Banana Sour Cream Muffins with Brown Sugar Streusal Topping

How often do you enter your kitchen to be greeted by the smell of overripe bananas? And then spy them, sitting there growing darker by the moment. I experience this weekly. My kids have great aspirations to "eat their fruit" yet the bananas always seem to fall by the wayside....or perhaps this is all a plan of theirs. Overripe bananas = muffins, cakes, quick breads. No wonder they let them be !!

I usually use 3 medium sized bananas and whip up a banana bread but recently I decide to try muffins instead. I was glad I did (and so were the kids!).

It all began here:

And in a flash they were ready for the oven !

They rose up perfectly during baking time. The aroma was divine !!!!

To be truthful, these barely had a chance to cool before we started digging in! They were fantastic - light and fluffy with a crunchy brown sugar topping. A wonderful way to start the day.

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1 cup sour cream (full fat only!)
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
2 - 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

BROWN SUGAR STREUSAL TOPPING:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter (cold and unsalted)

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F

GREASE 12 muffin cups

In a large bowl, SIFT together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In a small bowl, gently beat eggs, sour cream, butter and bananas until combined.

STIR wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened.

FILL greased muffin cups three-fourths full.

STREUSAL: with fingers, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter until mixture is coarse crumbs (pea sized is fine)

SPRINKLE Streusal over muffins.

BAKE 20-25 minutes.

Note: These muffins are best eaten the same day and left uncovered. Covering them will cause the streusal topping to soften and lose that CRUNCH !

* Top photo of Ripe Bananas by Kenn Stilger