Fall brings the desire for warmth.  Scarves come out; tights under dresses and sweaters and cardigans to cover once bare shoulders.  Cooler weather also invites warmer food.  Soups, stews, and chilis are dinner staples and baked goods fill the house as the temperatures finally drop enough to use the oven.

Not only do fall foods taste good but so do fall flavors.  In addition to squashes, root vegetables, apples, and chard…spices like cardamom, curry, cinnamon and nutmeg say fall to me.  But my favorite fall spice is ginger.  These muffins with ginger and molasses leave my house feeling like fall each morning.

Banana Ginger Muffins

Spicy ginger and thick molasses bring a strong flavor to these breakfast muffins that balances well with sweet bananas.  With a bit of peanut butter they keep you full all morning long.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes         Cook time: 28 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 bananas
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup agave nectar or honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs  
• 2 cups All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour
• 1 teaspoon xanthum gum
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Unsweetened coconut & sugar to top [optional]

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease muffin tin or use fun cupcake liners…because who doesn’t want to smile when they eat a muffin.
2. Smash the bananas but leave some chunks so you get a bite of banana in each muffin.  Add the oil, molasses, agave, vanilla and eggs to bowl and beat on low until combined.  Don’t over mix or the bananas will break down too much.
3. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and stir with a fork to combine.  Doing this provides the lift in the muffins. 
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients by adding a bit slowly and stirring completely before adding more.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffins liners.  This recipe makes twelve puffy muffins.  You can split it into more muffins but I enjoy the larger muffin without super-sizing to a jumbo muffin.
6. If you’d like, top with coconut and a bit of sugar.  Bake for 25 to 28 muffins until a fork comes out clean in the middle.
7. Eat, enjoy, top with a bit of Earth Balance or Peanut Butter, love and bake some more for later.

My grocer thinks I’m nuts.  I buy all the discounted bananas to use for baked goods like these or chop and freeze for banana soft serve. (link).

What breakfast baked goods do you love?

How about checking out :

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