Applesauce banana whole wheat muffins are nutritious, delicious, and a great source of fiber.
Yes, We have those Bananas
Bananas are a fantastic fun fruit and a great source of vitamins. A three and a half ounce serving of banana will provide you with 28 percent of your recommended daily intake of Vitamin B6, 15 percent of your recommended Vitamin C, as well as 8 percent of your recommended potassium.
The most common variety of banana you will find in your store is the Cavendish. The best tasting bananas as far as the Cavendish variety goes are ungassed bananas. Bananas are picked green and shipped green. When they get to their destination, they are placed in a big room and gassed with ethylene gas to force them to ripen quicker. If your grocer has the option to order ungassed bananas, ask if they will do so. Ungassed bananas take longer to ripen but taste noticeably better.
The best way to ripen green bananas is in a paper bag. This will capture and concentrate the natural gasses that the bananas release, but the paper bag will still allow some air to circulate. Plastic bags will make the banana sweat and that is not desired. For this recipe for applesauce banana whole wheat muffins, you will want your banana to be very soft so it's easier to mush. If you want to make this recipe right away and don't want to wait for your bananas to ripen, ask your grocer if they have any overripe bananas in the back. Often, if the bananas are looking a bit worse for wear, the produce person will not display them.
This recipe was worked using the standard Cavendish, but I'm thinking of trying some red bananas next time just to see how they taste in the muffin. Red bananas often do not get as soft as quickly or a thoroughly as the Cavendish, but I think a little extra mashing would be worth the effort. Red bananas tend to have a richer, deeper banana flavor.
The Whole Whole Wheat Story
Many people prefer whole wheat flour to the more common all-purpose flour. If you are trying to eat a more natural or organic diet, then you would want to avoid bleached flour and all-purpose flour is usually bleached. Whole wheat flour is generally not bleached. Since it is milled using the whole wheat kernel, hence the name, it has a higher nutritional value and a higher fiber content.
Applesauce Banana Whole Wheat Muffins
I broke this recipe into two parts: the muffin and the topping. For the muffin, you will need:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup mashed bananas
- 1/2 cup applesauce unsweetened
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup old fashion oatmeal (optional)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar together in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix the banana, applesauce, and oil.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray.
- Put enough batter to fill your muffin pan 3/4 of the way.
- If you like, you can sprinkle some topping on each muffin before baking.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
For the topping:
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- Mix together until thoroughly combined and sprinkle on each muffin before cooking.
The high fiber content of the whole wheat flour usually will cause your breads and muffins to be rather dense. The addition of mashed banana and applesauce will add higher moisture content to your product and should counter the whole wheat's heaviness. Applesauce banana whole wheat muffins are great with some butter or cream cheese and the topping adds a nice sweet crunch to the whole experience.
