To say we like banana muffins at our house would be an understatement.

I don’t really know what it is about them exactly that we love.  I guess they make the perfect breakfast or snack on the go. And they are so tasty, not to mention how they make the house smell so yummy while they cook. And it’s the perfect way to use up those not so fabulous bananas you have on the counter or freezer (here is my post about freezing bananas).

I have already posted a banana cupcake recipe, but it has sour cream in it so I wanted to figure out a way to make them easier to adapt to be dairy free as well. The only dairy here is butter, so it’s super simple to substitute with a dairy free margarine or shortening.

And although I really prefer Authentic Foods Superfine rice flours, I have made these with Bob’s Red Mill rice flour and they were still really good.

I have read, as you probably have as well, that it is necessary to cook gluten free baked goods in light colored metal pans. They all warn DO NOT use the old, dark colored pans.

But as you can see, I didn’t toss out all my well-loved pans. In fact, I have one 6-space new, light colored pan and one that is so dark it is almost black. I can not swear they perform exactly the same for everything, but I can assure you that I made a pan of each for this recipe and the muffins took the exact amount of time to bake and they all looked identical.

Needless to say, I am not a big believer that the color of your metal pans matters much. I sure wouldn’t spend a fortune replacing them.

Sometimes I wonder about all these expert cookbook authors. Where do they find these people?

Yummy Banana Muffins

Banana Muffins

Yes, this is the same recipe I use for banana bread. I discovered it is the perfect amount of batter for 12 muffins. Although we are nut free, I think 1/4 cup chopped walnuts would be a great addition….or maybe some chocolate chips. And these can be mixed by hand with a wooden spoon if desired.

wet ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cups very ripe mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

dry ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups white rice flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease or place paper liners in a 12 space muffin pan (or 2 6-space ones if you are like me).
2. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and mashed bananas; allow to sit for 15 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at time, mixing well after each addition. Add half of the dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Add banana-sugar mixture and stir until well mixed. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tester inserted in the middle of a muffin tests clean.

Breakfast, Desserts, Snacks gluten free banana muffins

We enjoy muffins and cupcakes at our house. They make such a nice breakfast or snack on the go. And once frosted, they are somehow transformed to a dessert.

However, the gluten free muffin recipes I have tried have been less than appetizing. Sure, they are edible, so if we are eating for nutrition alone they could suffice. But they are not enjoyable, not delicious.

After trying several different things,  it seems to me that gluten free cakes and muffins are best made with a fruit and either sour cream or yogurt to keep them moist and flavorful.

I went to my cupboard and pulled out a tried and true recipe from America’s favorite domestic goddess, Martha Stewart. She calls it Banana cupcakes, but if you hold the frosting, it tastes just like a banana muffin to me. The frosting really turns this into something special. It is one of the best frosting  recipes I have ever tried.

I modified the cupcake recipe slightly to make it gluten free, of course using a gluten free flour mix in place of the all-purpose flour and adding  1/4 cup sour cream, to make sure it had the right texture. I also like to add flax meal, but it’s not necessary. They were fabulous! My husband groaned when he saw I had attempted muffins once again, and then he ate a bite and another and announced that they were excellent and that they didn’t taste like rice flour at all. Perhaps that is the best compliment a gluten free chef can get 

Frosted Banana Cupcake looking cute displayed on a cupcake stand.

Gluten Free Banana Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tb flax meal, optional
• 1/2 cup ( 1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas ( about 4 ripe bananas)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream ( I use light) or plain yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and flax if using.

2. In a small bowl mix together butter, bananas, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Stir into the flour mixture and mix well. Divide evenly into prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes form pan and cool completely before frosting.

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup ( 1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1 Tb honey
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Combine the frosting ingredients in medium bowl and beat with electric mixer 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Desserts Gluten Free, gluten free banana cupcakes, gluten free banana muffins, honey-cinnamon frosting