Banana Muffins

The other morning during the religious education class that I teach, we had a great debate about exactly when a banana is perfect for eating.  (What this had to do with the Old Testament, I'm not quite sure....)  I like the banana peel to still have a bit of green on the ends.  I won't even consider eating one that has any brown spots on it.  Too "banana-y".  My students laughed at that one.  How can a food taste too much like itself?  I don't know, but I don't like bananas when they do.

The only people in our home that will eat a truly ripe banana are the two little ones.  This often leaves me with many over-ripe bananas.  I used to toss them until I discovered that you could freeze them.  Just throw them as-is, peel and all, into the freezer.  When you are ready to bake with them, just set them on the counter for about an hour.

I made a double batch of these muffins because my "banana shelf" in the freezer was packed.  These are my kids favorite banana muffins and they freeze so beautifully (freezer directions in the recipe).  In the morning, my kids pull one out of the freezer and pop it in the microwave.  Talk about stress-free mornings!

Banana Muffins
(recipe from The Best Recipe)
makes 18 muffins
3 C flour
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
10 Tb butter, room temperature
1 C light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 C plain yogurt
1 1/2 C finely diced banana (about 3 small)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly spray 18 muffin tins.  You could use liners, but the muffins won't rise as much.
2.  In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and soda, salt and nutmeg.  Set aside.  In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar for 2 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
3.  Mix in 1/2 of the dry ingredients.  Mix in 1/3 of the yogurt.  Mix in the remaining dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with yogurt, until incorporated.  You should end with the dry ingredients if you have divided it correctly.  Fold in the diced bananas into the finished batter.
4.  Divide the batter evenly among the 18 muffin tins.  Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.
**To freeze, allow muffins to cool completely, then place them on a cookie sheet.  Freeze until hard, then individually wrap them in plastic wrap.  Good for 6 months in the freezer.  To thaw, just leave on the counter overnight, or pop in the microwave still wrapped in plastic wrap for 25 seconds.