Wednesday 8 January 2014

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins


I love peanut buttah! The creamy one, not the chunky one and these days I buy the no sugar added variety. The brand that my grandpa used to buy was Skippy. When I was small, my mum made me peanut butter sandwiches and she sprinkled some sugar onto the peanut butter for that extra crunch. Not only that, she cut the sandwiches into various shapes to amuse me :)



There was a time when I had breathing difficulties which the good doctor at the Kuala Terengganu General Hospital attributed to me being overweight. I was only 8 years old at the time. And he told my grandpa - No more peanut butter! Not only that, he suggested some form of exercise like ballet. Ballet? Me do ballet? Luckily at the time, there was no such thing as ballet classes. Thank goodness!



This peanut butter muffin came about after I watched Rachel Allen's Cake Diaries. Actually she was already spooning the batter when I tuned in. Thus began my search for a recipe. There are so many recipes out there. As usual, under such circumstances, I come up with something of my own after getting the general idea of how to go about it.



These muffins were baked a few weeks ago. I had a big bunch of bananas which were just ripe, not quite suitable yet for baking but I couldn't wait. I wanted my muffins there and then (that was before I seriously considered going on a diet). Because the bananas were not that sweet yet, I added 1/2 cup of sugar. Lately, I tend to leave out sugar if the bananas are already very sweet. 



I did not measure an exact amount for the peanut butter. I just simply scooped 2 generous tablespoons and mixed into the batter. And since I had some roasted pecans leftover from a previous bake, I decided to use them as topping. I'll have to say that the muffins turned out very well. They smelled good and the texture was soft and fluffy. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have added a teaspoon of cinnamon and that would have made the muffins even more aromatic. I was very happy with the muffins and happily ate two. Cheers Dr Kuljit Singh!










Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Recipe source : Phong Hong as inspired by the many recipes on the web.

Ingredients :
- 230g self raising flour
- 1/2 cup Muscavado sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, I will add in future)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50g butter, melted
- 2 generous tablespoons of creamy peanut butter (I used no sugar added)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 medium sized ripe bananas, mashed

For topping :
- 60g chopped roasted pecans (Use more if you prefer more nuts)

Method :
1. In a mixing bowl, add flour, sugar and cinnamon powder (if using). Whisk to combine and set aside.
2. In another mixing bowl, add butter, peanut butter, buttermilk, vanilla extract, eggs and bananas. Stir to combine.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour/sugar mixture and gently mix to combine.
4. Scoop batter into muffin pan lined with cupcake liners.
5. Bake at 160C for 23 minutes or until a skewer inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

49 comments:

  1. When I see the word peanut butter, I had to read this immediately.. I am crazy over peanut butter too, and yes, the creamy one, not the chunky one.. I can dig with my fingers and eat, but usually, I dig with a spoon, then sit in front of the TV like a couch potato, and lick from the spooon, just like eating ice cream..

    If I am to make this, I will omit the bananas and add in chocolate chips, yumm... Peanut butter chocolate chip cupcakes..

    By the way, out of the record, since you are gila over peanut butter like me, do you like Reese peanut butter chocolate cups? If yes, then I think we two make a pair :)

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    1. Louiz, I have not yet eaten Reese peanut butter chocolate cups! And I better don't start! Sure I can't stop eating it. Love my peanut butter too much :)

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  2. wow!! Wow!I l am Emily I like your cup cakes.Can Aunty send me some and my mah mah send by DHL to us.can you remember me

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    1. Of course I remember you, Emily! Tell your mah-mah to bake this for you :)

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  3. Ooo.....look at that pecans topping! I rarely buy peanut butter, and it takes me ages to finish it and when I try to finish it usyally I make the quick and cheat "far sang woo". I bet your muffins must be very very yummy looking at the ingredients making it

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    1. Mel, my peanut butter doesn't last very long. Sometimes when I am craving for a snack, I just take one tablespoon of peanut butter and eat.

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  4. Yet to try baking. I really must stop being so...lazy! :(

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    1. Hah! Hah! No need lah, Arthur. Get Melissa to do it when she comes back for the weekend :)

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  5. Peanut butter is my ultimate favourite spread and I love the Skippy brand too! (Die-hard Skippy fan). I used to spread a super thick layer of it on my bread and I love how the excess ooze out of the bread... hahah. The muffins look super delicious, and I love the use of bananas... yum!

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    1. Jasline, I was a Skippy fan too, right from small! Now I like the no-sugar added variety. It goes quite well with bananas.

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  6. Those muffins look beautiful, very nice dome and even colors. Must have been delicious :)

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    1. They were very delicious, so delicious that I wished I could eat another 2 :D

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  7. Hi Phong Hong, I was planning to bake some muffins, this post comes is timely. Agreed with you, cinnamon blends well with bananas.

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    1. Kimmy, if cinnamon is added, wah! The smell when the muffins are baking is really wonderful. I won't forget next time.

