Banana Streusel Muffins

So, tonight my mom walked up to me and said, "Emily, I'm craving something sweet. Would you bake something? I'll buy you a Mini Cooper and a Steinway piano and quadruple your allowance." Okay, so it didn't go exactly like that, but you get the general idea.
My usual go to time-for-something-sweet recipe is oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but unfortunately we were out of chocolate chips. Luckily, I'd just checked The Sono Baking Company Cookbook out of the library and was able to find a recipe: Banana Streusel Muffins. We had all the ingredients so I set off on my mission to Fulfill Mom's Sweet Tooth.
The muffins were really good! They had a nice texture and the streusel topping added just the right amount of sweetness. So, without further ado, here's the recipe:

Banana Streusel Muffins

Ingredients:

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter*, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk, sour cream, or whole-milk-yogurt **
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped (optional)


To make the streusel topping:
1. In a medium bowl, use a fork to stir together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the cubes of butter, and using your fingertips, work it into the dry ingredients until pea-size crumbs form; set aside in the refrigerator.

2. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray two standard 6-cup muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray, or generously butter with softened butter; set aside.

To make the muffins:
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

4. In the bowl of a standard mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a handheld mixer and large bowl), beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then add in and beat the vanilla and the bananas.

5. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, beating until the flour is absorbed. Beat in the buttermilk. Fold in the walnuts, if using.

6. Use a 2-inch (1/4 cup) ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. (I just used a wooden spoon.) Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffins, pressing some of the mixture into pea-size clumps with your fingertips, for added texture. (Quick note: Do not use too much topping. I made this mistake on a couple of the muffins and it fell out of the pan and burned. The fire alarm sent our dog spiraling into panicked circles.)

7. Bake until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes.

8. Run a butter knife carefully along the outside of the muffin cups and tip muffins out onto wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.


* I just use salted butter because that's what we have in the house.
** An easy substitute for buttermilk: Put 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in the bottom of a liquid measuring cup and add enough milk to make 1 cup. Tada, buttermilk!