Hazelnut Banana Swirl Muffins

 

There's nothing like a sure-fire recipe. You know it's going to taste amazing, and most importantly - you know it's not going to take a lot of effort to do so. After having made these muffins four times in the past two months, and also wondering how the heck we went through the whole batch that many times without me being able to snap a few photos is proof that these are incredible. We couldn't pause long enough to really do anything! The fluffy banana muffins, swirled with that melty heavenly hazelnut spread... it's enough to drive you mad (in the best way possible, that is).



Like I said, these muffins are easy as cake to make. On Mondays, I babysit my niece and nephews (while keeping track of my own little crazy one), and I've learned that if I have some kind of a project going that they can all be involved in, things go much more smoothly. After putting the youngest down for his nap (sweetest little boy on the planet), I jumped into the kitchen with my little sous chefs.

I pre-measured out all the ingredients from home so life would be easier gathering everything for the recipe. The little ones took turns lining the muffin tins, whisking the dry ingredients together, and dumping in my measured amounts of everything else. They were such good helpers! I love cooking with kids. Their questions are priceless, and watching them discover the ingredients and what they do to the recipe is amazing. For instance, my sweet niece loves the smell of vanilla, and asked if she could taste it. I gave her a teeny little taste and she was pretty surprised that it didn't taste as sweet as it smells. haha. Also, she was a little concerned that we were using "rotten bananas" for our muffins. I was able to explain to her that the bananas with the black skin and dark spots were actually the sweetest, and work the best with muffins. She was skeptical, but after giving the batter a wee little taste, she exclaimed "THIS IS SO YUMMY!!! THE ROTTEN BANANAS ARE GONE!!" haha.

Their favorite parts came at the end, when we swirled in the heated hazelnut (Nutella) spread into the batter in the muffin cups. They did such a great job swirling the amazing flavors together with little toothpicks, and each snuck a little bit of the batter off their toothpicks when they were finished swirling.

The muffins came together so easily, so quickly, and so deliciously, that after we all had our fair share of muffins, we were already longing for more! The flavors really pull you in, and have just the right amount of beautiful sweetness, and nuttiness from that heavenly spread.

This week is going to be soaked with even more family time, and what's a better way to be together than learning and cooking together in the kitchen? I just love it, and know that these amazing muffins are a perfect excuse to get that family time going full-force in the kitchen this holiday season!

Hazelnut Banana Swirl Muffins

makes 18 muffins

ingredients:

2 C all-purpose flour

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

4 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 C vegetable oil

2 t vanilla extract

1/2 C Nutella, or any other hazelnut spread

method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare muffin tins with cupcake/muffin liners. Set aside.

2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) until well combined.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, smash banana in mixer by mixing on medium for 30 seconds. Add in sugar, and mix until well-combined. Add in egg, oil, and vanilla and mix on low until just combined.

4. With an ice-cream scoop with release, scoop batter into prepared muffin tins; filling until about 3/4 way full.

5. Heat hazelnut spread in the microwave for about a minute. Add about a teaspoon of nutella spread to each banana-batter filled cup. Swirl slightly with a toothpick. Bake for 15-17 minutes until centers are springy and batter is cooked through.

recipe adapted from: the novice chef