American
Brown Butter Banana Muffins
Deeply banana-forward muffins with nutty brown butter, a tender but structured crumb, toasted walnuts, and crackled turbinado-sugar tops that stay pleasantly crisp.
12 servings · 20 minutes prep · 22 minutes cook
Ingredients
Muffin Batter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups very ripe mashed banana, from about 3 large bananas
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts
Finish
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Directions
Brown the Butter and Prepare
- Heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with papers. Melt the unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook, swirling, until the milk solids turn amber and smell nutty, 4 to 6 minutes. Pour into a mixing bowl and cool for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the mashed banana, dark brown sugar, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla into the warm—not hot—butter until cohesive.
Mix and Portion
- In a second bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold the dry mixture into the banana base just until only a few flour streaks remain, then fold in the walnuts. Do not beat the batter smooth.
- Divide among 12 wells, about 85 g batter per cup, and scatter the turbinado sugar evenly over the tops.
Bake and Cool
- Bake until domed and deep golden, the centers spring back, and a tester shows moist crumbs but no wet batter, 20 to 24 minutes. If checking temperature, aim for about 205°F / 96°C in the center.
- Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then move the muffins to a wire rack. Rest at least 10 minutes before serving so the fruit-rich crumb can set.
