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Granny’s Banana Muffins {One Bowl Muffin Recipe}

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Goodie Godmother note: Hello darlings! Today’s post and recipe are being shared by a former neighbor of mine, Palak Engel. She isn’t a blogger, but she is fabulous at all things crafty and one very active mama to twins (who loved being on the “test panel” for recipes like this one). I’m very grateful to call her a friend. <3 I think some of the best recipes are those simple family dishes, and Granny’s banana muffins definitely fit the bill! I made the recipe to take pictures and couldn’t believe how easy and delicious they are. Enjoy, darlings!

just like grandma banana muffin recipe

Everything tastes better at Granny’s house, right?  At Granny’s house, the food is better, the company is great and time slows down.  Granny’s banana muffins are no exception.  Visiting Granny would not be the same without Granny’s banana nut muffins.  Each time we visit her house, she has the same banana muffins, on the same counter, in the same two containers…one labeled “with nuts” and the other labeled “no nuts.”  Because in a family of four, you always have that one person (or in my case, three) that does not like nuts. 

I’ve tried for 17 years to make banana muffins using her recipe but my boys constantly tell me “they don’t taste like granny’s.”  Apparently, banana nut muffins, on a ranch, in the middle of Texas, from Granny, are just different and taste much better than mom’s muffins made in the city.  A while ago I gave up, declared that granny’s muffins are better, and relented that grandmothers always just have that extra bit of love.  Everything tastes better when they come from your grandmother. 

granny's banana muffins on a cooling rack

I made these muffins, again, for my boys, and FINALLY got the reaction I didn’t know I was looking for. After the first bite, they both agreed that these muffins “taste just like Granny’s.”  I call that a win in my book.  Together, both boys ate eight (and that’s not just a regular ol’ homonym) muffins fresh out of the oven.  The remaining muffins were quickly consumed for breakfast the next day.  

It recently dawned on me that Granny uses eggs from her chickens.  Farm fresh eggs are way better alone but Granny’s eggs are on the small side so she doubles the number of eggs she uses when making banana muffins.  Once I realized she doubled her egg quantity, I started adding an extra egg (if using regular or large eggs) or buying the extra-large eggs from the store.  That seemed to really help get the taste closer to Granny’s Muffins.  I didn’t realize the size of an egg makes a huge difference. 

top view of granny's banana muffins

My kids love helping in the kitchen so much so that when we make banana muffins, they like to experiment with ripe vs non ripe bananas.  If you only have two or three overly ripe bananas, don’t worry. You can mash a regular banana in with the others and it won’t affect anything. My boys seem to think it tastes better with three ripe bananas and one regular yellow banana.  

single banana muffin on a plate

This recipe can easily be made into a banana nut loaf simply by cooking it in a greased loaf pan for about an hour.  I recommend checking it with a toothpick starting at about 50 minutes. 

A fun variation we like is substituting the nuts with chocolate chips. Something about chocolate and bananas in a muffin is just yummy-licious.  In my house, sprinkles don’t happen too often (the biggest boy, dad, thinks sprinkles taste too much like nuts) but you can also throw in some sprinkles to add some color fun.  

cut banana muffin on a plate to show moist crumb

When combining the butter and flour, most people use a pastry blender.  My shoulder has a hard time with the pastry blender and I don’t use my non-dominate hand well.  No worries, though.  I use a hand mixture at the low speeds which seems to do the trick.  You can also use a food processor to get the butter and flour blended together nicely.

just like grandma banana muffin recipe

Granny's Banana Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

These one-bowl banana muffins are a family favorite! This easy recipe can be mixed and ready to bake in minutes. Customize with your favorite nuts or some dark chocolate chips for a truly special treat!

Ingredients

  • 1 stick of butter - cut into 6 pieces
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 2 extra-large eggs (or 3 large eggs, or 4 medium eggs)
  • 4 ripe bananas
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup of chopped nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
    2. Line a 12-well muffin pan with cupcake liners or spray with nonstick spray. 
    3. Cut the sugar and butter together until mixed well. You can either do this with a pastry blender or use a hand mixer or stand mixer at low speed. The butter and sugar mixture should resemble wet sand.
    4. Add eggs and mashed bananas. 
    5. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. 
    6. Add the dry mixture to the banana mixture. Stir until just combined.
    7. Add nuts or chocolate chips, if desired. 
    8. Mix well and spoon into muffin pan.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.

    Notes

    Godmother Note - I split the batter in half and made half with nuts and half with chocolate chips because no majority consensus could be reached. Both recommendations are equally wonderful.

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    Frank

    Tuesday 13th of April 2021

    Looking forward to making these. So true about grandma's food tasting better!!

    Mary (The Goodie Godmother)

    Thursday 15th of April 2021

    Enjoy!

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