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banana muffin with cream cheese frosting and ground cinnamon

Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Cooling and Frosting (optional): 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 292kcal
Author: Emily
These Banana Muffins are easy to make and with the added cream cheese frosting make the perfect sweet breakfast, sweet treat, or dessert!
Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

Banana Muffins

  • cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used freshly ground nutmeg, optional)
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large ripe bananas
  • 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)

Cream Cheese Frosting (optional, but highly reccomended)

  • 1 cup cream cheese, room temp
  • ½ cup confectioners powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cinnamon stick (optional garnish)

Instructions

Banana Muffins

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F and prepare a muffin pan with paper liners or non-stick spray. Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and set aside.
    cupcake pan with cupcakes liners
  • Place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and mix together using a whisk or fork and set aside.
    dry ingredients for banana muffins
  • Peel and place the ripe bananas In a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer or mix by hand) and beat on low until mashed and smooth.
    ripe bananas mixed in a bowl
  • 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. Give the mixture a turn or two with your spatula/spoon and mix in the nuts by hand if you are adding them.
    banana muffin batter with nuts on top
  • Place the batter in the muffin pan evenly across 12 sections. The cups should be almost full. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F and then reduce the temperature to 350°F. Don't open the door, just reduce the heat. This step will help the muffins rise in the pan and bake evenly. 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.
    banana batter in muffin tin liners

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Put the cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until everything is combined. The frosting will be thick and creamy so it doesn't pipe into shapes well.
    cream cheese frosting
  • 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 piped into the middle

Notes

  • The oven's high temperature for the first 5 minutes of baking helps the muffins rise and bake evenly. This was a great tip I learned from Sally's Baking Blog!
  • Freshly ground nutmeg is delicious 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.
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 31.9g | Protein: 4.5g | Fat: 16.7g | Saturated Fat: 8.9g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 268mg | Potassium: 205mg | Fiber: 1.7g | Sugar: 15.9g | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1mg