Good, ripe bananas lend plenty of natural sweetness to these muffins. Feel free to substitute another nut for the pecans if you like. I like using All-Bran for these muffins, as opposed to bran flakes, because it holds up very well during baking and lends a great nutty bran flavor to the muffins.

　　

Ingredients

makes 12 muffins

　　2 cups all-purpose flour

　　1 tablespoon baking powder

　　1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

　　1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　1 extra-large egg

　　1 cup mashed very ripe banana

　　3/4 cup milk

　　1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

　　1/3 cup vegetable oil

　　1 1/2 cups All-Bran cereal

　　1/2 cup chopped pecans

　　3/4 cup dried cranberries

　　

Step 1

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper baking cups or lightly butter the muffin cups.

　　

Step 2

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside.

　　

Step 3

Using a mixer set on medium speed, beat the egg, banana, milk, brown sugar, and vegetable oil in a large mixing bowl for 1 minute, or until smooth and creamy. Stir in the All-Bran and set the batter aside for about 10 minutes.

　　

Step 4

Turn the mixer to low and combine the flour mixture with the banana mixture, beating just until incorporated, with no streaks of flour remaining. Fold in the pecans and cranberries.

　　

Step 5

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them two-thirds full. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed lightly or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

　　

Step 6

Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

　　Bubby’s Brunch Cookbook by Ron Silver and Rosemary Black. Copyright © 2009 by Ron Silver and Rosemary Black. Published by Ballantine Books. All Rights Reserved.