#MuffinMonday ~ The Best Banana Muffins

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins to brighten their (and your!) Mondays. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest boardL http://www.pinterest.com/flpl/muffin-monday/. Our hostess is the lovely Stacy of Food Lust People Love.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page: http://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/p/muffinmonday.html.

I have made a TON of banana baked goods... really... I believe my goal in life is to make every single one of them, before I die. Banana Bread and Chocolate Muffins, Best Ever Banana Bread, Banana Bread with Nutella Swirl, Chocolate Banana Crinkle Muffins, Banana Oat Muffins, Banana Muffins II, Avocado Banana Bread, and Chocolate Chip Banana Bars to name a few. My point is that, I believe I am a self-made connoisseur of banana baked goods... and these muffins may be my new favorites I've ever made. They were super tender, a wonderful texture to them. And just the right banana flavor. They kept well for a couple days - but they really didn't last long at all. I took a handful of them with me on a quick weekend trip with my friends and we ate most of them on day 1. I may or may not admit to having more than a couple...! If you are also blessed with a freezer full of bananas most days, definitely pull a few out to thaw and give this tasty muffin recipe a try soon!

See what all the Muffin Monday Bakers are sharing today:

• Banana Muffins with Peanut Streusel from Passion Kneaded
• Lemon Zucchini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Oatmeal Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pizza Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• The Best Banana Muffins from Making Miracles

The Best Banana Muffins from Sugar Spun Run

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas (frozen and thawed works well)
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled at least 5 minutes
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar tightly packed
2 large eggs room temperature preferred
1 TBS vanilla extract
¼ cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mash or blend bananas until well-mashed.
3. Add in the vegetable oil and butter, blend until combined.
4. Add in the sugars, blend again until combined.
5. Add in the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, blend until smooth. 
6. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend until well combined. 
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet, blending just until combined (do not overmix) - finish combining by hand, then portion the batter out into the prepared muffin tin.
8. Bake for 8 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 (do NOT open the oven door when you change the temperature) and bake another 10 minutes. Check for doneness using a toothpick in the center of the largest muffin - it should not have any wet batter on it. (My muffins needed a couple extra minutes to finish baking). 
9. Cool on a cooling rack, and enjoy!