I love to bake but I don’t do it often because at home, my oven doesn’t work (it gets smokey and then we have to open up all the windows to air it out). I do my baking at my boyfriend’s house because his oven actually works and he loves to eat everything I bake. He had a few bananas that were going brown, so that triggered the baking mood in me. I had him freeze them so I could use them in this banana crumb muffin recipe. My best friend actually baked them for me last year and they were so addicting, I just had to make them. I also decided to bake lemon sugar cookies because they remind me of the spring and when I did bake, it was actually quite nice out. Today is a different story (it’s been raining all day in NY).
*The banana crumb muffin recipe can be found here.
Banana Crumb Muffins
Yields 10 (but I got a dozen out of the batter)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup butter melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs flour
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs butter
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into muffin tin.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon, Cut 1 tbs butter into mixture and mix until it represents coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle this topping over muffins.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
*The muffins came out great! I didn’t use much batter for each muffin but they came out huge! They make a great healthy dessert or breakfast*
*The lemon sugar cookies recipe can be found here.
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Yields 3 dozen cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 large lemons
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or
silicone baking mats. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
4. Add lemon zest, egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Mix until combined. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
5. Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are slightly brown around the edges and set. Let cookies sit on the baking sheets for two minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
*To keep cookies soft, store cookies with a slice of bread in an air tight container.
*The cookies I baked were more lemon cookies than sugar cookies but still yummy! They were a little soft when they came out of the oven but letting them sit out on the counter for a little bit hardens them a little bit. These cookies go great with tea or just as a quick breakfast*
