Gluten Free Banana Bread Muffins

We rarely have leftover bananas because the kiddos and myself love them. But sometimes they get forgotten or maybe the bunch we purchase ripen too quickly. When that happens, like many others, it means banana bread muffins time! There's a recipe I found a couple of years ago that was my go to recipe. They were good BUT one thing I couldn't stand is because there was SO much dairy in them they got pretty gooey by the next day so you had to eat them pretty fast. I also hate wasting that much butter. I know that probably sounds silly but butter isn't super cheap and using 1-2 sticks for one thing nags at me. Another weird pet peeve of mine is when I go to look at a recipe and the recipe yields like 18-24+ muffins. That's a lot of muffins to eat in a few days. I wanted to come up with a recipe that made a dozen muffins. Simple and practical. Now obviously if I was making muffins for a large number of people then making 2 dozen+ muffins wouldn't be an issue but since it's just us eating them there is no need for that many muffins. Plus, I rarely have that many overripe bananas. 

Anyways, the point is I have a great banana bread muffin recipe to share with y'all! These muffins are soft and fluffy. Sweet with a hint of cinnamon. You can also easily make these dairy free by swapping the whole milk for a dairy free alternative like almond milk. There's no crazy ingredients so most of the ingredients you probably have on hand. The best part? They aren't super gooey the next day. They go in the storage bag/container nice and fluffy and they come out that way. Perfection! 

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and gather all of your ingredients. I like to gather all of my ingredients before I start so I'm not searching for things and going back and forth. I put each item away as I use it so I know I've already used it and don't accidentally double up on an ingredient. Mom brain and such...or maybe it's just the constant interruption by toddlers...

Peel and place your bananas in a mixing bowl. Using a potato masher or a fork, smash the bananas. 

After you've mashed the bananas add in the wet ingredients. Using a whisk, mix the wet ingredients into the bananas until well combined. 

Measure the sugar and pour into the wet mixture. Using a whisk, mix to combine the sugar into the wet ingredients.

In a separate mixing bowl, or use a large measuring cup, measure out all of the dry ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients with a fork or another whisk. 

Once the dry ingredients are well combined, pour it into the large mixing bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a whisk, mix the wet and dry ingredients together until well combined. 

Grease a 12 tin muffin pan with non stick cooking spray. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin tin. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. 

Remove muffins from oven and let cool slightly before carefully removing them from the pan and transferring to a plate to finish cooling. 

Once the muffins have cooled, transfer them to an air tight storage container. Enjoy! 

Gluten Free Banana Bread Muffins

Yields: 1 Dozen Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour (must include xantham gum)
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 & 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 whole large egg + 1 egg yolk 
• scant 1/2 cup whole milk (or dairy alternative)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 & 1/2 large overripe bananas, peeled

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. Gather all of the ingredients listed above. 
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the peeled bananas and mash them using a potato masher or fork. 
4. Add the egg, egg yolk, milk, canola oil and vanilla extract to the mashed bananas. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. 
5. Measure and pour the sugar into the wet ingredients. Use the whisk to combine the sugar into the banana mixture. 
6. In a large bowl, or use a large measuring cup, measure and combine the dry ingredients using a fork or separate whisk. 
7. Pour the dry ingredients into the large bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. 
8. Grease a 12 tin muffin pan with non stick cooking spray. 
9. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin tin. 
10. Place muffin pan with batter into the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. 
11. Remove muffins from oven and let cool slightly before carefully transferring the muffins to a large plate to cool completely. 
12. Once the muffins have cooled, transfer them to an air tight storage container.