With a few brown bananas on my countertop and half a package of cream cheese threatening to go bad in my fridge, it was time to bake. I have several recipes with both bananas and cream cheese that I'm dying to make (such as a banana roll with cream cheese filling!), but it was a Sunday morning and I was looking for something fast that we could grab for breakfast as we headed out the door to church. Muffins it was. While my first thought was to make muffins with a surprise cream cheese filling, it came down to filling the muffins or taking a shower and I figured the members of our congregation preferred the shower. I do still want to try filling muffins with cream cheese, but this time I quickly place a dollop on top of each filled cup and stuck them in the oven.

The result, as you can see from the pictures, was essentially a self-frosted muffin. The cream cheese mixture spread, stretching out over the cooked muffin and providing a creamy topping. We ate some warm from the oven, but refrigerated the rest before running out the door. Later, I sampled a muffin cold from the fridge and have to say I preferred it that way. My only suggestion would be to add some chopped pecans or walnuts--the muffins were moist and full of banana flavor, but needed some crunch!

One Year Ago: Tabbouleh (one of Ryan's all-time favorites!)


Banana Cream Cheese Muffins


Ingredients:
for the muffins-
-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
-3/4 cup whole wheat flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-3 large ripe bananas
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 egg
-1/2 cup butter, melted
-1 tsp vanilla extract

for the filling-
-4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 egg yolk
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a mixing bowl, beat bananas with egg, butter, sugars, and vanilla.
3. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, just until combined.
4. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Rinse out mixing bowl and beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Place a dollop of cream cheese mixture on top of each batter-filled muffin cup.
5. Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.