Banana Crumb Muffins

Do you know the muffin man? The muffin man? The muffin man. Yes...I know the muffin man. Who lives on Drury Lane? Well, she's married to the muffin man! (Never gets old.)

I have been repeating these lines from the award-winning motion picture, Shrek, for days much to my family's dismay, but these muffins just make me so happy.

I secretly love when bananas are too ripe to be eaten "normally." In a family that hates waste, overripe bananas usually mean some delicious banana concoction will be whipped up. At my house, we are always ready for banana chocolate chip bread, but this weekend I decided that we (I) wanted muffins.

These have the perfect banana flavor, and the crumb topping absolutely makes them. I couldn't wait to pull them out of the oven. When baked, they smell exactly like an Auntie Anne's cinnamon sugar pretzel and by that I mean they smell like heaven. And of course, they taste just as good as they smell. The crumble topping adds a bit of texture to the soft muffins. I am drooling thinking about them and while I will not explicitly say how many of these muffins I have consumed in the past 24 hours (I have to maintain some shred of dignity!), let's just say I am definitely adding them to my list of favorite banana treats. They are great when served warm, with a touch of butter. Nom away, my friends.

Banana Crumb Muffins
Recipe from Pip and Ebby

     Muffin:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large ripened bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

     Crumb Topping:

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

Directions (see pictures below)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin papers, or you can grease the muffin cups and forgo the papers. I prefer to use muffin papers, though, because I think it keeps the muffins more fresh.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour for the muffins, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the mashed bananas, sugar, egg, and (1/3 cup) melted butter.
4. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened. 
5. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups.
6. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, (4 tablespoons) flour, and ground cinnamon for the crumb topping. Cut in the 2 tablespoons of melted butter until the mixture is moist.
7. Sprinkle topping over the muffin batter inside prepared muffin cups.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Flour Mixture

Banana Mixture                                     

Banana and Flour

Crumb Topping. Yum!

Ready for the oven!