120 g) plain whole-milk yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature; 2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract; ¼ cup (30 g) walnut halves, finely chopped; 2 tbsp (25 g) turbinado or coarse sugar

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Tender, moist banana muffins with toasted walnuts, warm cinnamon and brown sugar, finished with a crunchy sugar-and-nut top. A short blast of high heat gives tall, domed tops.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 28 min
Wait: 15 min
Total: 1 hr 3 min
Makes: 12 standard muffins

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Ingredients

12 servings

For the muffins
¾ cup (85 g) walnut halves, roughly chopped into ¼-inch pieces
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled
2 tsp (8 g) baking powder
½ tsp (3 g) baking soda
½ tsp (3 g) fine salt
1 tsp (2 g) ground cinnamon
3 large (340 g) very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork until mostly smooth (about 1½ cups)
¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 5 minutes until warm, not hot
2 large (100 g) large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup (120 g) plain whole-milk yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
For the topping
¼ cup (30 g) walnut halves, finely chopped
2 tbsp (25 g) turbinado or coarse sugar

Equipment (11)

12-cup standard muffin tin (about ⅓ cup / 80 ml per cup)
12 paper liners (or butter for greasing)
Rimmed baking sheet for toasting nuts
Large mixing bowl
Medium mixing bowl
Whisk
Rubber spatula
Fork or potato masher
Ice cream scoop or ¼-cup (60 ml) measure
Wire cooling rack
Toothpick or instant-read thermometer

Steps

Before you start

Use bananas with lots of brown spots (or fully black peels). They should be soft and very fragrant for the best flavor and moisture.
Take the eggs and yogurt out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead so they blend smoothly with the melted butter.
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.
Total time includes toasting the walnuts, baking, and 15 minutes of cooling.

1
Toast the walnutsOven 350°F / 175°C
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Combine all the chopped walnuts (both the ¾ cup for the batter and the ¼ cup for the topping, kept in separate piles) on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer.
- Toast for 8 minutes, stirring once halfway, then slide them onto a plate to cool.
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Ready when: Nuts smell nutty and look a shade darker, with lightly golden cut edges
Tip: Walnuts burn quickly. Pull them as soon as you smell them toasting.
2
Prep the tinOven 400°F / 205°C
- Raise the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C).
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, or grease each cup with butter.
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Ready when: Oven reaches 400°F (200°C) by the time the batter is ready
3
Whisk dry ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon for 30 seconds until evenly combined with no lumps of baking soda.
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Ready when: Mixture is uniform in color
4
Mix the wet base
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until mostly smooth with a few tiny lumps.
- Whisk in the brown sugar, then the cooled melted butter, eggs, yogurt and vanilla.
- Whisk for about 1 minute until fully blended.
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Ready when: No streaks of egg or yogurt remain and the mixture looks glossy
Tip: If the butter is still hot, it can scramble the eggs. Let it cool until just warm.
5
Combine gently
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
- Fold with a rubber spatula just until the last streaks of flour disappear, about 12 to 15 strokes.
- The batter will be thick and slightly lumpy.
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Ready when: No dry flour pockets remain, and the batter is still lumpy
Tip: Overmixing develops gluten and makes muffins tough and tunnel-y. Stop as soon as the flour is absorbed.
6
Fold in nuts
- Fold the ¾ cup (85 g) cooled toasted walnuts into the batter with 3 or 4 strokes until evenly distributed.
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Ready when: Nuts are spread throughout the batter
7
Fill and top
- Divide the batter among the 12 cups using a scoop or ¼-cup measure, filling each cup to the top (slightly mounded, about ⅓ cup / 80 ml each).
- Mix the topping walnuts with the turbinado sugar and sprinkle about 1 teaspoon over each muffin.
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Ready when: All 12 cups are evenly filled and topped
Tip: Filling to the rim is what gives bakery-style domes.
8
Bake at high heatOven 400°F / 205°C
- Put the tin in the center of the 400°F (200°C) oven and bake for 5 minutes.
- Do not open the door.
- The high heat makes the tops rise quickly.
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Ready when: Tops have puffed and started to dome
9
Finish at lower heatOven 350°F / 175°C
- Without removing the tin, reduce the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Bake 15 to 17 minutes more, rotating the tin once at the 10-minute mark if your oven bakes unevenly.
- Muffins are done when the tops are deep golden and spring back when pressed.
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Ready when: A toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs, or reads 205°F (96°C)
Tip: If the tops brown too fast, tent loosely with foil for the last 5 minutes.
10
Cool and serve
- Let the muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes so they set, then lift them onto a wire rack.
- Cool at least 10 more minutes before eating; they're best warm.
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Ready when: Muffins release easily and feel firm when gently squeezed
Tip: Cooling in the tin much longer traps steam and makes the bottoms soggy.

Good to know

Tips

Mash the bananas well but leave a few small lumps for pockets of banana flavor.
Measure flour by spooning and leveling, or by weight; packing the cup makes dense, dry muffins.
Use a scoop for even muffins so they all bake in the same time.
Frozen bananas work: thaw them fully and include all the liquid that collects.

Make ahead

"Whisk the dry ingredients and mash the bananas the night before (keep bananas covered in the fridge). Bake the muffins fresh in the morning. Fully baked muffins can also be made 1 day ahead."

Storage & reheating

"Room temperature: store airtight, with a paper towel in the container to absorb moisture, for up to 2 days. Fridge: up to 5 days. Freezer: wrap individually and freeze up to 3 months. Reheat thawed or refrigerated muffins at 325°F (160°C) for 8 to 10 minutes, or microwave for 15 to 20 seconds (30 to 40 seconds from frozen, then check)."

Substitutions

walnut halves → pecans or chopped chocolate. Use the same weight; toast pecans the same way. Omit nuts entirely for a nut-free version.
plain whole-milk yogurt or sour cream → buttermilk. Use ½ cup (120 ml); the batter will be slightly looser but the muffins stay tender.
light brown sugar → granulated sugar. Use the same weight; the muffins will be a little lighter in flavor and slightly less moist.
unsalted butter → neutral oil such as canola. Use ⅓ cup (80 ml) for a slightly moister crumb with less buttery flavor.