February is one of my very favorite months.  It’s usually snowy.  It’s my birthday month.  It’s home to Valentine’s Day, and some of my very favorite people also have birthday’s in February. It’s just a sweet, sweet time and it’s a fantastic month for some indulgent, sweet treats!  Banana bread was a MUST for my list of treats to make.  Adam is NOT a fan, but I recently tried banana bread for the first time in years and fell. in. love. It’s healthy but it’s indulgent.  The bananas give it the most luxurious texture. I promised Adam some non-banana-y things for later this month, but for now…Ellie and I NEEDED some banana bread. Of course traditional banana bread in loaf form wasn’t nearly exciting enough to be included in an extra-special Valentine’s Day/Birthday Month treat line-up…so I decided to play around a little and I came up with these delightfully delicious (almost) Vegan Strawberry Banana Bread Muffins! Same ultra-moist banana bread – new super cute look with bright red strawberry and walnut interiors and topped with a delicious streusel (ya’ll know I love a good streusel).

 

Ingredients

• 4 Large 0ver-ripe bananas*
• 2.5 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Room Temperature Vegan Butter
• 2 Room Temperature Eggs
• 4 Heaping Tbsps Vegan Sour Cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1.5 Cups Strawberries (sliced)
• 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
• 3 Tbsp Flour
• 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Melted Vegan Butter

Instructions

1. Bring 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter and 2 eggs to room temperature.
2. Preheat Oven to 350 and line two muffin tins with cupcake liners.
3. Chop walnuts and set aside.  Slice strawberries and toss them in 3 tablespoons of flour – set aside.  In a medium sized bowl mash bananas and set aside.
4. In a separate medium sized bowl sift together  2.5 Cups Flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer use the paddle attachment to cream the room temperature butter and 1 Cup of sugar.
6. Add one egg and beat well.  Add second egg and beat well. Add sour cream and vanilla extract – blend until fully incorporated.
7. Slowly beat in mashed bananas and walnuts.
8. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix dry ingredients into wet until combined. Do not over mix!
9. Very gently stir in flour-coated strawberry slices.
10. Spoon batter into cupcake liners and fill each liner.
11. In a medium sized bowl combine 3/4 Cup flour, 1/2 Cup sugar, and 1/2 Cup melted butter. Use a fork to stir until broken up into pea sized pieces of streusel form. Spoon streusel on top of each raw muffin and gently press down to stick the streusel to the batter.
12. Bake muffins for 15 – 20 minutes – or until a toothpick comes out clean.(mine were perfect at 18 minutes!)

*If your bananas are ripe, but not ripe enough – place them (still in the peeling) on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 1 hour at 300 degrees.  They will turn black and that is totally fine! Allow to cool – peel and mash!

 

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