There’s something you all should know about me.

I’m awful at baking.

Really, truly horrible – hence the lack of baked goods posted on VK. The ones here are pretty no-fail and include some of my favorite easy baked things like sweet potato brownies, simple oat pancakes, and chickpea chocolate chunk cookies. Trust me, these are simple and nourishing treats that even an awful baker (like me!) can create in their own kitchen!

So, let’s get real. I’ve screwed up more pancake recipes than I can count, turned out loaf after loaf of mushy quick bread, and made my fair share of sad cakes. That’s why, when it comes to baking, I stick with the simple things I know: cookies, cookies, and more cookies. Of course, I can follow the recipe of other baked goods with no problem, but when it comes to branching off and experimenting on my own, all of my culinary skills go out the window. That knowledge is replaced with sudden anxiety over flour and baking soda ratios. How many eggs? Can I go egg-less? Do I need to add an acidic component? Can this become vegan? Do I need to add tapioca starch? How should I measure the correct amount of sugar? Eeek – with so much riding on proportions and precise measurements, things typically do not go my way.

Baking Gone Bananas

Unless, those baked goods in question involve bananas. Bananas and I have a no-fail desert policy, and I use their starchy fruit for so many versatile things. Banana ice cream, raw desserts, and even those glorious two ingredient pancakes (1 egg + 1 banana), which I’ve, yet to mess up, are some of the wonder foods made from ripe bananas. I swear, something magical occurs with mashed ripe bananas, as they have the ability to bind and hold a mixture together while providing sweetness and creaminess all at the same time. That magic can be found in these perfectly moist and delicious vegan and gluten free banana walnut crumble muffins.

Bananas, of course, are nutritious rockstars and are packed with all sorts of goodness including fiber, Vitamin B6 (one banana provides 30% DV), manganese, Vitamin C, potassium, biotin, copper, and magnesium. With their plentiful amounts of fiber and potassium, bananas have been shown to be cardio protective as well as digestive friendly fuel for athletes and lunchbox kids alike.

Sweet and ripe bananas + crunchy walnuts + fiber friendly oat flour + warming cinnamon + healthy fat filled coconut oil = muffins that are absolutely bananas.

Banana Walnut Crumble Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Banana Walnut Muffins:

6 very ripe bananas
2 cups oat flour
⅓ cup coconut sugar
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoons warm water)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
¼ cup chopped walnuts

Crumble Topping:

⅓ heaped cup each rolled oats, coconut sugar, and walnuts
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350° F and lightly grease a muffin tin with coconut oil. Alternately, you can add muffin liners to tins as well.

Prepare your flax egg first. In a small bowl add in ground flax and warm water and stir well. Let sit 5 minutes to thicken, stirring every so often.

Peel bananas, place in a large bowl, and mash to your heart’s content. You can use a fork or potato masher to break down bananas into a thick puree. It’s ok if there are banana chunks in your puree – they’re ideal in these muffins! To mashed bananas, add in oat flour, coconut sugar, flax egg, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and melted coconut oil. Stir well to form a thick batter. Fold in walnuts.

Scoop batter into greased muffin tray, filling up about ¾ or more of the tin. Allow to sit while you prepare crumb topping.

Crumb topping: In a food processor combine all ingredients and pulse a few times to break down mixture and incorporate. Leave a few chunks of walnuts to give texture to the crumble. Scoop about a tablespoon of crumble on top of each muffin.

Bake muffins for 18-22 minutes. After 18 minutes, remove from oven and stick a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean – they’re done. If goopy banana is on the toothpick, allow muffins to bake a little longer.

Remove muffins from oven, allow to cool 5-10 minutes, and carefully remove from tins. Serve muffins warm or allow to cool to room temperature before being stored in an airtight container. Muffins will keep 3-5 days – but will never last that long. Enjoy!

Nourishing Notes:

-If you don’t have oat flour, simply add 2 cups rolled oats to a food processor and blend for about 40-60 seconds or until oats resemble fine flour.
-If you are concerned about a gluten allergy – please make sure to purchase gluten-free rolled oats or gluten-free oat flour. Oats themselves are naturally gluten-free, but often are processed in a plant that handles gluten as well, which risks a chance for contamination.
-Feel free to refrigerate, or even freeze, to keep muffins fresh longer.
-These muffins taste amazing with a big smear of almond butter in the middle too!