It's cold and windy and blah today. 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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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!
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Ingredients
Here's everything you need for these muffins! Measurements for each of the ingredients are include in the recipe card, below.
- 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.
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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). More detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card, below.
Like most muffins, these Banana Butterscotch Muffins are made by the creaming method:
- Combine the dry ingredients 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, then add the egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas.
- Add the dry ingredients, mixing until nearly incorporated.
- Fold in the butterscotch chips.
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
The butterscotch chips may be an ingredient that isn't readily available at your local grocery store. You can find them here if you'd like to buy them online. You can choose to omit the butterscotch chips and make plain banana muffins, or sub out the butterscotch chips for mini chocolate chips if you'd prefer.
In the recipe I specify to pulse the butterscotch chips in a food processor until they're about the size of mini chocolate chips. While I prefer to go ahead with this step because the smaller butterscotch chips melt into the batter a bit and keep the muffins light and fluffy, it's definitely not a requirement! If you choose to skip this step, you will just have larger pieces of butterscotch throughout your muffins.
If you don't have buttermilk on-hand, you can do a quick substitution with vinegar or lemon juice and milk (2% milkfat or higher). Just put 1 ½ teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup, then pour in the milk to the ⅔ cup line. Stir, let sit 5 minutes, and then it's ready for use! I find that kefir is also a fantastic substitute for buttermilk if you'd like to try that!
The short answer: no. This step will help your muffins to raise taller and rounder during baking, but this step isn't required!
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!
Other posts you may like:
Butterscotch Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 stick)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup buttermilk, at room temperature (see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 overripe bananas, mashed
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Grease muffin pans or line with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt). Set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse butterscotch chips until chopped medium-fine. I pulse them until they're about the size of mini chocolate chips. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add egg, then scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add buttermilk (see note), vanilla, and mashed bananas and mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined. Fold the butterscotch chips into the batter with a spatula.
- Fill each the wells of the muffin tin about ¾ full and chill for at least an hour (up to overnight). This step to chill the batter will result in taller, rounder muffins, but it is optional if you're short on time!
- Preheat oven to 425° F. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with raw sugar, if desired.
- Bake 7 minutes at 425°F, then *without opening the oven door*, reduce the heat to 350° F and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Total bake time will depend on the size and moisture content of the bananas you're using, so start checking them at 10 minutes to see if they're done!
- Cool muffins in the pans 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
- 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.Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate.
Robyn
Okay, I have never seen banana paired with butterscotch before so I had to make these! They're super yummy, and the recipe only used half a bag of butterscotch chips so I'll be making more soon!
Amee
It's such a great flavor combo! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Robyn! <3
Lindsey G.
Butterscotch + Banana was a new combo for me and I love everything about it! The recipe produces moist and flavorful muffins. This will be a repeat recipe for us no doubt about it!
Amee
Thanks so much for your review, Lindsey! Butterscotch + banana is definitely an underrated combo. So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Audrina
Best flavor combo ever! Love how soft these are, too.
Amee
So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Audrina! And thanks so much for your review!