Happy New Year, my friends! This is the first post of 2020 and although I know most of us vowed to make healthier choices when it comes to food, I think it’s still a very important part of life to indulge every now and then. I make it a point to eat healthier around this time of year, thanks to all of the holidays, but I make sure not to be too hard on myself or deprive myself of fun every now and then. As soon as I hear the word diet, I automatically start to cringe and it becomes a chore. So my thought always is to go for healthier options during the week, simple home cooked meals with lots of veggies, and then treat myself on the weekends. This includes drinking alcohol as well. I find it a lot easier to follow this type of structure rather than to just give it all up cold turkey and then feel miserable. It’s all about moderation. I’ve teamed up with my friends over at GO BOLD WITH BUTTER to bring you these sweet and savory Peanut Butter Banana Muffins with Bacon Streusel for when you feel like indulging this year. You deserve it. We all deserve it.
Let’s start by making the sweet and salty topping for these muffins. It’s so easy to make because you don’t need any special equipment, just your hands and a bowl. To make the streusel, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Add the semi-softened butter to the mixture and rub it in with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs about the size of peas.
**Note: You can also use a pastry blender or a potato masher to work the butter in. Ideally, you want to work rather quick so as to not warm up the butter too much with your hands. If you do make it by hand, I recommend just using your fingertips, avoiding the palm of your hands.**
Cook the bacon until crispy and then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess grease. Then, give the bacon a rough chop and stir into the streusel topping. Set aside until ready to use.
**Tip: You can make the topping ahead of time, up to 2 days and store in the fridge until ready to use. Or you can store it in the freezer and keep it in there for up to 3 months.**
To make the muffins, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.
**Note: Because this is a quick bread recipe, and it’s all done by hand, you want to make sure you have a big enough bowl to work with, since this is the bowl the batter will be made in.**
In a separate bowl, or very large glass measuring cup, mash the bananas until somewhat smooth. A few chunks are okay. Whisk in the peanut butter, melted butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until well incorporated.
**Tip: I find that smooth peanut butter is best for this, but if all you have on hand is chunky, that will work in a pinch. You’ll just have some added texture to the muffins and that’s alright.**
Add the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just incorporated. Do not over mix at this stage or else your batter will end up being dry and tough. I know I say this often, but this time I really mean it because quick breads (especially muffins) are so easily over-worked.
Add in the peanut butter morsels, if using, and gently fold in with a rubber spatula.
**Tip: If you can’t find peanut butter chips, you can use either butterscotch chips or even dark chocolate chips if you’d like or just leave them out altogether.**
Divide the batter evenly among a standard muffin tin that has been lined with paper liners and then top each muffin generously with the bacon streusel.
Bake until golden brown and a toothpick, inserted in the middle, comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.
Because of the bacon, any leftovers should be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic, and can be kept for up to 3 days. Just allow them to come to room temperature before eating.
If you want to really drive in that peanut butter flavor, you can serve them with peanut butter on the side for spreading, or just some softened butter. My mom loves her muffins with butter. Of course, just by themselves is great too.
I hope you’ll give these breakfast muffins a try soon. Just because it’s the New Year doesn’t mean we still can’t treat ourselves every now and then. If you do make them, be sure to let me know what you think below!
**Thank you for your continued support of the occasional sponsored post on this site. They help keep the blog going, allowing me to continue to share my recipes with you on a weekly basis. I never want my sponsorships to feel forced, which is why I only partner with companies I feel very passionate about and actually use on a regular basis.**
Peanut Butter Banana Muffins with Bacon Streusel
Ingredients
Bacon Streusel:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 6 strips crispy bacon chopped
Muffins:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 medium ripe bananas
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup peanut butter chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a standard twelve muffin pan with paper liners; set aside.
- To make the streusel, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the bacon and set aside until ready to use.
- To make the muffins, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk in the peanut butter, butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until somewhat smooth. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just incorporated. Do not over mix at this stage. Fold in the peanut butter chips if using.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan and top each muffin generously with the bacon streusel. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick, inserted in the middle, comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.
