Hemp Seed Banana Muffins

One of my favorite things when I was a little girl was to walk into the house and smell freshly baked banana muffins. My mom made these as a special treat for our family all the time so the nostalgia I feel whenever I eat one is an added bonus to how yummy they are! Now that I make them in my own home, I’ve tweaked the recipe very slightly to add some extra nutrients in. It’s a nice way to incorporate extra fiber and protein without sacrificing one of my favorite treats! You can definitely leave out the flax seeds and hemp seeds if you want to but I promise you, you do not taste them at all. Even Andrew prefers the muffins with the seeds in them and he can be tough to fool! Definitely give these a try if you have picky eaters in your house – kids will love these! Like most banana breads and muffins, they key to keeping them moist and sweet is using overripe bananas! Once the bananas have begun to turn brown and soften slightly, they are at prime muffin-making time. This batter is also perfect for a loaf of banana bread – just bake it for 40-45 minutes in a bread loaf instead of muffin tins.

Ingredients:

Makes 24 medium-sized muffins.

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large bananas, overripe
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 3/4 cup raw shelled hemp seed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, flax seeds) into a medium bowl. Add hemp seeds after sifting – they will be too large to go through a fine mesh sifter!
3. Cream softened butter and sugar in a separate bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat mixture until it is fluffy.
4. Mash bananas in clean bowl until there are no large pieces remaining. Add to butter mixture.
5. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix until blended.
6. Gradually add in dry ingredients and mix. Don’t over mix – this will result in chewy, tough muffins.
7. Grease your muffin tins to prepare for batter. I use an organic coconut oil spray! You may also use cupcake liners if you prefer.
8. For uniform muffins, fill the muffin tin using an ice cream scoop, like this one. This will ensure that all of your muffins bake evenly!
9. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 muffins or until muffins are golden brown on top.

Let me know if you enjoy these muffins as much as I do! Can you taste the added hemp and flax?!