Everyone has those bananas on the counter. You bought them with good intentions, everyone ignored them for four days, and now suddenly you have exactly 36 hours to either make banana bread or accept defeat.

These are my answer to that problem. Same general banana bread situation, different font.

The base recipe is ridiculously easy and has become one of those things I make a little differently every time. Sometimes they’re muffins. Sometimes I put the batter in a donut pan because apparently food shaped like a donut is significantly more exciting when you’re three. Sometimes I make it into a cake with maple frosting. Raisins are a favorite around here, but chocolate chips have also made several appearances because, obviously.

They’re soft, full of banana and warm spices, and sweetened with maple syrup instead of refined sugar. We always have maple syrup in the house, so there’s nothing special I need to buy—which is generally my requirement for doing anything with three overripe bananas on a random Tuesday.

They feel very fall with all the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, but we make them year-round. Basically, if you have questionable bananas and a bottle of maple syrup, you’re most of the way there.

Lamb Family Estate

Naturally Sweetened Maple-Spiced Banana Raisin Muffins

Soft, warmly spiced banana raisin muffins sweetened entirely with pure maple syrup—no refined sugar needed.

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Prep Time 8 minutes mins

Cook Time 22 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 18 Servings

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 very ripe bananas mashed
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• ½ cup avocado oil
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• ¾ cup raisins

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with liners or lightly grease the wells.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas until mostly smooth.
4. Add the eggs, maple syrup, avocado oil, applesauce, Greek yogurt and vanilla bean paste. Whisk until combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold together just until no dry flour remains. Don’t overmix.
6. Fold in the raisins.
7. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full. Sprinkle a few additional raisins over the tops if desired.
8. Bake at 350°F for 22 minutes, or until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
9. Let cool in the pan for 5–10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Notes

Raisins: ¾ cup gives you raisins throughout without overpowering the banana. For more raisins, increase to 1 cup.

Vanilla bean paste: The full tablespoon works beautifully against the banana, maple and warm spices.

Don’t overmix: Once the flour goes in, mix only until everything comes together. This helps keep the muffins soft and tender.

Storage: Store completely cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days, refrigerate for longer storage, or freeze individually for an easy grab-and-go breakfast.

Yield: This recipe makes approximately 18 standard muffins. I used the same batch of batter to make 12 muffins and 6 baked donuts.

Baked Donut Variation: The batter works beautifully in a baked donut pan, too. Grease the pan well, fill each cavity about ¾ full, and bake alongside the muffins at 350°F. The donut shape makes these especially fun for kids while keeping the same soft, maple-spiced banana flavor.