The BEST Banana Muffin/Cupcake Recipe (Promise)

If you’re looking for a perfect banana muffin or cupcake recipe, this is it. I promise. I’ve made it more times than I can count. I’ve overcooked it, undercooked it, frozen and defrosted it, frosted it for cupcakes, and left it plain for over-sized muffins. It’s good every time.

I’ll show you how to make it as muffins or cupcakes. Sorry, the photos are dark as it was evening when we made them. The coconut, granola and chopped bananas are key to the success of this recipe.

Ina Garten’s Banana Crunch Muffin Recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup small-diced walnuts (optional)
1 cup granola (I once used a granola w/dried strawberries – yum!)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don’t over mix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top.

For cupcakes: Use a 1 3/4″ ice cream scoop which will fill a muffin cup roughly 2/3 of the way. This will cause the cupcake to bake to just slightly over the wrapper, which is perfect when you’re going to decorate a cupcake. Bake 15-20 minutes until top just starts to brown.

I say if it’s a bit gooey on the top, let it be, but I like that. Let cool completely to frost. I like a generous heap of buttercream frosting on these cupcakes. I’ve made this recipe as mini cupcakes, but you need to reduce the baking time and be very careful not to over-bake, otherwise they’ll be dry.

For muffins: Fill cups completely for a big, delicious muffin top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan and serve.

I must tell you that if the batter cooperates like this one does, the ice cream scoop method saves so much time and mess. Another tip: I always mention to people that these have coconut in them just in case they don’t like it. If you leave out the coconut though, the recipe just won’t be the same.

See also: Recipe: Spiced Roasted Figs with Hazelnuts and Vanilla Ice Cream