Lovin' From the Oven

Banana Cream Cheese Muffins With Crumb Topping

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Isn’t it fascinating how something so ugly can transform to such a beauty? Here’s a test question for you: Caterpillars are to butterflies as browned bananas are to….

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… banana cream cheese muffins with crumb topping, of course! Things are only what you make of it, so make sure to keep a positive outlook on life (that’s my blog lesson for the day).

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Beating together the batter.

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The cream cheese mixture, which came out quite liquid-y for me.

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The beautiful crumb topping with plenty of cinnamon.

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Before baking

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And after. Let them cool a bit before removing the muffins.

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Then, get it naked!

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It surely is a beautiful thing.

The cream cheese layer kind of disappeared into the batter (I’m guessing because it was so runny), so I’d increase the cream cheese amount to 8 oz next time. Besides that, this recipe was a winner. Wonderfully sweet, soft as a pillow, and ideally moist. Not to mention that I’m a sucker for a good crumb topping.

From How to Simplify

For the muffins

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 bananas, mashed
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the cream cheese filling

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg

For the crumb topping

  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin pan.
  2. Mash the bananas and beat together the bananas, sugar, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract. Gradually stir in the 1 1/2 cups AP flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until just moistened.
  3. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups (leave a little batter to top the cream cheese filling).
  4. Make the cream cheese filling by beating all of the three ingredients. Pour a tablespoonful of the cream cheese filling onto the batter in each muffin cup. Top the cream cheese with the remaining muffin batter.
  5. Now, for the topping, use a fork or your hands to mix the topping ingredients together until crumbly. Sprinkle the topping evenly the batter.
  6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I also received some wonderful personalized labels from BuildASign. I was able to choose my own colors, fonts, sayings, pictures, and size. Completely custom signs, how useful!

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I received some 3″x5″ and some 2″x4″ decals to use for labeling goodies as I give them out.

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I could also write recipes on them and give them out. The possibilities are endless! I love that it’s a personal touch from my kitchen. Create your own signs here— they even make signs as big as 4 x 8 FEET!

Chunky Monkey Bars & Winner

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Before we get to the bars, I’m sure you guys are all wondering who the winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway is! Well, with some help from random.org, the winner is….

Tree! Congratulations! Keep an eye out for an email from me so I can get your contact information and size for the dress. 🙂

I was craving Ben & Jerry’s “chunky monkey” one night and didn’t want to drive all the way to the grocery store at one o’clock in the morning. Since I had the three main ingredients on hand, I decided to whip something up (not to mention my family somehow has a never ending amount of ripe bananas). Of course these aren’t as good as the real thing, but paired with vanilla ice cream, they’d give them a run for their money. This recipe does make quite a bit, so cut it in half if you’re not feeding a family of twenty.

These bars are very light– they’d make a great breakfast or brunch snack to take on the go. The walnuts can be omitted, and the chocolate can be changed to white or milk… whatever floats your boat.

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 very ripe, mashed bananas
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 8 oz chopped dark chocolate
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Grease a rimmed cookie sheet with butter or oil.
  3. Cream together the butter and both sugars. 
  4. Mix in the eggs, bananas, and vanilla until well blended.
  5. Mix in the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until incorporated.
  6. Stir in chocolate and walnuts. Spread into prepared cookie sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Simply Banana Bread

by 10 Comments

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Everyone once in a while I get into a rut. I type and backspace more times than I can count and end up with a blog post full of pictures, but no words. Well, today is one of those days. Usually, I’ll be driving and think of something to blog about, so I quickly grab my pen and jot it down on a post it note before I forget (at a red light, of course). That post-it note is empty for this week and I’ve got nothing to blog about at 2AM in the morning. My apologies!

So to go with my semi-boring post, here’s yet another banana bread. Yes. I can’t get enough. There are so many bananas in a bunch that some are bound to be made into bread! The bread and streusel did not disappoint, but then again, does streusel ever disappoint? The recipe is from simply scratch, although I didn’t toast the banana beforehand and I added a splash of vanilla extract.
I also made three mini loaves instead of one huge one. The amount of streusel topping was quite overwhelming, which I loved! If you’re not a fan of eating spoonfuls of streusel, just halve the topping recipe. Now go bake away!
For the Bread:

  • 3 whole bananas
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Streusel Topping:

  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1/3 cup Walnuts, Chopped
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
  3. Cream together the butter and sugar until well mixed. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.
  4. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas, cinnamon and nutmeg with a fork. Mix in the milk.
  5. Add the prepared banana mixture to the creamed butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) until incorporated.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 40-45 minutes. With ten minutes remaining, prepare the streusel topping by combining the butter, flour, and dark brown sugar until well mixed. Add the cinnamon, pinch of salt and the chopped walnuts. After the 40 minutes remove and sprinkle on topping evenly and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes.

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