Banana Muffin Tops with Oatmeal Streusel

At some point I vowed not to buy more random baking pans that might or might not get used, ever. My collection already includes the popsicle-shaped cake pan I asked for for my birthday in high school (what a cool teenager I was!) and snowflake molds my thoughtful friends gave me for Christmas a couple years ago.

But then one day on the baking aisle a.k.a. my fantasy land at Hobby Lobby, a Whoopie Pie pan screamed: "Buy me! Make pretty treats with me, and fill them with Buttercream Icing!"

Fast forward several months: I still have not made Whoopie Pies with aforementioned impulse buy. But I did have a revelation mid-what-to-do-with-speckled-bananas-this-time brainstorming: muffin tops!

So semi-healthy breakfast treats with lots of surface area for slightly sugary but mostly oat-y treat topping were born. And that would not have been possible without that whoopie pie-turned versatile tool in my ever-growing kit(chen).

Random thought: Why do I so tend start like every sentence with a conjunction? Must be the elementary grammar rebellion I have repressed for nearly 20 years kicking in.

 

Banana Muffin Tops with Oatmeal Streusel Topping

1 cups all-purpose flour

¾ whole-wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt

¼ cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Streusel Topping (recipe below)

In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour through salt. Whisk until well blended. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until well blended. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir just until blended.

Scoop the batter into greased muffin top pan (or I use a whoopee pie pan), filling nearly to the top of each cavity. Crumble Streusel Topping over each batter circle.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Transfer muffin tops a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Streusel Topping

½ cup oats

1 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter, softened

Stir together oats through cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.