Banana Muffin time

Nothing says bake me like an overripe banana. No really....NOTHING does.

It's the first thing that comes to my mind everything I see the wilty, smushy, browning thing in my fruit basket. Most of the time the voices in my head say banana bread, banana bread, banana bread. Tonight. They said muffins. My guess is because I only had ONE overripe nanner and that GF flours are so gosh darned spendy and I didn't want a lot of it wasted if my attempt did not turn out.

So I grab my utinsils and off to a baking adventure I go.

As I was compiling a list of ingredients, I stopped myself when going to scoop out and measure the sugar. What if my sugar is cross contaminated? How many times (prior to the celiac flare up) had I scooped out my sugar with a measuring cup or spoon that had JUST handled flour? Eeeeegad! That was a scary thought. Soooooooo with tail tucked between my legs and head slung low....I went to the pantry to grab my bag of splenda. The poor thing had been so neglected in my cooking adventures....but now, it is receiving the attention it yearned for as it had NEVER been used and was 100% free from cross contamination.

Oh and I JUST got an email back from the manufacturer of my favorite vanilla extract. It is CERTIFIED GF!
It is seriously the best stuff. Cheap, tasty, AND made here in my favorite state, Utah.

So this go round, instead of using straight margarine or oil, I combined 1 1/2 Tablespoons of margarine and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of coconut oil. Now, I am not a 100% health fanatic...but I DO like to incorporate as much healthy elements in my cooking as I can. Coconut oil is also very tasty, but I didn't want it to overpower the banana taste, so I layered it with the margarine. I took both fats and gently warmed them up till they were soft and could easily be incorporated together.

Next came the splenda and vanilla. I sifted together my dry ingredients and did some very nice work on mutilating the nanner in a separate bowl. Now, I had to improvise on my baking powder measurements as regular baking powder has corn starch. I DID find a recipe for corn free baking powder which I will be making shortly when my ingredients I ordered from Amazon arrive. We are getting off the subject though. Today's thoughts are of MUFFINS.

Anywho, after blending the remaining ingredients together and spooning them into my paper lined muffin tins (you either HAVE to use a separate muffin tin for GF cooking or use paper liners...apparently the risk of cross contamination is too prevalent....who'da thunk?) I went to place my muffins in the oven to find, that in the process of being SO excited about blogging about the first GF baking adventure, the ditzy blonde had neglected to turn the oven on. Ok, so I then waited for the oven to pre-heat and let the experiment bake for about 15 minutes. Ok, so they don't look too bad. Now if only I could get this picture uploaded......


I guess in the meantime of blogger decided whether or not it will let me show a final picture of the muffins I should give the final verdict. Not bad. Not great. Texture was nice, moist, and a bit dense but the flavor was lacking in something. My guess is the splenda. Not that it isn't a great sugar free sweetener, but more that it didn't quite have enough 'UMPH'. Next go round, I will be keeping all dry and wet components the same, but adding 1/4 cup brown sugar or molasses to the mix.

Here is the recipe for kicks and giggles (remember it's only a half version)

1 over-ripe banana
1 1/2 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup sugar/splenda
1/4 cup brown sugar (to try for next time)
1 egg
1  egg white
3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill GF all purpose mix
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking


Beat together sugar and oils until nice and blended. Add vanilla, egg, and egg white and continue beating on medium speed. Meanwhile, sift together all dry ingredients and mash the banana. Alternate adding the banana then dry ingredients until all incorporated. Scrape down the sides and thoroughly mix. Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes until fork or toothpick comes out clean.