April 14, 2007

Muffin therapy...



You know it's time for a break when you start speaking in problem statements, looking at your world as a series of visio diagrams and harvey balls.

The problem:

  1. A general frustration with office politics, stalled projects, and mundane tasks, and a desire to escape to a desert island.
  2. A bunch of bananas browning on the counter top.
  3. A propensity to choose highly processed, nutritionally deficient meals-at-my-desk during the busiest days of the quarter at work.
The solution: 15 minutes with Google and and evening at the *kitchen* island, making these sensational Banana Crumb Muffins.

Like several of the bakers that took the time to leave a review of the recipe, I chose to give the muffins a nutritional boost by replacing 1/2 cup of the white flour with whole wheat and using canola oil instead of butter. I toasted a quarter cup of hazelnuts, pulsed them in the food processor to beget a "finely chopped" product, and added them to the crumb topping for a bit of additional texture.

They turned out perfectly -- moist and full of banana flavor without being overly sweet. A single muffin paired with a cup of goat milk yogurt made a satisfying breakfast. And they proved more popular than the bakery bagels and the Krispy Kreme donuts on the breakfast buffet at work.

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12 comments:

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Oh the joy of a kitchen island escape when you can sail off with these muffins. Beautiful job!

Anonymous said...

NICE! Love the hazlenut idea, and I want to know where YOU work. I mean seriously - what company has a breakfast buffet today?

Deborah said...

I have this exact recipe and have used it several times! It is a great substitute for banana bread when you have some extra bananas around. I use my own crumb topping recipe, but the muffins are fantastic!

Helene said...

all that's left id for me to spread some Nutella on them..oh wait ...I need to bake them first. thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hope work gets easier.

Kajal@aapplemint said...

How about honey for sugar , then they'd be perfectly healthy...would'nt think twice before devouring another one...like we need an excuse ! they look fantastic !

Mercedes said...

Anyone who knows that much about math should make delicious muffins (and other baked goods). Lovely.

Anonymous said...

Nice idea! I always thought that muffin is not that healthy, I guess mainly because of the sugar.

BTW, hate the office politics!

Peabody said...

Mmmm, I can always use more muffin recipes!

bossacafez said...

your muffins look really beautiful, not to mention mouthwatering =) i bloghopped by the way.

Valentina said...

Dolores, this recipe is wonderful. Early last week I was looking for a banana muffin recipe as I had a couple of bananas in desperate need of attention. I ended up using a recipe from Thecooks Companion by Stephanie Alexander. I do love the adjustments that you made to the recipe. Hazenults are by far my favourite nuts.

Anonymous said...

MMMmmmm....what more can I say?!

Anonymous said...

Those look really good!