Fluffy Vegan Banana Muffins

In a small bowl, mash the bananas; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, optional salt, and stir to incorporate; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, melted coconut oil (about 1 minute in the microwave), slightly warmed milk (about 20 seconds in the microwave – this prevents the cold milk from re-solidfying the coconut oil on contact), brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk to combine. Fold in the bananas.

Pour wet mixture over the dry, stirring until just incorporated. Make sure to get all the dry bits from the bottom of the bowl, but don’t overmix or muffins will be tough. Batter is quite thick and if yours is seemingly too thick, add a splash of milk to thin it.

Using a cooking sprayed one-tablespoon measure for a mini muffin pan or a sprayed one-quarter cup measure for a regular sized pan (or what is appropriate for your pan size). Fill the cavities between 2/3 and 3/4 full; don’t exceed 3/4 full.

Bake until done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Tops will be domed, springy to the touch, and will be on the paler side rather than golden. Done for me was about 9 minutes for mini, 15 minutes for regular sized. Baking times will vary widely based on size of pans used, how many pans you have in the oven at once, how moist your bananas were, and how many times you open the oven door to rotate pans. Watch your muffins, not the clock.

Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before carefully turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

If desired, after they’re cool enough to handle, stir together about 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and dip the tops (or entire muffin) into it. I didn’t need to brush with melted coconut oil or (vegan) butter in order for the cinnamon-sugar to adhere.