hand mixer, stand mixer, or silicon/rubber spatula
piping bag/tip (optional)
Ingredients
Banana Muffins
1½cupsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonbaking powder
1teaspoonground cinnamon
¼teaspoonground nutmeg(I used freshly ground nutmeg, optional)
½teaspoonkosher salt
2large ripe bananas
⅔cupbrown sugar(light or dark)
1largeegg
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2tablespoonmilk
6tablespoonunsalted butter, melted
½cupchopped pecans or walnuts(optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional, but highly reccomended)
1cupcream cheese, room temp
½cupconfectioners powdered sugar
½teaspoonvanilla extract
1cinnamon 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.