Not too long ago, the wonderful Tiina over at sparkling ink posted some heavenly looking banana muffins. On a recent lazy Sunday afternoon, I stirred the batter together and let the cinnamon perfume the kitchen as they baked.
It was the perfect day for baking. The sun, covered by southern California’s seemingly endless “June Gloom,” had yet to emerge from the fog layer, and it almost felt a bit like fall, when you feel like curling up with a bowl of popcorn for an afternoon movie, and simmering soup on the stove for hours.
But I really shouldn’t get ahead of myself. We have an entire season of fresh fruit, barbecue, and sweet desserts in store before they’ll be any talk of that chill in the air, so cheers to embracing summer.
BANANA CINNAMON MUFFINS WITH WALNUTS
Recipe slightly adapted from Tiina at sparkling ink.
I love the cinnamon in these muffins. Its warmth compliments the banana, and the walnuts (Tiina used pecans) enhance the texture.
Makes 12 to 14 muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
5 ounces butter, melted
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 bananas, pureed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the frosting:
7 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
Cinnamon for dusting
Directions
Melt the butter and allow it cool down a bit. In a mixing bowl, mix together butter, eggs, milk and sugar. Fork the bananas until smooth puree, and add into the batter. Mix in vanilla.
Combine flour, coarsely chopped walnuts, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Gradually mix the dry ingredients mixture into the batter. Stir just until combined.
Spoon the batter into a muffin tin lined with paper muffin cups leaving a little room for the muffins to expand. Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your muffin tin. The muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of a muffin.
To prepare the frosting, gradually add powdered sugar into cream cheese while stirring strongly. Add in a small amount of water if needed. Spoon the smooth mixture on the muffins, and sprinkle with a touch of cinnamon.
