March 9, 2021

Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1½ cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg ((I used freshly ground nutmeg, optional)); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 large ripe bananas; 2/3 cup brown sugar ((light or dark)); 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 tablespoon milk; 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted; ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts ((optional)); 1 cup cream cheese, room temp; ½ cup confectioners powdered sugar; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cinnamon stick ((optional garnish))

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banana muffin with a dollop of cream cheese frosting and freshly grated cinnamon on top — Click on the image above to PIN for later!

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If I am being honest, there are a lot of breakfast recipes that are basically just “dessert for breakfast”, am I right? Think cinnamon rolls, pancakes with whipped cream on top, muffins that are basically cupcakes, etc. So today I am sharing my Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting that are just that: muffins that are basically cupcakes or Dessert for Breakfast!

Since these muffins have bananas in them they are a little healthy, right?? LOL 😂 If you love banana recipes or have an abundance of ripe bananas, check out my Banana Layer Cake recipe as well.

Ingredients Needed to Make Banana Muffins

all-purpose flour
baking soda
baking powder
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg or freshly grated nutmeg
salt
2 large ripe bananas
brown sugar
egg
vanilla extract
milk
unsalted butter, melted
chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

How to Make Banana Muffins

Preheat the oven to 425°F and prepare a muffin pan. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
Blend the bananas in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer (or stand mixer). Beat in the brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, milk, and melted butter on medium speed until everything has combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then beat or stir until just combined. Stir in nuts if adding.
Place the batter in the muffin pan and bake for 5 minutes at 425°F. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 15-18 more minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack to cool completely.

How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat the cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until everything is combined. Note: The frosting will be thick and creamy so it doesn’t pipe into shapes well.

If you want, you can pipe some of the frosting into the middle of the muffin before adding frosting to the top. I used my long piping tip to get some frosting in the middle and the same tip to make a pile of frosting on top. Dust the top with freshly grated cinnamon if desired and enjoy!

banana muffin with cream cheese frosting in the middle cut in half — cream cheese frosting in the middle of a banana muffin

Make sure your bananas are ripe!

Always save ripe bananas!! You can just throw them in the freezer until you are ready to use them. When you need a ripe banana, remove it from the freezer and allow it to thaw on the countertop or zap it in the microwave on defrost for a minute and you are in business. Ripe bananas can also be used as an egg or oil substitute when baking.

banana muffin with cream cheese frosting and ground cinnamon — banana muffin with optional ground cinnamon on top

The Best Tool to Grate Fresh Nutmeg and Cinnamon

This is my favorite tool and I tell everyone about it all the time. Not only is it kind of cute, but it’s also completely practical and perfect to have if you like to bake. It’s a mini-nutmeg grinder that has a compartment on top to hold the nutmeg seed. You can also grate a cinnamon stick using this tool for the perfect aromatic and sweet garnish to these muffins.

Tips and Other Ingredient Options For Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

The high temperature of the oven for the first 5 minutes of baking is what helps the muffins rise and bake evenly. This was a great tip I learned from Sally’s Baking Blog!
Freshly ground nutmeg is really good in all baked goods. But, if you don’t have a nutmeg seed, the muffins will still be delicious with ground nutmeg in a jar.
Add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, fresh blueberries, or raisins.
Skip the frosting for a lighter treat.
Add banana pudding to the middle for an even creamier treat!
As I mentioned above, this frosting will not pipe into fancy shapes very well so a swirl will work just fine, or just use a butter knife to spread it on top.
Store frosted muffins in the fridge for 3-4 days in a covered container or unfrosted muffins at room temperature in a covered container for 3-4 days.

Other “Dessert for Breakfast” Recipes To Check Out