I love a good muffin! The ripe bananas on the counter were just calling out to made into a delectable treat, so I got out my Cook’s Illustrated cookbook for some inspiration. Their books and magazines are such a joy to read and use. Their recipes combine science and cooking, they explain why each recipe works – why they use specific ingredients or techniques to get the perfect end results.

In this recipe, the butter and sugar are creamed and low-fat yogurt is used. These ingredients work together to create a tender and fine muffin crumb.

This recipe is for jumbo bakery-sized muffins – so when you fill the muffin tins, you fill them all the way to the top. They increased the standard muffin batter by one-third to make sure you get a big rounded top.

This recipe calls for finely chopped bananas, which I really liked, as opposed to the mashed bananas in most muffin recipes. I was out of walnuts, but I had a few caramel chips on hand, so I used those. The banana and caramel flavors worked well together. A delicious banana recipe to add your collection. Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Bakery-Style Banana Muffins

These Banana Bakery-Style Muffins have a rich full flavor, crispy crust and tender crumb – and a wonderful big rounded top.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Muffins

Servings: 12 muffins

Author: Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
• 3 small bananas, chopped fine
• 3/4 cup caramel chips or walnuts, optional
• sparkling sugar, optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Using a stand mixture fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients in 2 additions, alternating with 3 additions of yogurt, scraping down bowl as needed.
• Fold in finely chopped bananas and caramel chips or walnuts, if using.
• Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. The muffin cups will be completely full. Sprinkle muffins with sparkling sugar, if desired. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking. Invert muffins onto a wire rack, stand muffins upright, and let cool 5 minutes. Serve.