Banana Muffins with Candied Pecans! I was literally doing a happy dance when I tasted these for the first time. She shoots…. she scores!! These are literally the best banana muffins/bread I have ever made. Earlier in the day I had made Candied Pecans for a salad I had been craving. I was planning on using walnuts in my banana muffins, but as I was about to add cinnamon to the batter, I thought…. why not chop up some Candied Pecans, which have a cinnamon sugared coating, and use those instead? I love it when that inner “chef voice” speaks out!!! Why can’t I think like her all the time??? lol Anyways… I went with my gut and threw those bad boys in the mix. Oh my word! Divine. Simply divine. I’m a huge fan of whipping half of the bananas into the batter, and mashing the other half so you have the perfect balance of banana flavor with bigger pieces perfectly placed in each bite 🙂 Mix that with Candied Pecans??? Get outa town with that nonsense!!! As I savored that bite… all I could do was ask myself, “Why have I never done this before????” I hope you enjoy these as much as I did, and if you want to take it even a step further…. feel free to whip up some Mascarpone Frosting and top each muffin with a swirl of Mascarpone and a Candied Pecan!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 3-4 overly ripe bananas (I had 3 larger ones)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup melted butter, then cooled
- ½ cup Candied Pecans, chopped
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 (8oz) container mascarpone cheese
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 375º. Butter 2 muffin tins, or use liners.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mash 1½ bananas (or 2 if using 4) with the back of a fork. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whip the remaining 1½ bananas (or 2 if using 4 total) and the sugar with an electric mixer, for about 2 minutes or until the sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy. Add the eggs, vanilla and butter. Beat well until it's thoroughly combined.
- Pour this mixture into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and Candied Pecans.
- Spoon batter into the muffin tins about ¾ full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool in the tins for a few minutes, before removing them to a wire rack. Serve warm as is or once cooled top with frosting.
- With an electric mixer, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Make sure not to over beat the cream. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into the cheese mixture, until incorporated.
Tools I used:
Thank you for visiting! Please be patient as I am going in a new direction with my site and will post more soon! xoxo ~Kelly
