Banana Nut Muffins

Adapted from onceuponachef.com 

Servings: 16 muffins

Total Time: 55 mins

Walnut Topping:

• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For Muffins:

• 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda ( a little less)
• 1/4 teaspoon iodized salt
• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (1 cup minus 1 tbsp)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas, from 2 to 3 overripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (low-fat is fine)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 16-cup muffin tin with paper liners.


2. Make the walnut topping: In a small bowl, toss the 1 cup chopped nuts with 1 tbsp honey and 1 tsp cinnamon until the nuts are evenly coated (the mixture will be sticky). Set aside.
3. For the Muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 2/3 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, almost 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the 1 stick butter, and 1 cup sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  At medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated between additions. Add the mashed bananas, vanilla, and yogurt (or sour cream) and beat until blended (the batter will look grainy; that's okay). Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well blended. 
5. Yellow scooper into the prepared muffin tin (the cups will be pretty full) and sprinkle evenly with the nut topping. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden and domed, 18-20 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.