By Kathryn McLean
The weather at this time of year is usually chilly and damp: the wind picks up and the temperature drops. November’s cool weather calls for warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Those are the spices found in early autumn’s apple crumble and pumpkin pie, and later in December’s gingerbread and spice cookies.
But what about November? Try my recipe for easy homemade banana muffins. They’re a perfect snack to accompany a warm drink when you come in from raking leaves.
These banana oat muffins include ground cinnamon, and they always get eaten quickly at my house. They’re soft and light, unlike their banana bread cousin, which is a denser treat.
Use standard muffin paper liners in your muffin tray. This recipe will turn out small-ish muffins, the size of a tennis ball, not giants like the commercial ones you would get at the grocery store or drive-thru. They also aren’t packed with sugars, fats and chemicals. Give them a try: these banana oat muffins make a great breakfast as well as a nice afternoon snack.
It’s best to use very ripe bananas here, ones with dark skins, not the just-ripe, ready-for-topping-cereal ones. If you’ve stashed some bananas in the freezer, now is the time to use them. Thaw frozen bananas completely before peeling and using them. Include any liquid that collects in the dish as they defrost.
Banana Oat Muffins with Cinnamon
Ingredients
2 large very ripe bananas
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
⅔ cup white sugar
1¼ cups large flake oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Directions
● Preheat the oven to 350℉
● Mash the bananas in a medium-sized mixing bowl; add the oil and egg. Stir well to combine.
● Add the sugar and stir again.
● Add the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir just until all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the mixture.
● Divide into 12 standard muffin cups, each with a paper muffin liner.
● Bake for 18 minutes. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. To store any leftovers overnight, keep the muffins in a covered container or cover with plastic.