Family Chow Hall

Banana Nut Muffins

January 4th, 2006

I’ve been curious about the new-fangled silicone bakeware I’ve seen on TV infomercials. Now that the cheap imitations are hitting the stores, I decided to do a trial. I made identical muffins in my old aluminum pan vs. a new silicone pan. I was sure the silicone pan would melt into a puddle on the bottom of my oven, causing the fire department to come for a visit, but it held it’s shape and stayed put.

Muffin A was baked in the aluminum pan. Muffin A was nicely browned, cooked thoroughly, and slightly crispy on the outside. I didn’t use a muffin paper - I never remember to buy them and rarely have them on hand, but I did grease the pan. Muffin A had to be coaxed out of the pan with a fork, but stayed together and was quite yummy.

Muffin B was baked in the revolutionary new ($5) silicone pan. Muffin B was a little more browned, especially on the bottom. It was moister in the center and slightly crispy on the outside. Again, no muffin paper. I wasn’t sure if I needed to grease the silicone pan, so I did anyway. Didn’t slide easily one-handed onto my oven rack. Muffin B fell easily out of the pan, stayed together and was quite good also.

My kids preferred Muffin B (silicone) 3:1 over Muffin A (aluminum). Personally, I thought the taste was the same.

Now we get to the good part! Clean-up. By the way, I hate clean-up. I hate dishes. Find someone who doesn’t and I’ll adopt them for life.

The silicone pan cleaned up much more quickly and easily than the aluminum pan, basically because it is so flexible and easier to get into the bottom edges of the muffin holes.

So, here’s the sum-up…

Banana-Nut Muffins
makes 12 / prep. time: 15 min. / bake time: 20 min.

1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. quick oats
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. chopped pecans
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 T. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1/4 c. oil
3/4 c. mashed banana (1 1/2 bananas)
1 t. vanilla

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then whisk the egg, milk, oil and vanilla in a small bowl. Gently stir the wet into the dry and then add the banana, again stirring gently. Plop into greased muffin pan. The muffin cups should only be about 2/3 full. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Entry Filed under: Bread, Breakfast, Mixed bag, Recipes