Banana peanut butter streusel crunch muffins
Moist and tender banana muffins topped with a crunchy and flavoursome peanut butter streusel.
This is one of those ‘mix wet + dry’ type of recipes, so super simple, and perfect for using up those browning bananas.
Have as a breakfast treat or for afternoon tea!
I should have you know, I also added hazelnuts to the muffins and streusel - that’s where the crunch comes from. I didn’t, however, add that little tidbit to the title because that would have made it
a) perhaps a little too long (though to be fair, what is one extra word?) and
b) a little questionable since hazelnuts aren’t generally paired with banana,
but let me explain myself - I had too many hazelnuts at home. I do think the combination works quite well, however, I do also prefer the walnut or pecan combo better. If you absolutely love hazelnuts and are a hazelnut fiend, go for it! Otherwise, simply use walnuts or pecans in the same quantities.
As for add-ins, you can pretty much add whatever add-ins you so desire, so long as they don’t add up to more than 2 cups. I’d probably recommend 1 to 1 1/2 cups. but 2 cups I’d say would be maximum capacity.
As is the case with almost all, if not all, muffin recipes, be careful not to overmix it. This is a fairly rich muffin recipe so there is more leeway with overmixing, however it’s still better to err on the side of under than overmixing.
You can also use a neutral flavoured oil instead of melted butter. Oil tends to keep baked goods more moist and soft for longer than butter, though butter adds that ~flavour~. Melted coconut oil would work fine too.
If you end up having a little bit of streusel left over, just bake it and sprinkle it on top of your breakfast cereal or granola, or ngl I just ate it as is.
Or, feel free to omit the streusel topping - these muffins work perfectly fine without it. You would however be missing out on the most fun aspect of the muffins, sorry I don’t make the rules. When adding the streusel, be sure to compress some in your hand first so that you get some larger chunks too. Again, part of the fun of a streusel muffin, no?
I used natural peanut butter, but feel free to use regular PB if that’s what you have. Just make sure to soften/melt it in the microwave before mixing in, otherwise it’d be too thick to properly combine. I’d also suggest either using the nut of your choice in the streusel, or adding some extra flour (just until it is the right consistency). Don’t omit that bit entirely.
Recipe
For the streusel
INGREDIENTS:
65g plain flour
70g brown sugar
30g hazelnuts (or nuts of choice), chopped into small pieces
30g unsalted butter, melted
45g natural peanut butter OR melted regular peanut butter
METHOD:
Stir together all the ingredients until evenly combined. It should hold together when squeezed in your hand. If not, add a little more peanut butter. Set aside.
For the muffins
Makes 12-14 muffins
INGREDIENTS:
250g plain flour
1/2tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
400g bananas (roughly 3-4 large bananas - does not have to be exact)
200g brown sugar
125g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
150g chocolate chips (optional)
110g hazelnuts, chopped (optional)
1 batch streusel (see above recipe)
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a muffin pan.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add in the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla and whisk to combine.
Add in the dry ingredient mixture and the choc-chips and hazelnuts. Whisk or fold to fully combine. Do not overmix. just ensure there are no big wet or dry pockets left.
Spoon the batter into the cases and generously top with the streusel, squeezing some into larger chunks.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they spring back when pressed lightly and a skewer comes out clean.
