Banana Muffins - Nutella Optional

I may have found my new go-to recipe for banana bread/muffins. I've read that it's more accurate to weigh dry ingredients than measure them. I'm still not convinced I used the proper amount of flour. I based my measurements off of King Arthur's site. Per King Arthur's site, 1 cup of all purpose flour is 4.25 ounces. The recipe called for 3 cups of flours, but based on King Arthur's measurement, I only had about 2.5 cups (mind you, my 4 cup measuring cup also probably isn't the most accurate). My brief Googling of flour weights showed conversions up to 4.75 ounces per cup, so I'm not sure. Either way, I think this was the perfect amount of flour for the recipe.

I put about 3/4 tsp of nutella in 6 muffins (sandwhiched between two scoops of batter). OMG, I wish I put nutella in every one! I thought it would be too rich for a breakfast bread with the nutella, but nope!

Recipe adapted from Food Network.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (a must, I think this is what made the recipe!)
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup apple sauce and 1/2 cup oil)
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, pealed and mashed
Nutella (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

(Recipe says it'll make 18 muffins, but it made 24 for me).

Preheat oven 325. Line muffin cups with liners.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool. If you make them with nutella, I recommend eating them warm or putting them in the microwave for a couple seconds.

Enjoy!