A few months ago I found these awesome tulip muffin cups on Amazon.
I bought them because they look pretty. And they do, don't they? But, seriously, these are the BEST when making muffins with any kind of a topping. Like slices of banana and buttery brown sugar streusel.
The tops of the liners rise way above the rim of a standard muffin pan, so you can add plenty of batter and the liners will hold in all that yummy streusel as they rise in the oven. Also, when the muffins are done baking, you can just pull each one out of the tin with the pointy tops of the liners. Awesome.
Enough about the liners.
Let's talk about these banana muffins.
This summer I went to San Francisco for a few days with my mother-in-law. Obviously, we spent a lot of our time there eating great food and drinking great wine. While eating great food and drinking great wine, we talked about eating great food and drinking great wine. We were very indulgent with ourselves. As one should be while on vacation in San Francisco.
So, one day, while eating great food and drinking great wine, my mother-in-law tells me about these delicious muffins she had somewhere with chunks of bananas in them. And so, of course, I immediately wanted to bake muffins like that.
These have mashed bananas mixed into the batter as well as slices of banana on top. On top of all that is a buttery, brown sugar streusel, which makes them taste sinful, even though they're really not. They're actually packed with all sorts of things that are really good for you. They just taste decadent. You could make them even healthier by replacing the brown sugar in the batter with stevia and a tablespoon of molasses.
📖 Recipe
Banana Oat Muffins with Streusel
Banana oat muffin recipe with sliced bananas & buttery, brown sugar streusel. These taste decadent even though they're packed with good for you ingredients. *Find Tulip Muffin Liners here.
Ingredients
FOR THE STREUSEL:
- ¾ cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup old fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon butter, melted
FOR THE MUFFINS:
- 2 cups oat bran
- ½ cup unbleached all purpose flour
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 large bananas
- ¾ cup plain, unsweetened yogurt
- ¾ cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature
Instructions
MAKE THE STREUSEL:
- In a medium size bowl mix all the streusel ingredients, except the butter, to blend.
- Pour in the butter and mix with a wooden spoon or your fingers until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Cover and set aside.
MAKE THE MUFFINS:
- Spread the oat bran on a cookie sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- Line 2 muffin pans with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Slice 2 of the bananas in half length wise into quarters and then chop into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, stir together the toasted oat bran, all purpose and whole wheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to blend.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mash 2 of the bananas with a fork, pastry cutter or your fingers.
- Add the yogurt, brown sugar, eggs, applesauce and coconut oil and mix on medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment just until blended, or stir with a wooden spoon.
- Fill the muffin cups only about halfway full if you are using regular muffin liners or a greased muffin tin. If you are using tulip liners, you can fill the cups almost to the top of the tin pan.
- Top muffins evenly with the chopped bananas and then with the streusel.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 muffinAmount Per Serving: Calories: 107Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 205mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g
Megan says
This is most likely a very silly question (as those seem to be my specialty these days (-; ), but I would rather be safe than sorry, especially if I wind up ruining this awesome recipe! Can white whole wheat flour be substituted 1 for 1 for standard whole wheat flour? I'm just starting to use white whole wheat flour and am not yet completely certain of how it "works" compared to the old standby. I'm trying to sneak more whole grains into my family's diet and our teenage and pre-teen boys don't seem to balk as much at food made with the white whole wheat. Any help, insight and / or advice would be greatly appreciated; thanks in advance!!!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Megan! Not a silly question at all! White whole wheat can be used instead of all-purpose flour in most muffin recipes, this one included. It will change the texture, flavor and rise of the muffins slightly - but not in a bad way. White whole wheat is whole wheat flour made from white wheat. Using any kind of whole wheat flour will give muffins a heartier texture and cause them to not rise quite as much. It will also make them more flavorful - whole wheat flour is more flavorful than all-purpose. So, the muffins will be absolutely delicious, just a bit different than if you used all-purpose. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! And I'd love to hear how these come out for you! xo
Melissa Ormond says
Can I use all AP flour if I don't have oat bran??
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Melissa! Yes, you can substitute all purpose flour for the oat bran. I would actually suggest using a mix of whole wheat flour and AP flour. Instead of 2 cups oat bran, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, try 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to know what you think of these muffins after you make them! xo