Peanut Butter, Date, & Banana Muffins
If you’re looking to reduce refined sugar in your diet but still want a sweet treat, then give these Peanut Butter, Date, & Banana Muffins a try! Their natural sweetness comes from dates and bananas mixed into the batter. If you don’t mind a little added sugar, mini chocolate chips are a great addition. Perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Mix the Batter
Dates act as a natural sweetener for these muffins, and they get blended directly into the batter for a smooth consistency. But first, you need to get them soft enough to blend. To do that, soak pitted Medjool dates in hot water for at least 10 minutes.
Once the dates are softened, strain the water and transfer them to a food processor or high powdered blender. Add milk, peanut butter, one egg, and vanilla extract and blend until you have a smooth paste. Transfer to a large bowl.
Stir in a half cup of mashed banana. I choose not to blend the banana in with the rest of the wet ingredients as a texture preference, but you can blend the banana if you prefer a uniform muffin crumb.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. If using, fold in mini chocolate chips.
Bake the Muffins
Line a muffin pan with liners and fill with the batter almost all the way to the top. You should have just enough batter for 12 muffins.
Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the muffin tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out free of crumbs. This baking method helps create a large, crunchy muffin top. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing.
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Peanut Butter, Date, & Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 10 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup milk (any kind)
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup mashed overripe bananas
- 1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Optional: 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Put the dates in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for 10 minutes to allow the dates to soften.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with muffin liners.
- Strain the water from the dates and transfer them to a food processor or high powdered blender. Add the milk, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract and blend until you have a smooth paste. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Stir in the mashed bananas until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Optional: Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
- Transfer the muffin batter to the lined muffin pan, filling almost all the way to the top.
- Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the muffin tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out free of crumbs. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing.
- Leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
