banana fig muffins with coconut sugar

a delicious way to use up your overripe bananas - banana muffins filled with dried figs and naturally sweetened with coconut sugar

I am generally a big fan of bananas - they are one of those items that are pretty much always on my grocery list. And this is even more so the case with a little 9-month old in the house who's starting to eat solids and finds bananas to be particularly "nom nom"! Inevitably, we don't get around to eating all of the bananas, which explains why I have a good deal of banana recipes - on top of the fact that, of course, bananas are a great natural sweetener, especially the more they ripen. So today, I bring you another great way to use up those overripe bananas - banana fig muffins naturally sweetened with coconut sugar.

For this recipe, I cooked the bananas on the stovetop for a bit to bring out their flavor even more and then used this warm banana mash as the means to rehydrate the dried figs so that you don't need to get another pan out to do that. Overall, this recipe comes together super easily and the figs complement the bananas so well while adding a bit of texture to the dough. As a finishing touch, I topped these off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, walnuts, and coconut sugar - not your typical muffin topping but I promise you it's delicious!

In addition to the bananas and dried figs, these muffins are naturally sweetened with coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is the dehydrated and boiled sap of the coconut palm flower that goes through minimal processing and thus retains many of its inherent nutritional properties. To learn more about coconut sugar and other natural sweeteners, check out my natural sweetener 101 post.

I hope you enjoy these banana fig muffins and if you are looking for other similar recipes, check out my banana date jam bars with coconut sugar or my banana chocolate chip cookies with sucanat and sourdough. Enjoy!

this time two years ago …

madeleines with coconut sugar and sourdough

this time last year …

trail mix cookies with sucanat

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banana fig muffins with coconut sugar

makes 12 muffins

ingredients

• 500 grams overripe bananas (about 5)

• 100 grams black mission figs, chopped

• 10 tablespoons butter

• 70 grams coconut sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 120 grams spelt flour

• 120 grams all purpose flour

• 60 grams old fashioned oats

• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Topping: 5 grams sesame seeds, 20 grams chopped walnuts, 10 grams coconut sugar

directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and place muffin liners in a muffin pan.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the 500 grams bananas for about 10 minutes until fully broken down and fragrant. Add the 100 grams chopped black mission figs and cook for about 3-5 minutes more until the figs are rehydrated. Take off the heat and stir in the 10 tablespoons butter until it fully melts. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 70 grams coconut sugar, 2 eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Add the banana mixture to the bowl (make sure it's cool enough that it won't scramble the eggs!) and mix together.

4. In a small bowl, combine the 120 grams spelt flour, 120 grams all purpose flour, 60 grams old fashioned oats, 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add this to the banana mixture and stir until just combined.

5. Divide up the batter into the muffin pan. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients (5 grams sesame seeds, 20 grams chopped walnuts, and 10 grams coconut sugar). Sprinkle this mix over the top of the muffins. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.