We watched an episode of 30 Rock last night, one where Liz Lemon sports a “slanket” (you know, a Snuggie? A blanket with sleeves? Of course you know).
And that reminded me of the time when, a few years back, I walked by a coworker’s office and saw that she had a large swath of sapphire fabric draped across her front and, I, thinking she was wearing a Snuggie – ironically, of course, she’s a sassy gal – stopped cold and was all, “Heeey. It’s a Snuggie! Nice!”
We both suffered a moment of confusion before I learned that, really, it was just a big blue scarf. Whoops.
Foot-In-Mouth Syndrome. It’s a real thing, and I know that for a fact because I totally have it. I think that’s part of the reason why I identify with Liz Lemon. The total lack of a mental filter. The klutziness. The glasses! She’s still kind of cool, though, right? (RIGHT?!)
What do Snuggies, Liz Lemon, and my embarrassing faux pas have to do with Banana Streusel Muffins? Not a goshdarned thing, actually, except that maybe I should have made some for my scarf-wearing coworker as an apology.
Aside from watching 30 Rock on Netflix this weekend, I also whipped up a batch of these muffins.
Our ever-picky toddler decided bananas were actually NOT her thing right after I bought a bunch of them, so we had a few overripe bananas on hand. No worries. There are fluffy banana pancakes, banana spice snack cake, or, hey! Spiced Banana Streusel Muffins to be had!
I grabbed another favorite muffin recipe, chocolate banana marble muffins, and tweaked it a bit here and there to come up with this moist and tender spiced banana muffin. I added warm, fall-inspired spices – cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves – and sprinkled a crunchy-sweet oat streusel topping over the top.
We loved these comforting, homey muffins – and they made the house smell terrific. I love that.
They just make you want to butter one up, grab a mug of coffee, and curl up on the couch in your Snuggie.
You know, or not.
(Okay, I admit just searched Amazon for a Snuggie and, uh, wow. They’ve come a long way!)
1cupwhole wheat flour(or substitute another cup of all-purpose flour)
1cupquick-cooking rolled oats
2teaspoonsbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonground cinnamon
1/2teaspoonground allspice
1/4teaspoonground nutmeg
Pinchground cloves
2medium ripe bananas(mashed (about 1 cup))
1cupbuttermilk*
3/4cupbrown sugar
1/2cupvegetable or canola oil
1egg
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Streusel topping
1/4cupall-purpose flour
1/4cuprolled oats
1/4cuppacked brown sugar
1/2teaspoonground cinnamon
Pinchsalt
4tablespoonscold unsalted butter(cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a standard-size 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour(s), oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.
In a medium bowl, mash the bananas, then whisk in the buttermilk, brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla extract, stirring until blended.
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and whisk just until blended.
Divide the batter between the muffin cups – about 1/3 cup worth of batter for each cup (I use an ice cream scoop with a trigger and it makes the job SO much easier!)
Make the streusel topping. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender, two butter knives, or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour/oat mixture until it is the consistency of coarse crumbs (the butter pieces should be about pea-sized). Distribute the streusel topping evenly over the muffins.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool for about five minutes in the tins, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
They keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 – 3 days, or freeze them in a zipper bag for a couple of months.