Mini Banana Nut Muffins

Here is a fun recipe I recently got from my Aunt Lori. You can do all kinds of things with this one. It goes very quickly with a stand mixer but it is also possible to do this one by hand. Lori says she uses a whisk but that was too difficult for me with my carpal tunnel so I allow my Kitchen Aid to do the work. Heck, that is what I bought it for!


MINI BANANA NUT MUFFINS

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I use softened unsalted butter 1 stick = 1/2 cup)
2 eggs
2 cups flour*
1/2 cup nuts**
1 tsp baking soda
3 soft, mashed bananas
1/4 cup flax seed
1/2 cup golden raisins

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, flour, baking soda, bananas (hand mash first), nuts, raisins and flax seed. Spoon into mini muffins pans. Bake at 400F for appx 12 minutes. This recipe makes about 54 mini muffins.


*I made this today using 1 cup white all purpose flour and 1 cup King Arthur brand whole wheat flour

**Nuts are optional. Lori has tried these with slivered almonds and pecans. I have used finely chopped walnuts. Today I omitted the nuts and added ~3/4 c. mini chocolate chips.

Other ideas we have discussed...substituting bran for the flax seed or adding dried cranberries or cherries instead of the raisins. Slivered carrots and cinnamon might give these a carrot cake taste. The possibilities are endless. Use what is in your cabinet. That is why I like recipes like this one! Fun, fun, fun!