Chai-Spiced Banana Crumb Muffins

We've all been there. You bought a beautiful bunch o' bananas because you had every intention of making a banana part of your daily diet. Then lo and behold, it's a week and a half later and you only managed to get through half of the bunch before they turned completely brown. Queue the sad music.

While most people will tell you to make banana bread with those overripe bananas, I'm here to advocate for a less dense, individual serving-friendly option in the form of these Chai-Spice Banana Crumb Muffins. They're loaded with all the banana flavor of your favorite banana bread but are super light and fluffy and fit perfectly in the palm of your hand as you run out the door for work or school. And while these could totally stand on their own as simple banana muffins, I really love the addition of my Catalina Chai spice blend, which adds a unique layer of complexity with its combination of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, turmeric, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper.

Anyhoo, enough chit chat. Let's turn those brown bananas into something delicious, shall we?

Chai-Spiced Banana Crumb Muffins

Makes 18 standard or 12 jumbo muffins

Ingredients

For the Crumb Topping:

• 68 grams (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour

• 55 grams (1/4 cup) light brown sugar

• 3 grams (1 teaspoon) Catalina Chai

• 57 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter

For the Muffins:

• 75 grams (1/3 cup) unsalted butter

• 204 grams (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

• 7 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda

• 4 grams (1 teaspoon) baking powder

• 2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt

• 3 grams (1 teaspoon) Catalina Chai

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 400 grams (about 3 large) very ripe bananas

• 100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F with a rack in the middle. Prepare a muffin tin using a neutral cooking spray. (NOTE: This recipe works much better if you do not use paper liners for the muffin tin.)

2. Prepare the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, and Catalina Chai. Add the butter and mix with a fork or pastry cutter until you've got pea-sized crumbs. Set aside.

3. Prepare the muffins: Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. Set aside to cool.

4. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, and spice blend in a large bowl. Set aside.

5. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg using a fork. Add the bananas and mash together with the egg. Mix in the granulated sugar and the cooled melted butter and stir to combine completely. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (lumps are good!).

6. Fill each cup in the muffin tin about two-thirds full. Top each muffin with some of the crumb topping.

7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.