I had two overripe bananas, a jar of Nutella, some peanut butter, and an urge to combine them all. I combed Pinterest and Google for recipes. I compared. I contrasted. And then I realized that I didn’t need a NEW recipe, I could just adapt my own banana muffins recipe. It’s the first recipe I ever could really call an original, so why not play with it and add some sweet Nutella goodness to it? Why not indeed.
I was inspired by two people to make these: Nathaniel, who begged me to buy the Nutella on Monday night, and my friend Joanne, queen of inspirational ideas and baked goods sampling. Thank you to you both for this one. I still have to work on their appearance, but the flavors and texture seem just right to me.
It all began with this.
Yes, I did have two bananas, but the other one had been in the freezer for a few weeks and it was too revolting to photograph. You’d lose your appetite right away and have no interest in scrolling further. It was really gross.
I dug into the dry ingredients. Whole wheat white flour, baking powder (a full tablespoon), baking soda, and salt. I thought about the spices before putting them in, thinking about how they’d blend with the nutella, so I used just one heaping teaspoon of cinnamon and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg. I whisked.
In a separate, small bowl, I mashed the banana. It made a lot of sense to use a smaller bowl for the wet ingredients; the blending was a lot easier in a smaller space. To that I added a quarter up of coconut palm sugar. You could use any brown sugar in this, or even white sugar if it’s all you have, but I like the depth of flavor this sugar provides.
To that I added an egg, vanilla (just under a full teaspoon, I thought I should increase it to go with the Nutella), and peanut butter. My measuring method for the peanut butter is a little dodgy, I just get a tablespoon out of the kitchen drawer (vs. a measuring tablespoon) and scoop out a big glob of it, then dump it in. I stirred to mix, grateful again for the ease of working with a small bowl.
I added in a quarter cup of low fat vanilla yogurt, and mixed. The color got a little lighter.
I poured all of that into the bowl with the flour, and mixed just until incorporated. Then I got out the muffin pan, pre-lined with paper muffin cups by Nathaniel, and tried to fill each one about halfway, or just under.
And then I prepared the Nutella.
I thought melting it might be a good idea. I wasn’t sure how much time it would need in the microwave, but since it was already set to 25 seconds — left over from Dave’s last session with it, no doubt — I decided it was fate and that 25 seconds was just right.
I put a nice glob in the center(ish) of each muffin.
I covered the blobs with the rest of the batter. And then, because I couldn’t resist, I added a little globule (mini-glob) of Nutella to the top of each one.
I put them in the oven, reduced the temperature to 350 (from 375), and baked for just over 15 minutes. Maybe….17.
I let them cool in the pan for a few minutes, then moved them to a wire rack.
They turned out great. They have the same light fluffy texture I’m used to with these, and the Nutella turns them from breakfast into dessert. The only suggestion I’ve had to improve them? More Nutella. I think I can do that the next time.
LAURIE’S BANANA-NUTELLA MUFFINS
ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup mashed ripe banana (I used two large ones)
1 egg
1/4 coconut palm sugar (any sugar is fine, brown sugar is best)
1 scant teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (I used low-fat)
A small bowl of melted Nutella (I don’t really know how much I used)
directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In a separate bowl, beat together the banana, sugar, egg, peanut butter, and vanilla. Stir in the yogurt.
Stir the banana mixture into the flour until just combined then scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about halfway up, maybe a little less.
Scoop some Nutella into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 25 seconds. Using a teaspoon, drop a good-sized glob into the center of each muffin. Top up each one with the rest of the batter, and drizzle some more Nutella on top of that.
Get them into the oven, then DROP the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Let cool before serving (eating).
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