Blueberry Banana Bran Muffins (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

     

It was my turn to bake for the cafe again.  I decided to take a slightly different approach this time because, whelp, my french toast muffins hadn't gone over as well as I'd hoped. WHA??!  How could they not, right? But you can't argue with the facts and the facts of our church cafe are these:

      1) Quiche sells.  You don't have the quiche and you brace yourself for the  

          repercussions. Must have quiche.

      2) We have a lot of healthy eaters.  Whether they really are or not, the title "french 

          toast" alone is enough to keep away even the most easily swayed of healthy 

          eaters.

      3) Most people have already eaten breakfast so they are looking for either a snack 

         (not a large muffin) or something more akin to lunch (once again...not a large 

         muffin).  

Since I am a baker and not a quiche maker, I went with...what I thought was...a very reasonable compromise: Blueberry Banana Bran Muffins

Banana and Blueberries = Fruit

Bran = Fiber

Fruit + Fiber = Healthy

Right?  Just go with me, k?

I went with a recipe very similar to this one: Best Banana Bran Muffins

Can't go wrong with a crumb topping. Yum!

Instead of wheat bran, I used crushed up fiber cereal.  All Bran is my favorite.  

These turned out really well.  The tops were especially delicious.  The bottoms could have used more oil for increased moistness, but then we'd be creeping into "fattening" territory. It's a catch-22 really.  

I ate one.  That's all that matters.  

The Search for the Best Banana Bread (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

The Story:

I don't know about you, but I'm extremely picky about my fruit. I have a preferred way to eat each one. Apples have to be firm and crisp. Grapes can't be mushy. Peaches need to be in a half-ripened stage. And Bananas...well, they're the most complicated of all. I've found that there is about a "two-day" window, in which bananas are edible. When they are almost ripen...mostly yellow, but with still a tinge of green. Before that they are tasteless and leave a sticky film in your mouth. After that, well there's not much you can do, unless, you freeze them right away. If you miss that window there is only two options: Garbage or Banana Bread.

...And that leads us into how this post came about. My sister was coming over for breakfast because she had just gotten back from her honeymoon...and I was in desperate need of some sister time. I had planned to just make coffee or maybe some pancakes because we are not big breakfast eaters, but I saw two bananas on the counter on the brink of extinction and I decided to take pity on them. Thankfully, my brother had my cousin and his friend over so I would have more than enough mouths to finish off the loaf.

I looked around for the best banana bread I could find. I searched cookbooks, the Internet, etc. And I came upon this recipe that people were raving about. It even called for sour cream. Sold. Hook, line, and sinker. Flours Famous Banana Bread

The Method:

I followed the recipe just as it indicated. I debated for awhile on whether or not to include nuts, because I know that often causes issues. Personally, I like nuts if they are cooked in the bread. So I did a quick "allergy" check...no one? Good. :) The recipe only made one loaf. I'm used to the recipes I use making two loaves so I was a little sad. But then we didn't have days of leftover break getting stale and expanding our wastes so it worked out.

The Results:

The bread turned out really well. It was moist and delicious. I can't say that it's the best recipe out there, but it was a very good one just the same. My brother raved about it, and he's a professional banana bread connoisseur. So if you're looking for a new recipe or just something to save those pesky bananas then here you go!

...And there was enough to send home to my sister's husband!