Banana Caramel Muffins

This year is my third and final year of residency (well, technically, I'm sticking around to be Chief Resident next year, but I'll be attending at times by that point). I had very ambitious thoughts about bringing in breakfast on the Monday mornings that we didn't have conference. Sadly, the 12-15 hours shifts tired me out and I only brought in breakfast twice (and one time I cheated with a boxed coffee cake mix!)

I brought these in to share with my wonderful interns & medical students. They were AWESOME! It was like having dessert for breakfast with the caramel glaze, but was a great way to kick off the week. You'll have more glaze than needed - I have to admit I ate a spoonful before throwing it away. If you're having guests, you could probably double the muffin portion of the recipe and have plenty of the glaze with a single batch of it.



BANANA CARAMEL MUFFINS

One Bowl Banana Muffins (Adapted from Herbavoracious)

2 large ripe bananas, peeled
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 375. Line 10-12 spots in a muffins tin with muffin/cupcake liners, or grease the pan with non-stick spray.

Mash the bananas in a microwave safe bowl. Add the butter and microwave 20 seconds at a time until the butter is softened but not melted. (It is fine if a little bit of it melts).

Using a potato masher or whatever you have to hand, mash the bananas and butter together until there isn't a lot of lumpiness left.

Thoroughly stir in the sugar, beaten egg, milk, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Fold in the flour until just moistened. (Do not over beat)

Distribute the batter into the tins. Bake until quite dark brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry, rotating once about halfway through baking. Total baking time was about 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan & allow to cool completely.

Caramel Glaze (Adapted from Taste & Tell)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar

In a saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Whisk in the cream and powdered sugar until no lumps remain. Immediately spoon over the muffins, or dip the top of the muffins into the glaze.

ENJOY!