The banana/pecan craze continues…

After the chocolate-nut banana bread, I was in the mood for banana muffins.  Besides, there are still 647 bananas left…LOL!!

Any muffin with a glaze or frosting on top is heaven to me.  I found one with a caramelized glaze, but you got to turn on the stove. *groan* There are days while I bake that I’m just not in the mood to grab a saucepan and cook on the stovetop prior to, during or after baking in the oven.  I almost skipped this part completely until my conscience kicked in, telling me how lazy I’m being wanting to leave out the best part, and it needs to stop!

While doing the glaze I wrote on the recipe card 1/2 cup of sugar.  Now this is a great example on why you should ALWAYS read your recipe first before you begin baking something you’re not quite familiar with!   I put in the sugar, then turned the card over to continue reading the directions.  That’s when I read POWDERED sugar.  I didn’t write down POWDERED on the other side of the card!  *facepalm*  So now, I got all kinds of sugar in this glaze!  But then I thought, maybe it will still work, so I removed the pan from the heat and added the POWDERED sugar, stirred, and poured it over the muffins.

These muffins are fantastic!  So from now on I’m keeping that extra 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in there for the glaze.  Sugary, but perfect!

BANANA & PECAN MUFFINS WITH CARAMELIZED GLAZE

1/4 cup softened margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (about 3 of them)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dark brown sugar, for sprinkling
Chopped pecans, for sprinkling

CARAMELIZED GLAZE:
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Place muffin cup liners in 2 muffin pans.
• In a small bowl, mash your bananas; set aside.
• In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream margarine and sugar.  Add the egg, and beat well.
• Add bananas and vanilla extract; mix well.
• In another small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture.
• Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.  Sprinkle some dark brown sugar and chopped pecans on top of batter.  Bake for 23-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean.
• Allow muffins to cool for about 5 minutes before removing them from the pan to wire rack to cool completely.

For the Glaze:
• In a small saucepan, melt margarine over medium heat.
• Stir in the sugars and milk; bring to a boil.  Remove from heat to cool slightly.  Whisk in the powdered sugar.
• Drizzle the glaze over top of the muffins, and then immediately garnish with more chopped pecans if you’d like.  Allow the glaze to completely set.