Banana Pecan Crunch Muffins

A cheerful Banana Pecan Crunch Muffin Monday to you! Pour a cup of coffee and let’s dig in.

New year, new series: Muffin Monday — a cozy way to start the week.

I usually start the day with a smoothie because it’s quick and convenient. With colder weather settling in, smoothies don’t quite hit the comfort spot anymore. Lately my breakfast craving has been simple: warm carbs. Since I’ve been in a lifelong, committed relationship with comfort food, I tend to listen to what my body wants.

If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember my rave about these Banana Pecan Crunch Muffins — they’re great enough to deserve a full post. Muffins haven’t shown up here often; I could only find one earlier entry for Gluten Free Carrot Date Muffins from when I first started blogging. So adding another muffin recipe feels like a small celebration.

I’ve condensed most of the steps for making these warm, tender muffins into the collage below.

I found the original recipe in Better Homes & Gardens. The technique surprised me a bit — cutting butter into the dry ingredients felt more like preparing scones or pastry than a standard one-bowl muffin. I kept the method but made small changes to the spices and added chocolate to the batter at the end. In my kitchen, bananas and chocolate are inseparable; they belong together.

One more note: muffins often look and taste better to me when baked without liners, with a nicely browned exterior. Maybe that’s just personal preference, but it’s how I like them.

These Banana Pecan Crunch Muffins have everything I love: ripe banana, toasted pecans, a touch of chocolate, warm spices and a crunchy topping. They nicely brighten a gloomy Monday morning.

More banana treats:

PB&J Banana Bread

Bananarama Butterscotch Cake

Banana Chocolate Butterscotch Bombshell

I Sugar Coat It

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 33 minutes

Servings: 12

Course: Breakfast

IngredientsMethod

Ingredients

Topping

25 g unbleached AP flour ¼ cup
48 g granulated sugar ¼ cup
29 g butter 2 tbsp
30 g chopped pecans ¼ cup

Muffin

199 g unbleached AP flour 2 cups
96 g granulated sugar ½ cup
67 g brown sugar ⅓ cup
6 g baking soda 1-½ tsp
2 g salt ¼ tsp
1 g cinnamon ½ tsp
1 g nutmeg ½ tsp
57 g unsalted butter ¼ cup
1 egg
230 g 2 ripened bananas 1 cup
81 g whole milk ⅓ cup
45 g semi-sweet chocolate callets or chips ¼ cup

Method

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Prepare a muffin pan by spraying the wells with non-stick spray or lining them with paper cups if you prefer.
To make the topping: Combine the flour and sugar in a small bowl. Use a pastry blender or fork to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped pecans and set aside.
To make the muffins: Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a medium bowl. Stir in the granulated and brown sugars.
Cut the butter into the flour-sugar mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Mash the bananas and mix them into the milk mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate callets or chips — the batter should be slightly lumpy.
Use an ice-cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the muffin wells. Spoon the topping generously over each muffin.
Bake on the middle rack for 18–20 minutes, depending on your oven. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about five minutes before removing.
Serve warm with your favorite hot beverage.
Enjoy your day — I’ll be back soon with some Valentine’s Day treats.

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