I’m sharing a recipe today! Woot woot!! I know. Try to contain your excitement. ;) I may not be much of a chef and you may already have a great banana bread recipe, but I’m sharing this recipe anyway because, well I am just SO proud of myself. I have finally mastered these babies and let me tell you – for me to have mastered anything in the kitchen is reason to celebrate! :)
This is my mom’s recipe and it is simple (for most people, me not included) and they are delicious. My mom always makes loaves of bread. I tried making loaves of bread multiple times and couldn’t ever get the inside cooked right without burning the outside. So I finally said – forget that, I’m making muffins. I love the muffins because aside from the fact that they are easier for me to cook, they are also easier to eat. Just grab and go! Perfect with OJ for a quick breakfast or to pack in school lunches.
So after making these only around 300 times I finally went from this…
{Exhibit A – proof that I have not always had these muffins mastered}
To this. :)
3 crushed bananas
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
2 beaten eggs
1 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp vanilla
dash of salt
Bake for 25 minutes @ 350
Couple things to remember: Use bananas that are just starting to go bad. Mushy bananas always taste the best. I like to crush the bananas first before I add the rest of the ingredients. I also like to double this recipe because my family loves them (they’re gone before I know it) and it’s always fun to take a plate to a friend (a double batch makes around 33 muffins). Don’t forget the dash of salt like I did once (really does make a difference). Don’t use 1 tsp sour cream instead of 1 tbsp sour cream like I did once (also makes a difference). Don’t forget the flour like I did once (makes a big difference). Don’t under cook them. Don’t over cook them. (Been there, done that, makes a difference.) I think I’ve made every mistake possible with these muffins.
But not anymore!
That’s right. You’re feeling my excitement now. :)
Enjoy!
xoxo, Erin
These look delish!!! We are the same way with muffins around here! Can never have too many it seems! I’m going to have to try these this weekend! Yum! ~ gina
LMBO… I am laughing so hard right now. Ask anyone in my family. If the smoke alarm doesn’t go off when I am cooking. I have beged my husband to put a plant where the oven is. I really don’t need an oven. I am going to give these a try. I promise I will let you know how they turned out. They are my favorite. If it wasn’t for my neighbor, I would never know how good they were.
Great job Erin!!!
Will definately try these! ‘Mum’ recipes are always a winner! The blue bowl/stand is gorgeous too! Love your blog :)
These look so good Erin. I believe you’re better in the kitchen than you think you are. I’ll have to try these. Thanks for sharing.
cant wait to try them!
Those look great! I think you’re better in the kitchen then you lead us to believe, haha!
Love banana bread, so I’ll have to give these muffins a try. Thanks for the recipe :)
Sounds yummy and the presentation on that beautiful plate – makes them delicious already!
I have the exact same problem whenever I try to make banana bread – the middle is always raw and the outside too dark! This looks like a good solution. Thanks for sharing, Erin!
Looks yummy…like you, I’m not so enthusiastic about cooking! I’ll have to try these out.
I have the same problem with banana bread loaves. They never get done inside, so I started doing them in an 8×8 pan and it made a world of difference. I also found that ovens vary. I’ve had three different ones over the years, and the cheapest one did the best job on breads. Go figure.
Anyway! I am going to try your recipe for muffins, too. I like the grab and go feature and they just look so good!
Way to go, Erin! They look delicious! I’m glad I’m not the only one who cannot cook to save her life ;)
I almost made banana bread the other day and now I wish I did. Those look so yummy! Now I’ll have to wait for ripe bananas again.
Congrats on mastering the muffins!
they look fantastic and now we know just how to make them since you’ve tested every possible way ;)
I think they’d be yummy warmed up with a smear of pb on top!!! Mmm
These look delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe and congrats on mastering it. I know it took me a long time to master the art of baking. I love to cook and can follow pretty much any recipe and tweak it sometimes. But when it came to baking that was another story. I used to bake cookies just to find them hard as a rock the next day. But now they are soft and chewy. I totally get your excitement
Those look so yummy! Great presentation too :)
They look yummy!! Not being a baker myself…I have a possibly silly question. The soda? Baking soda I’m assuming??
That is really funny Erin! I can totally hear your voice saying, the whole…tried that once…makes a difference! You crack me up Erin! And these are delicious. I think you need your red basket to put these in!!:)
I needed a recipe for Easter, and this looks perfect…thank yoU!!
This is totally a question NOT about muffins. After moving from VA to San Diego, how did you go about making new friends in your new city? I’ve just moved and it is something I have to learn again . . . thanks!
sorry, but MML sounds scary! how to I make friends in -YOUR CITY- because poor little me I just moved here?
Anyway, yummy on the banana muffins! I throw a cup of mini chocolate chips in mine. Oh. My. even better!
