Browned Butter Banana Muffins #MuffinMonday

Banana muffins are always good, especially when your bananas are sweet and ripe but switch out the oil or butter for browned butter and try my browned butter banana muffins with browned butter glaze. You’ll never want them any other way.

A number of years ago, I discovered browned butter on my friend Kayle’s wonderful blog, The Cooking Actress. While I think I am mildly addicted, Kayle has so many more browned butter recipes on her blog than I do. She is my inspiration to brown butter all the things. If you need instructions on how to make it – it’s super simple, so don’t be scared – check out this link.

Meanwhile, you might want try some of my favorites:

• Browned Butter Applesauce Bars with Apple Walnut Streusel 
• Browned Butter Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Muffins 
• Browned Butter Maple Muffins 
• Browned Butter Pecan Muffins 

Browned Butter Banana Muffins with Browned Butter Glaze

Can you leave off the browned butter glaze? You could, of course, but WHY? I am not a big sweet eater but I do have a weakness for all things caramel. I’m here to tell you though that browned butter lends that same almost smoky flavor to all things, both sweet and savory. Seriously. I couldn’t stop eating the glaze and it’s just about pure sugar. So good!

Ingredients
1/2 cup or 115g butter
2 1/4 cups or 280g flour
3/4 cup or 170g golden caster sugar (Sub regular sugar if you can’t find golden)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 well-ripened bananas
1/2 cup or 120ml buttermilk
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional (BUT DO IT!): browned butter glaze
2 teaspoons browned butter
1/2 cup or 63g powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk or buttermilk
pinch salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your large 12-cup muffin pan by greasing lightly or lining with muffin papers. This batter will fill more than your standard 12-cup muffin pan. Either use larger paper cups that come up higher than the pan, or make more muffins.

Brown your butter for the muffins, adding an extra couple of teaspoons if you are going to make the browned butter glaze. If you don’t know how to brown butter, it’s easy! Follow these instructions, right here, from The Cooking Actress:  How to brown butter. When the butter is browned, set it aside to cool, reserving two teaspoons of it for the glaze in a small mixing bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

In another bowl, mash your ripe bananas with a fork. Add in the eggs, vanilla extract and milk and whisk.

Pour in the cooled browned butter and whisk again.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ones and stir a couple of times until just combined.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, add the powdered sugar and pinch of salt to the reserved teaspoons of browned butter. Mix well.

Drizzle the cooled muffins with glaze. I like to use a plastic bag with the corner cut off for neater drizzling.  I left a few naked at my daughter's request.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely muffins my Muffin Monday group are sharing today!

• Browned Butter Banana Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Small Batch Apple Nut Oatmeal Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Strawberry Banana Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Sugar Free Banana Pecan Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Browned Butter Banana Muffins!

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Granola Brownie Bundt #BundtBakers

When you are looking for a dessert you can also eat for breakfast, consider this granola brownie Bundt! It’s full of good stuff like dried cranberries, toasted almonds and crunchy granola, in a thick brownie batter.

My favorite granola used to be available here in Dubai before my nearby supermarket was bought out by another big chain. Unlike my other favorite cereal (Post Spoon-size Honey Nut Shredded Wheat) which has been discontinued, the Quaker granola is still available in two places I travel to regularly. So, depending on baggage allowance, I usually come home with two or three boxes. The cardboard part goes in the recycle bin and the bags of cereal inside get popped in the deep freezer so the almonds won’t turn rancid. The granola stays fresh for months, perfect no matter how long it takes me to eat it all.

Since we found out we were moving, I’ve been trying to eat it more often but I still have a bag and a quarter to get through and only a couple of weeks left in Dubai.

Fortunately my efforts to use up the contents of my freezer and cupboards were aided by our Bundt Bakers’ host, Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs. She chose Breakfast Cereals as our theme/ingredient of choice. Along with the granola, I used dried cranberries and almonds, also from the freezer. It was a good day.

Granola Brownie Bundt

I adapted this recipe from one on the King Arthur flour website for brownie bars kingarthurflour.com/recipes/granola-brownie-bars-recipe and baked it in a 6-cup Bundt pan.

Ingredients
1 cup or 125g flour, plus extra for the pan
1/4 cup or 22g extra dark cocoa (I use Hershey’s Special Dark.)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 113g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for the pan
1 cup or 200g brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup or 100g granola
1/2 cup or 70g dried cranberries (no sugar added, preferably)
1/2 cup or 65g chopped almonds, toasted in a dry pan

Optional for decorating:
3-4 tablespoon Nutella, warmed in microwave
Extra toasted almonds, dried cranberries and granola

Method
Preheat the oven to 325°F and 163°C. Prepare your 6-cup Bundt pan by buttering and flouring it.

