Banana-Raisin Muffins

My experimentation with my new oven range continues... And these muffins were extremely successful. They're hearty but not dense. Sweet but not overpoweringly so. Jonathan told me last night after he was pretty much making love to his muffin that these are his favorites.

The original recipe is actually for a loaf of bread, but I wanted to be able to take some over to my in-laws' house to continue sharing in the fruits of their gift, so I figured muffins were more easily divvied up. The recipe also called for dried apricots, but I thought I'd use one of their substitution suggestions (golden raisins). I'd definitely like to try the recipe again with different dried fruit.

Banana-Raisin Muffins
A variation on this recipe from Real Simple



3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 large, very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a muffin pan with vegetable cooking spray or line with muffin cups.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse crumbs. Mix in the pecans and apricots. Stir in the bananas, buttermilk, and eggs until well blended.

Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to pour into muffin pan. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack.

Variations: Substitute 1/2 cup flaked coconut or any dried fruit (such as golden or brown raisins or dates) for the dried apricots.