It is so nice to have a healthy snack for the fam. :0)
Happy Easter!
Ooops! Didn’t mean to sound scary!
Just curious how someone who seemed to have had the same experience I did (moving cross country to a place where you know no one) went on to create something good for herself, that’s all, Cecilia.
Happy baking!
Mommarazzi – Yes! Baking soda! Totally a question I would have asked. :) I changed it to that in the recipe.
MML –
I think that’s a great question and I totally understand what it’s like being in a new city and knowing NO ONE. I could write a book about this so if you don’t mind, I’ll answer it in a question/answer post on my blog sometime next week. :)
Thanks! :)
Yum! Sounds like a great way to eat banana bread to me. Good way to portion it too.
These are amazing!! I was a little iffy about the shortening, but they are JUST LIKE my mom used to make. Brought me back to childhood :)
http://punkrockwifeandmom.wordpress.com/
I made these and they were a hit with all of us! My Marine will also get some in the mail!
these are fantastic. i just pulled them out of the oven and they are divine. i did not have any sour cream, so i substituted greek yogurt in it’s place. i doubled the recipe and yielded 48 muffins. i plan on taking them to my daughter’s school today to share with her class. thanks for an easy recipe! thank your mama too! :)
smiles,
joni
Thanks Joni! So glad you liked them. That makes me so happy! :)
I just made these! They are delicious! My 2 year old and I ate 3 each, all warm and delicious after coming out of the oven. Mmmmm!
I just made these but made a few substitutions based on ingredients I had on hand.
2 eggs = 2 T of flax with 6 T of water
Shortening = olive oil
Sour cream = 2% Greek yogurt
And I used one extra banana.
I mixed it and baked it as posted! They came out golden brown and yummy!!!!
Mmm,was looking for something different,defiantly making these,wonder if a few walnuts can be added?;)
I’ve been making your muffin recipe for the past few months, and my family loves them! I have to say that I am usually a pretty good cook/baker, and I can’t remember the last time I messed up a recipe. Well, I made these today, and my family was so excited to eat them. When the timer went off, they looked like they were still uncooked. I kept cooking them, for an additional 10 minutes, and they just didn’t look right. So I looked at the recipe, and guess what I forgot? I forgot the baking soda. Needless to say, we are all disappointed!
Thank You Shelly, this is my favorite banana bread to make now–I love that is uses 2 1/3 cups of banana–gives you a chance to use up 4 or 5 instead of throwing out–it is a family favorite
So glad you like it Greg! :)
Erin
After seeing all the great reviews, I had to buy bananas just to let them go overripe to make this bread! It turned out fabulous. I was surprised at all the creamy banana “pockets” inside the bread…made it much more delicious and interesting than regular banana bread. As my 2 year old said upon taking a bite, “Mmmm…this is SO good!”
I love this post! You are so humble and encouraging. We are in the very beginning stages of building a custom home (we’ve bought the lot, and are looking at floor plans), so I loved reading your post about the things you learned while building a house. When I saw that you took muffins to the crew, I honestly felt a little defeated because I do not cook. Like, at all. I once burned spaghetti noodles. They cook in water, so how is that even possible?! My husband is the chef at our house, and he cooks all our meals. Anyway… I was feeling all bummed that our building crews would not be getting any homebaked goods because I can’t cook, and my husband won’t have time to make muffins. I’m not sure why I decided to click on the link in that post to the muffin recipe (this post), but I’m so glad I did! I was pleasantly surprised to read about your baking struggles. Not that I’m glad you struggled! Just happy that I’m not the only one, and thankful for your honesty. You have the gift of encouragement, for sure! I might even try to make these muffins myself. :)
Oh you are the sweetest Jenny! Sounds like we are kindred spirits. I’ve burned spaghetti noodles before too! Ha! :) Honestly your comment made my day. So sincere and kind! Thank you! Best of luck with your new build! And the muffins if you decide to attempt them. ;) xo
Thank you, Erin! We must be kindred spirits. I’ve never met another person who has burned spaghetti noodles! ;)
Ha! Oh you’d be surprised at all that I’ve burned Jenny! ;) xo
Just had to stop in again and let you know I made the muffins! I overcooked them just a tad, but they still taste good! :) When I told my seven-year-old son that I thought they were a little overdone, he said, “No! They look like muffins on TV!” Haha! He must want me to bake more often. ;)
I’m wondering… do you use your mixer to mix up the batter? I started out with a whisk, and quickly discovered that was not the right tool. Ha! I switched to our hand mixer, and it worked fine. Just wondering if there’s a better way. :) Thank you again for the recipe and the encouragement!
YEA Jenny! So happy you made them and they tasted good! I’ve overcooked them more times than I can count! :) And yes! I use my hand mixer and it works best. We’ll get there, right!? One muffin at a time.. ha! ;) xo