Chunky Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I love bananas when they are still barely green and almost turning ripe and when it reaches the point where it's too ripe...I refuse to eat them. Since it's the one fruit I try and eat everyday, we have an abundance of it in our house. So I get stuck with a bunch of overripe bananas if I don't think of something clever to bake like my go-to blueberry banana bread, banana bread waffles, low fat banana bread and even banana coconut bread. Luckily I found this recipe in one of my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks that I got from Christmas, sometimes I hate cracking open the book while I bake because I'm afraid to spill or get anything on the book! But the recipe is easy to follow like my other banana bread recipes, the main difference was the chunkiness of the banana versus mashed banana. Slice your bananas finely if you don't like it too chunky, or you'll get big pieces of it in your muffins. These muffins were a great way to start your day and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy!


Chunky Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 cups buttermilk, shaken
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 light brown sugar, lightly packed
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup unsulfured molasses
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (half-wheat & half-regular)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups golden raisins, currants & regular raisins
2 cups large-diced banana (2 bananas)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup turbinado sugar

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with PAM.
2. Combine the oatmeal, wheat germ and buttermilk and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on a high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time. Scrape the bowl and then add the molasses, orange zest, and vanilla. (The mixture will look curdled.) Add the oatmeal-wheat germ-buttermilk mixture and combine.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and mix just until combined. Don't over mix it! Fold in the raisins and currants, bananas, and walnuts with a rubber spatula.
5. With an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin cups full, sprinkle the turbinado sugar over on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans.
(Side note - I don't have 24 muffin pans - only a 12 and 6 count. I just bought some mini bread pans from Sur La Table. I was able to scoop 3 ice cream scoops into 3 mini pans)

Review: I loved it, it's so moist and delicious and this recipe makes plenty. I was able to bring my muffins for my work and share mini loaves with my friends. I love sharing my sweet home baked goods!