Banana Nut Muffins

This recipe was originally made by Ina Garten, which means that it made a lot of muffins and they weren’t so healthy. I got a pared down recipe from Bake & Destroy and made a couple changes from there. This is original with my my changes in italics. The recipe says that it’s supposed to make 12 muffins, but I consistently get 15 to 18 a batch.

Adapted from Bake and Destroy
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled ( I substitute 3/4 of this with applesauce. I usually use 3/4 of a single serve cup of applesauce with 2 tbsp of butter)
1 extra large egg
1/4 cup + 2 Tbs whole milk
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1/2 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1/2 cup small-diced walnuts
1/2cup granola ( I usually just use rolled oats)
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut (Don’t usually use this either)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 c of mini chocolate chips
Then you:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line muffin cups with paper liners or grease them. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don’t overmix.
Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.