Banana Oat Muffins

Having baked several chocolate desserts, I have decided to find a way to used a different flavour for the things I bake!

My motivation stems from my desire to be healthy ( or at least healthier in this sense 😋 ) while satisfying my cravings as a person with sweet tooth ( I see it as a blessing actually 😙 ). While looking for ideas, I noticed my father had bought a bunch of bananas, and this accelerated the whole thought process! I decided to formulate a recipe for Banana Oat Muffins!

I have made banana muffins before, but how do I up a notch and even make it healthier? In order to achieve this, I have decided to incorporate oats into these muffins while also using less sugar than muffins that I usually bake. Hence, Banana Oat Muffins! Doing so, not only will non-oat lovers appreciate the muffins as the flavour of the oat won’t be too strong, they will also be able to incorporate some of these nutritious oats into their diet without compromising on the flavour integrity of these desserts.

Don’t these Banana Oat Muffins just look gorgeous? I especially love the rustic touch by topping off the batter with some more of the rolled oats! 😊

Cost: 1/5 ( Most of these ingredients you would probably had at home, and also bananas and a small package of oats aren’t too expensive )
Time Taken: 1/5 ( Minimal time needed )
Accessibility of Ingredients : 5/5 ( Very Accessible )
Overall difficulty: 1/5

Ingredients Needed:

3 large ripe bananas
1 large egg ( I used a 60g one ), lightly beaten
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup old fashioned, rolled oats + extra for topping ( if you want )
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla esssence
3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg ( optional, I just wanted to utilize some of it for health benefits )

Equipment needed:

Mixing Bowls
Muffin / Cupcake tray
Paper liners / Cooking spray / Butter
Microwave / Stove and Pot
Whisk
Fork and Spoon

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C or 350F.
Using a large mixing bowl, I melt the 1/2 cup butter in the mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water. I didn’t melt it directly using just a saucepan as I do not want to risk burning the butter. Leave it to cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes. To ensure coolness, I used my pinkie to test the temperature of the mixture.
In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the oats,flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.
In another separate mixing bowl, mash the 3 large ripe bananas. I used the back of a fork.
Add the beaten egg and sugar to the cooled melted butter.
Then add the flour and oat mixture to the wet mixture ( or butter mixture ).
Mix well until incorporated. Do not overmix!
Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tray. I used paper liners. You can also lightly coat the muffin tray with cooking spray or softened butter at room temperature.
(Optional ) ) Sprinkle some rolled oats over the individual muffin batter before they’re place in the oven.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness by using a toothpick which will come out clean when inserted in the center. You can also check for doneness by its colour where it will be golden brown. Personally for me, I like them browner so I baked slightly longer than 25 minutes at about 27 minutes although mine was done at 25.

Notes:
If you’re not too sure if the bananas are sufficiently ripe and hence sweet, you can put them in a paper bag or a plastic bag at room temperature the day before you bake. What will happen is that ethylene released by the bananas will circulate around the bag and hasten the ripening process. Room temperature will ensure that the chemical reactions can occur at a reasonable and appreciable rate.

Conversely, if you want them to ripen slower, place it in the fridge!

You can store these Banana Oat Muffins for a few days either in the refrigerator or in an airtight container in a cool,dry place.

Original recipe:
Javier Tan,

Enjoy!
– Bakeomaniac, Javier Tan!