Monday, April 23, 2012

Whole Wheat Banana Spice Muffins With Brown Butter Glaze

These muffins are pretty healthy!! ....without the glaze. But the glaze. Oh my word, the glaze. It's...heavenly. 


Whole Wheat Banana Spice Muffins
makes 12 muffins
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1 large egg
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside. Line a muffin tin with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk egg and brown sugar together until smooth and no lumps remain. Add in vanilla extract, butter and milk, whisking again until smooth, then stir in mashed bananas. Gradually add in dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fill each muffin liner 2/3 of the way full with batter (I use a 1/4 cup measure to get the muffins to be of equal size).
Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops are no longer wet and become slightly golden. Remove and let cool until comfortable to the touch.

Brown Butter Glaze
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
Heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat and add butter. Whisk constantly until melted, then continue to whisk as bubbles form, the butter begins to foam, and eventually brown bits appear in the bottom of the pan. This will take about 5-6 minutes total. As soon as the brown bits appear, remove from heat. I always stir for an additional 30 seconds or so. Let cool for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl combine brown butter, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Whisk until the mixture comes together then add in 1 tablespoon of milk, continuing to mix. I always stir my glazes for a good 3-4 minutes so they really come together. If it still doesn’t appear glaze-like, add in milk 1/2 tablespoon at a time and mix again. Don’t worry if it becomes too liquidy – just add a tiny bit of powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency. Spoon glaze on warm muffins or dip each top in the glaze, then serve.

The glaze was very brown sugar/caramel-y. AND AMAZING.

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