Banana Bread Muffins for a Crowd

With the 4th of July weekend upon us and family coming in from out of town, I decided to whip up some Banana Muffins to feed the crowd. I freeze bananas when they get too ripe to eat and then use them in smoothies or Banana Bread.  Sometimes I just throw the whole banana in and other times I peel and slice them.  the peel'n'slice method takes a bit more time but is more convenient when it is time to use them.

Today I am making a triple batch of a recipe I got about 25 years ago from a family I babysat for(yes, I am dating myself).  This recipe has a healthy touch with the use of whole wheat flour and less sugar than most other recipes, but there is a ton of butter in it, so I can't really call these "healthy" muffins.  They are delicious however, and my family loves them.  You can bake the dough as bread or muffins, your choice...my kids prefer the muffins as they can grab them quickly for breakfast or a snack.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 medium bananas
1 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c hot water
1/2 c chopped nuts(optional)

Melt butter.  Blend in sugar, mix in eggs and bananas(I usually throw the whole eggs in with the bananas and then use a potato masher to mash the bananas and beat the eggs). Blend until smooth. Whisk together the flours, salt and baking soda.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, alternating with the hot water. Stir in chopped nuts, if desired.

Put in loaf pan, bake at 325℉ for 1 hour 15-30 minutes.  For muffins, bake at 350℉ for 20-25 minutes.

A single batch doesn't last long in our house, but if I do double or triple the recipe, the muffins
and bread freeze well, so use up those bananas!