Butterscotch Banana Muffins

It's cold and windy and blah today. I feel pretty blah myself. The silver lining: these Butterscotch Banana Muffins sitting on my counter! You always need more recipes to use up bananas, right?

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I used to make my (The Best Ever) Banana Bread every time we had overripe bananas. While that's still my go-to recipe (SO good!), I'm trying to branch out a bit and find other recipes, like my Mocha Banana Cake.

These Butterscotch Banana Muffins are light and moist banana muffins with butterscotch chips! I didn't want crunchy bits of butterscotch in the muffins, so I used my food processor to chop them up to about the size of mini chocolate chips. The butterscotch chips melt into the muffins, giving you all that butterscotch flavor while the banana muffins stay soft and fluffy!

If you enjoy this recipe, check out the posts for my Blackberry Buttermilk Muffins, Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins, and Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Muffins!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Tips on Making Bakery-Style Muffins
• Instructions
• Storage
• FAQ
• Butterscotch Banana Muffins
• 💬 Comments

Ingredients

• Flour - Provides structure for the muffins. All-purpose flour is what you want to reach for!
• Baking Powder & Soda - Provide leavening for the muffins.
• Ground Cinnamon - Lends warmness and flavor.
• Salt - Helps to balance and enhance the flavors in the muffins.
• Unsalted butter - For moisture and richness; unsalted so that you control the amount of salt in the recipe.
• Sugar - For sweetness and keeping the muffins soft and moist.
• Egg - One large egg, to provide structure, additional leavening, and a little richness.
• Buttermilk - For flavor, richness, and moisture. Banana muffins with buttermilk will always be sooo soft and fluffy! (Check out the FAQ section below for a quick substitution if you don't have any on-hand!)
• Vanilla Extract - For even more flavor!
• Bananas (mashed) - For moisture, texture, flavor, and sweetness. You definitely want them to be overripe for best flavor! That means your bananas to be at least streaked with brown/black. No green! The darker the color, the sweeter the result! You can even freeze overripe bananas so they're waiting for you when you're ready to bake.
• Butterscotch Chips - For unbeatable butterscotch flavor!
• Raw Sugar - This one is optional, but I love the crunch and sweetness it lends to the tops of the muffins!

Tips on Making Bakery-Style Muffins

You know those gorgeous, tall bakery-style muffins? Ever wonder why your homemade muffins don't tend to be so tall and round? Here are a few tips to help you get the biggest boost!

• Start with room temperature ingredients. This is an important step, since the ingredients will only mix together properly if they're all at the same temperature. This means you'll want to leave our your butter, egg, and buttermilk to come to room temperature before you start!
• Let the batter rest/chill. Chilling the batter for at least an hour or up to overnight in the fridge makes a big difference! I only chilled my batter for an hour, and the muffins definitely rose higher! Since during this time the batter gets quite thick, I suggest chilling the batter after already portioning it out into the muffin pans. You can portion the batter after chilling, it will just be a little harder to work with.
• Only use every other muffin cup in your pan. If you leave half the cups empty, your muffins will have adequate room to grow! I've heard people say that you need to fill the empty muffin cups with a few tablespoons of water before baking, but I never have and both the muffins and the pans have always been fine. *shrugs* (Cooks Illustrated also says that's a myth.)
• Start with a high bake temperature. Most muffin recipes bake longer on a lower temperature. If you start the muffins out at 425 degrees, then reduce the temperature part-way through baking, you get an extra lift from all the steam generated at the higher temperature.

Instructions

These muffins are quick and easy to put together! The lengthiest part of the process is waiting for the batter to chill (which I prefer to do, but it is optional).

Like most muffins, these Banana Butterscotch Muffins are made by the creaming method:

• Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
• Pulse the butterscotch chips in a food processor. (This step is optional, but I prefer the smaller chips to keep the muffins light!)
• Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas.
• Add the dry ingredients, mixing until nearly incorporated.
• Add the butterscotch chips and fold them in with a spatula to avoid overmixing.

Storage

You can make the batter a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake.

Store baked and cooled muffins in an airtight container on your counter for up to four days. Placing some paper towel in the bottom of the container before you add the muffins will help to absorb any excess moisture and keep them good longer.

Muffins can be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months.

FAQ

You know that you're in for a good day when there are homemade muffins for breakfast (or an afternoon pick-me-up)! If you're looking for other muffin recipes, check out my Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Muffins and my Honey Ginger Pear Muffins!

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