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  8. simply delicious! are you really sure because of peanut butter you become overweight?!

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    1. Jozelyn, there were other things that made me fat - snacks, nonya kueh, sweets and soft drinks!

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  9. Looks good - and I like your topping of pecans too! My kids love peanut butter, so we always have a jar handy at home.

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    1. Yen, I love pecans! Once I had them dipped with peanut butter while watching TV. Very dangerous thing to do :)

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  10. Phong Hong, your muffin very inspired me, love the peanut butter also. yummy...

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    1. Thanks, xing hui! You must bake these for your boys!

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  11. Phong Hong, you are one hilarious lady. I always enjoy reading your stories. "Thank God, there was no ballet class at that time!" I'm also a "kaki" of smooth peanut butter. Sometimes, just out of sudden, I would reach out the peanut butter & had 2 teaspoons(oh well, I lie, should be more than 2tsp). Really can't imagine how this taste like. Creamy with peanut butter flavour, yum!

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    1. Jessie, can you imagine a baby elephant in pink tutus tip toeing across the floor? Hah...if got ballet class I would have looked like that lah. Hee..hee...

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  12. hahaha sis dear...nasib baik dulu takder kelas ballet! kelakar tahap gaban la you ni hihihi

    akak pulak sejak dari kecik mmg tak minat peanut buterrrrrrr....entah naper rasa macam tekak ketat jer bila nak telan LOL tpi anak2 pulak kemarok ngan peanut butter ni...mmg stock tak pernah putus, memasing mcm Ph jugak masa kecik2 dulu, suka meratah camtu jer...

    tp semalam akak gunakan peanut butter ni dlm masakan, Macau African Chicken - kiranya first time la boleh telan hahaha agaknya pasal ada cili kot hehehe

    tp honestly cakap, your muffin ni gerenti sedap, dpt bayangkan lemak manisnya, wangi pisangnya, dan crunchy pulak bila dikunyah hmmmm....kena sorok gambar ni dari anak2...belum ada banyak free time nak buat hehehe...thanks for sharing ya dear...thanks juga buat akak gelak2 hilangkan penat....

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Kak Q, macam mana tak suka peanut butter? Alahaiiiii.....PH ni ketagih peanut butter gitu. Itu African Chicken PH belum lagi jenguk dapur Kak Q. Nanti pagi esok ya? Yang Wendy punya tu dah tengok. Interesting jugak masakan yang tak pernah kita cuba.

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  13. Thats a heavenly combo... Muffins look so yum

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    1. Thanks, Vimitha! They were very good :)

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  14. Hi Phong Hong,

    My weight was off the scale when I was 8 too... and remained as the little fatty until I met my husband. I was told to loose some weight too and did swimming lessons but made fatter because I ate even more... hee hee

    You must be curious to know how did I lose my weight eventually... I lost my weight because my husband's friends said in front of me that my husband like fat girls!!! I felt hurt and decided to go on diet... LOL!

    Nice that you have customized this banana muffin to suit you. Yeah... banana is sweet enough and you don't extra sugar if you don't need it :D

    Zoe

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    1. Oh dear, Zoe! Naughty friends. But your husband appreciates and loves you just the way you are!

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  15. Hi Phong Hong...

    You punya banana muffin sangat menggoda kalbu la, especially with that pecans on top. Tambah lagi peanut butter! Pergh...
    Tak buat cookies for CNY ke?

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    1. MamaFaMi, if I buat cookies, my badan lagi naik. Keluar jer dari oven, at least 10 biji masuk mulut hee...hee...hee...

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  16. can you imagine I never ate such butter?:)
    they look delicous!

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  17. Yummy! I have tied peanut butter in banana muffin before so I know. :)

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    1. Good! You know how delicious and irresistible they are!

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  18. ngum ;la...i have some banana at home and have some ecan nuts

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  19. Hi Phong Hong,
    Haha, I was the chubby one in the family of 6 girls! And I suppose, I still am! LOL!
    Your muffins looks wonderful!

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    1. Some things never change, eh, Joyce? Hee...hee...

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  20. pb muffins looks so so good...we just want to snack on some of them now,thanks for sharing :-)

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  21. Hi Phong Hong, this is a very yummy, wholesome and healthy muffin. You don't like ballet? I like ballet but when I was young, just no chance for me to go for ballet lessons. So, I make sure my girls learn ballet and now my 2 girls are ballerina!

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    1. Ivy, actually later in life I "regretted" not taking up ballet! Who knows I got talent hah! hah! I love to watch ballet performance and also dance competitions. It's wonderful that your two girls are ballerinas!

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  22. Wow these look fantastic. I love the combo of bananas and peanut butter.

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    1. Mich, peanut butter goes so well with bananas! I am thinking of putting them in a sandwich :)

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  23. Hi Phong Hong, this muffin look so good. Love the combination, great pairing! I love peanut butter with toast bread or in cupcake.

    Best regards.

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    1. Amelia, I love peanut butter with toast too!

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