Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Serving Up {Muffins}: Coconut Banana Muffins


I really ought to dedicate a weeks worth of posts just to bananas!  I love banana bread, banana cookies, banana cake, banana bars, banana pancakes, banana muffins and even banana pudding.  Trust me, I have recipes for them all and never tire of any of them.  Stay tuned for more banana recipes to come (hopefully) soon!

In the meantime, this recipe for Coconut Banana Muffins will have to hold you over.  It's a recipe from Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) who may just be my very favorite Food Network cook ever - though I hope I don't ever have to actually pick just one.  Her original recipe was for a Banana Crunch muffin and called for nuts and granola.  My adaption of her recipe basically dropped the "crunch" (for the sake of the kids!) and I replaced the butter with coconut oil.  We enjoy muffins each Sunday morning at our house and I frequently add coconut oil and raw coconut to our muffins to boost their nutrition.  This recipe just conveniently started with those ingredients.  These muffins are divine - super moist and the perfect balance of banana to coconut.  A bit of the tropics with each bite!



COCONUT BANANA MUFFINS     
(recipe adapted from The Barefoot Contessa)
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup coconut oil
2  eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.
Fold the diced bananas and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

4 comments:

  1. You have two recipes I want to try that call for coconut oil -- I can't find it at my grocery store, where do you get it?

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  2. You can substitute a vegetable oil for the coconut oil. The oil itself is not what is giving the muffins their coconut flavor.
    I prefer coconut oil because it is a very healthy oil (Read The Coconut Oil Miracle) so I use it in place of (most) vegetable oil and sometimes even in place of butter.
    I buy my coconut oil in 5 gallon buckets from Tropical Traditions (online). It's not cheap but it's a lot cheaper in bulk than by buying it in small jars at the grocery store (if you can find it).

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  3. hallo katherine... i live in germany n i dont get sweetened shredded coconut here... i only get fresh coconut or dried coconut flakes here.. can u please guide as to how to proceed with ur recipe with what i get here.. TIA

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