muffins for Monday – 4.2.12 – peanut butter banana

Bananas. I’ll buy a big bunch of five or seven when they’re nice and green around the edges, and I always think I might eat them all before they turn on me.

I’m always wrong.

I never mean for this to happen. But I’m really picky about my bananas. A perfect specimen has a bright, golden peel with a splash of lime green still at both ends and firm, light-colored flesh. The problem is, if a bunch of bananas is at this stage on Monday morning, they’ll be well past it by Tuesday at lunch. That makes for a pretty short window of enjoyment.

You might like bananas best when they get to the freckled, super-sweet stage. I have several friends who will only eat them once they’re brown and spotty. But for me, these mushy, sugary fruits are well past their prime.

And that, my friends, is when it’s time to make muffins.

(Yes, my muffins tend to all look alike...but at least the backgrounds are ever-changing.)

For this week’s batch, I’m continuing my Childhood Lunchbox series, a poignant exploration of the food memories that evoke bittersweet nostalgia for younger days gone by. We all must grow old, we all must die, but these muffins might recapture, just for a moment, the joy of forgotten youth.

Sorry. That was a bit much.

(I do seem to like making muffins based on 80’s breakfast cereal commercials and kiddie sandwiches from my childhood…)

What I really meant to say (instead of that driveling psychobabble) was that this week’s muffins were inspired by a time-honored combination that I’ve loved since I was a wee lass, the classic peanut butter and banana.

What’s in it:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 super-ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup milk

Step-by-step:

• Preheat your oven to 400°F and get 12 muffin cups ready.
• In one bowl, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In another bowl, mix the eggs, bananas, peanut butter, yogurt, and milk.
• Combine the wet and dry ingredients, scoop into muffin cups, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Cool and enjoy!

These muffins turned out super moist, almost gooey, and they were a little hard to get out of the pan. Before I tasted one, I was afraid they were a little bit too soft and mushy. But Micah and I sampled them for breakfast this morning, and I’m pleased to tell you that they were delicious!

Besides having a slightly squishier texture than I had planned, these also didn’t have quite as much peanut butter power as I was hoping. The peanut butter flavor is overpowered just a bit by the banana. So, if you make these, try adding extra peanut butter and let me know how it turns out!

What are some of your favorite childhood foods? Maybe they’ll inspire a muffins for Monday post one day soon…:)