Crunchy Pecan-Banana Coffee Cake Muffins Recipe
Since school started, I’ve been struggling to come up with quick and easy breakfast foods. The kids have a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep, but they’re still SO SLOW to get moving in the morning, and it takes them forever to eat breakfast–even when it’s food they love. I try to make sure they have enough fat, calories, fiber, and protein for their first meal of the day, but it’s got to be something that doesn’t take long to prepare or to eat. I usually give them some combination involving eggs, nuts, fruits, and flax, but they’re getting tired of being served the same couple of options. So, I’ve been experimenting with muffins to make things a little more interesting.
Muffins are so versatile; you can put almost anything in them. Also, they can be made in advance, which is obviously a HUGE time saver on busy mornings. I’ve even had luck freezing muffins, allowing me to make a large batch in advance and have them available whenever I need them.
Most recently, I tried a recipe from Post, featuring one of their varieties of Great Grains cereal, and I’m going to share it with you today. You’re going to love these Crunchy Pecan-Banana Coffee Cake Muffins!
- Streusel:
- ⅓ cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup Great Grains Crunchy Pecan cereal
- Batter:
- 1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 ripe bananas (14 ounces total), peeled
- 1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 large egg white
- 1¼ cups Great Grains Crunchy Pecan cereal
- For the streusel:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
- Toss the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl to blend.
- Stir in the oil and maple syrup. Stir in the cereal. Set the streusel aside.
- For the batter:
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend.
- Using a fork, coarsely mash the bananas in a large bowl.
- Stir in the yogurt, oil, and egg white.
- Add the dry ingredients to the yogurt mixture and stir just until blended.
- Stir in the cereal. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cups.
- Sprinkle the streusel over, gently pressing it into the top of the batter.
- Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
- Cool 5 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack.
- Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely on the rack.
- The muffins can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
These muffins are great for breakfast or for a yummy snack any time of the day. They’ve got plenty of fiber, protein, and flavor! Even better, Post Great Grains Cereal will now be non-GMO verified, so start looking for the symbol on their boxes.
My family loves the Crunchy Pecan-Banana Coffee Cake Muffins as they are, but for a little variety, I like substituting the Great Grains Banana Nut Crunch Cereal for the Crunchy Pecan. I’ve also added some ground flaxseed meal to the batter, and no one has noticed a difference. My kids love them made with both cereals, and I love having something new to add to our breakfast lineup. Give them a try, and let us know how you like them. Happy baking!
