Nutella Swirl Banana Bread Muffins

These muffins are a bad influence on me. The other day I was at a friends house storing some homemade ice cream I had brought over and I saw about half a dozen bananas in the freezer. I wanted them. So bad. Just so I could come home and make these muffins.

All I have left in my freezer is one shrivelled up little banana and there are no bananas in the house right now let alone over ripe ones. Don't worry guys I resisted. Only because it's a gluten free household and I couldn't have offered her a few muffins in exchange for the bananas - yes, I did think of that.

I was about to wax lyrical about these muffins, but really - with a name like Nutella Swirl Banana Bread Muffins is a sales pitch really needed? You kinda get the picture right?

Yes, I said get the picture and then inserted a picture below that. I am so not corny.

Okay so here are my favorite parts about this muffin - the chocolatey swirl, the caramelly undertone of the browned butter (only ¼ cup!), and that it has half a cup of brown sugar making it less sweet, but perfect for a breakfast that feels more indulgent than it is. Win win I say, win win.

Now if only I had more bananas....

Nutella Swirl Banana Bread Muffins
Makes 1 dozen

5 tbsp butter
3 large bananas, chopped
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup Nutella

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease/line one 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or paper liners.

Brown your butter: add butter to small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly once it's melted. Continue heating butter and stirring constantly, until butter foams and then finally turns a rich caramel-brown. Take off heat immediately and let cool until ready to use.

Now roughly chop your bananas, I prefer to just  puree mine, but your call entirely. Whisk together milk, vanilla and egg in a small bowl. Once butter is cool, stir into milk and egg mixture. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Pour wet ingredient mixture over flour mixture and stir with large wooden spoon until a few streaks of flour remain. Fold/stir in bananas.

Fill cupcake liners ¾ way full with muffin mixture, then add one tsp of nutella to the top of each muffin.

Then pretty-swirl it into the batter with a toothpick. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, until muffins spring back when gently pressed with your finger or a toothpick inserted in center comes out with only a few crumbs attached.

Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before carefully removing to wire rack to cool completely