Banana Oat Muffins with Ultimate Crumble Topping

January 2, 2013

by Lindsay Moe

As usual, I have taken something healthy and trashed it up with chocolate and butter.

I have an ongoing love affair with muffins, so I figured I would try and make a healthy one. My go-to for health is usually oatmeal. Its high in fiber and has a satisfying chew. The oats do give the muffin a very different texture than a regular muffin, so please be prepared for that. Of course all bread should have chocolate in it, soft and sweet, and I felt dark chips would be perfect with the banana flavor.

Heaven knows I’ve made my share of banana muffins before, so I wanted to try changing it up a little bit. I had been seeing graham cracker muffins all over the place lately, so I crushed some up and threw them into the topping. By the time I added some sugar, chopped nuts, and more chocolate, things were getting a little ridiculous. This crumble topping is the ultimate. Use it on the muffins or eat it straight out of the bowl for dessert. Of course you can leave the muffins uncrumbled, but then you would just have a healthy muffin. Which is probably what you should do, what with your resolutions and all.

Banana Oat Muffins with Ultimate Crumble Topping

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

For the Topping:

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a muffin pan with cooking spray or paper liners. Set aside.

To prepare the crumble topping, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl with a fork. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Add the milk, applesauce, vanilla, and banana. Combine but do not over mix. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin cups. Top with the crumble topping, pressing down gently to adhere it to the batter. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Adapted from Trials in Food

http://www.theliveinkitchen.com/2013/01/02/banana-oat-muffins-with-ultimate-crumble-topping/