Spiced Banana Gingerbread Muffins

Submitted by Mirdreams

"This is a fairly healthy muffin that my kids beg me to make year round. You can also use canned pumpkin instead of the banana. If you do that use 1 cup pumpkin, omit the banana, and increase the sugar to 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup dark brown sugar. They can also be made in mini muffin tins. If you do that I find these temps and time work for me. 400F for 8 minutes, then 375F for 3 minutes. If you want a sweeter muffin (or if your bananas are less ripe) you can use 2/3 cup brown sugar and 2/3 cup white sugar."

 

• Ready In: 27mins
• Ingredients: 20
• Yields: 30 muffins
• Serves: 30

ingredients

• 2 medium bananas, very ripe
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2⁄3 cup molasses
• 2⁄3 cup milk
• 1⁄3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground mace
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (sifted)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

directions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. 2. Combine banana, eggs, vanilla, oil, molasses, milk, and brown sugar in a bowl. Make sure you measure the oil before the molasses, it will make it much easier to get the molasses out of the cup. I use a stick blender to combine them as it makes sure you don't have any big pieces of banana left but you can premash the banana and then just use a spoon if you prefer.
3. 3. In a medium bowl combine flours, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda (I like to use a fork or a whisk).
4. 4. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't overbeat.
5. 5. Fill each muffin cup halfway, Bake for 10 minutes at 400F Lower oven temp to 375F for 7-9 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean or the internal temp reaches between 190 - 200F on a digital read thermometer. Let cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Put the oven back up to 400F as soon as you take the first batch out. If you end up with a batch that doesn't completely fill your muffin tin toward the end, fill any empty cups halfway with water so that the tray heats evenly.
6. The muffins keep in a ziplock on the counter for up to one week.