...banana CRUNCH muffins...

So, I had these bananas hanging on the banana hook...forever. Seriously, these were the ripest bananas could possibly get - I'm pretty sure of it. And, of course, I've got about a hundred banana recipes (who doesn't?!), but I just didn't feel like I was in the mood to make a single one of them. So I went from my banana recipe-stumped funk to none other than the one and only foodnetwork.com, and voila...banana crunch muffins!!! Thank you, dear Ina Garten, for these wonderful, flavorful, sweet & delicious morsels. I have to say that the topping is absolute perfection! But I did run out because I topped the first pan quite generously, and I must declare that these muffins are fabulous enough to stand on their own, even without the topping. Also note, this recipe made mucho batter, so I actually ended up with 18 large muffins! Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't just go with the same old banana bread - this new ambition of "trying something new for the blog" absolutely paid off! Hope you like!

Banana Crunch Muffins

From the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook & foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

3 c. flour (I used half whole wheat)

2 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled

2 large eggs

3/4 c. whole milk

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. mashed ripe banana

1 c. medium diced ripe banana

1 c. chopped walnuts

1 c. granola

1 c. sweetened coconut

Directions

sift flour, sugar, baking powder, soda & salt into bowl. add melted butter & blend. combine eggs, milk, vanilla & banana and add them to the flour & butter mixture. scrape the bowl & blend well, but don't overmix. fold in diced bananas, walnuts, granola & coconut into the batter. fill each muffin cup to the top. top each w/ dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired (I used them all!). cook 25-30 minutes @ 350 degrees. cool slightly, remove from pan & serve.