In celebration of the premier of Julius Jr on Nick Jr (you can see my post over at Someday I’ll Learn if you didn’t hear about the show) the kids and I got in the kitchen and started baking up some muffins with the bananas that were browning on the counter. And since there was an open can of pumpkin puree in the fridge we decided to give it a go and make these pumpkin banana muffins.
Everyone knows that when you’re watching the premier of a children’s show starring a monkey, you have to eat banana-themed food!
These muffins were absolutely delicious! Moist, fluffy, and very kid friendly. I think both of my kids ate at least two each! We might even be adding some mini chocolate chips next time I make them for an added kick.
Pumpkin Banana Muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 bananas, mashed
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with baking spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
In a separate bowl, whisk the bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla, until well-blended.
Add banana mixture to flour mixture, gently folding until combined.
Using a large scoop, drop about 1/3 cup batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Well, someone left out the liquid! I added 3/4 cup of milk to make this into a batter, instead of a bowl full of dry bits…
It’s baking now; I’ll let you know how they come out.
From a food chemistry perspective, why use BOTH baking powder and baking soda? Why not one or the other? Or, do you have some teaspoon measures that feel unused and unloved? 🙂
Paul in Berkeley
The pumpkin puree and mashed bananas along with the coconut oil (in liquid form since it’s so hot here in So Cal) is more than enough liquid/moisture for my muffins. And honestly? On the baking soda and baking powder… this is what has worked for my family. This is an adaptation of my mom’s pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe and that’s what she uses… I’ve never tried to omit one or the other. Or play around with these two ingredients.
Hmmm. Pretty heavy batter. I notice that most pumpkin muffin recipes only half 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, even without bananas… so a full cup plus bananas makes for a very heavy dough. Got a little bit of rise, but ended up having to bake at 350 for 25 minutes to get them done. Some quality control issues with this recipe, I think. 🙂
The muffins are edible, but very dense and not bakery-product-like… more like a dense gateau.
Paul
Thank you so much for your feedback! I’ll start playing around with it a bit this season.
This may be a stupid question, but do you need to use the liquid version of the coconut oil or will the solid version work?
Not stupid at all. I use the same amount of both but use my dry measuring cups when its in a solid form and the liquid measuring cups when its in liquid form 🙂
Followed the recipe, but these didn’t rise much. A bit dense. Disappointed since they sounded so delicious. Don’t know what happened.
Hmmm… that doesn’t sound right. Could your baking soda or baking powder be bad? My muffins don’t rise if I use older baking soda or powder.
This is amazing… I have 2 bananas turning black on my counter, and a half can of pumpkin languishing in the fridge. Thank you for the perfect recipe to solve all my “problems”!!! 😀
These sound sooooo fabulous and definitely perfect for the holidays! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’ve made this recipe (or close to it, anyway) before but in a loaf pan instead of a muffin tin. I’d love to make these muffins for my boys!
I love everything pumpkin while everyone else loves banana so this is a perfect combination! I can’t wait to try them!
I am making zucchini banana muffins in the morning as we have several over ripe bananas now! These look delicious!
How did you know that I have bananas on my counter RIGHT NOW that need to be muffins? I will be making this tonight!
Yay! So good you’re trying them. I’m sure your kids will gobble them down just like mine did.
I like making banana nut bread. These muffins you made look absolutely delicious.
I make Banana Bread or muffins as well
I mostly use them in banana bread, but this recipe looks delicious and perfect for Fall!