Measure your flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and set it aside. In another large mixing bowl, use a mixer or electric beater to beat together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy.

Add the first egg and beat well.

Add the second egg and beat well again.

Pour in the vanilla and beat again.

Use a flour sifter or strainer to sift half of the dry ingredients into the batter.

Beat well to combine. Sift the other half in and beat well again.

Fold in the granola, dried cranberries and toasted chopped almonds.

Spoon the thick batter into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn the brownie Bundt out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

After it was cool, I wanted to decorate mine so I warmed a few tablespoons of Nutella with a quick couple of zaps in the microwave, then used a pastry brush to apply it to the Bundt. I drizzled some on the top of the cake and then sprinkled the top with almonds, cranberries and granola. You can, of course, eat this granola brownie Bundt plain as well.

Cut into wedges to serve.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month's host, Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs for the great theme and her behind the scenes work. Check out all the fun Breakfast Cereal Bundts we've baked for you today!

• Breakfast Mini Bundts from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cinnamon Frosted Flakes Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Granola Brownie Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Grape-Nuts Bundt Cake from Passion Kneaded
• Honeycomb Cereal Bundt Cake from Patty's Cake
• Mixed Cereal Upside Down Pineapple Bundt from Sneha's Recipe
• Oatmeal Bundtlets with Granola Topping from Sweet Sensations

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Granola Brownie Bundt!

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Mexican Cornbread Waffles #BreadBakers

Mexican cornbread waffles are super cheesy and spicy, the perfect breakfast or dinner any day of the week. Cooking the batter in a waffle iron gives it the most wonderful golden crunchy exterior.

Years ago, when were living in Kuala Lumpur and our internet connection was still dial up, my elder daughter was systematically searching for and baking cornbread recipes, looking for the perfect one. While each was edible, she deemed none of them perfect. She was old enough to be in the kitchen on her own so I wasn’t aware of her quest until she was already few recipes into the project. “Just email your grandmother,” I said. “She makes the best cornbread.”

And that was true, until I met my friend, Sheila, when we moved to Cairo back in 2013. My mom still makes the best classic cornbread but Sheila turned up at some social event with a pan of the best cheesy cornbread I’d ever eaten. It was packed with sharp cheddar cheese, onions AND peppers. The third secret ingredient was creamed corn. Game changer! Most importantly, Sheila is a sweetheart so she willingly shared the recipe.

Mexican Cornbread Waffles

Since then, I’ve baked that batter a number of times, once even putting it in bacon cup muffins. I can’t even tell you how good it was baked in crispy bacon! I knew that batter, with a few small adjustments, would make awesome waffles as well. I was not wrong.

Ingredients - for 10 waffles
1 cup or 170g yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup or 32g flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon double acting baking powder
1 cup or 226g sour cream
1 1/4 cups or 330g creamed corn
2 large eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil, plus extra for greasing the waffle iron
1 medium onion
2-4 jalapeño peppers and/or chili peppers
10 1/2 oz or 300g extra sharp cheddar, grated

Optional for serving:
Your favorite chili con carne: Check out two of mine here and here.
Thinly sliced onions
Grated sharp cheddar
Sliced jalapeños

Method
Chop your onion and your peppers finely. Mix the yellow cornmeal, flour, salt baking soda and baking powder together in a large bowl.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the sour cream, creamed corn, eggs and oil. Add in the chopped peppers and onion. Stir well.

Fold your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients until just mixed.

Now add in the grated cheddar and stir well until combined.

Heat your waffle iron and brush the interior with a little oil to grease.

Bake the batter according to manufacturer’s instructions, being careful not to over fill the waffle iron. I like to leave mine in for a little longer after the little “ready” light comes on to get crunchier edges.

Serve as is, I’m telling you, they are fabulous even plain.

Or top with a couple of spoons of chili con carne and garnish with more cheese, onions and jalapeño slices.

Enjoy!

This month my Bread Bakers group is sharing cheesy bread recipes at the instigation of our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Make sure to check them all out!

• Brazilian Cheese Bread by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Buttermilk Cheddar Quick Bread by Food Above Gold
• Caramelized Onion and Cheese Bread by Ambrosia
• Cheddar Beer Bread Rolls by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cheese Babka by Passion Kneaded
• Easy Cheesy Pull Apart Rolls by I Camp In My Kitchen
• Irish Cheddar Scone with Scallions by Baking Sense
• Mexican Cornbread Waffles by Food Lust People Love
• Mini Chilli Cheese Parathas by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Pancakes Huancaina by The Schizo Chef
• Spicy Cheese Bread by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Stuffed Mini Cheese Chicken Burger Buns by Sneha's Recipe
• Wholemeal Cheese Bombs by Cook with Renu
• Vanilla-Mascarpone Popovers by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Mexican Cornbread Waffles!

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