Whole Grain Banana Muffins with Granola Crumb Topping

I started with Tropical Granola (go check out that yummy recipe!) and that has now morphed into these Whole Grain Banana Muffins with Granola Crumb Topping. I sliced fresh bananas into a bowl of Tropical Granola earlier this week, and it tasted so good that more banana/pineapple flavor combinations followed. Thus, the muffins!

I've waxed on before about the special place in my heart reserved just for muffins, and these have now been added to the fold. They freeze well, they snack well, and they make a really lovely breakfast-on-the-go.

Whole Grain Banana Muffins with Granola Crumb Topping

Ingredients

3 tablespoons coconut oil, liquid form
2 cups spelt flour
⅓ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
¼ cup milk
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
½ cup chopped cashews, or macadamia nuts
½ cup chopped, dried pineapple
¾ cup granola (like this Tropical Granola)

Directions

Grease each cup of a standard 12 cup muffin tin and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Stir chopped nuts and pineapple into flour mixture. In a separate bowl, combine milk, egg, syrup, oil, and banana. Beat until smooth. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Fold wet and dry mixtures together, being careful to not over stir. Batter will be lumpy, not smooth.

For large muffins, fill 9 muffin tin cups almost to the top. For medium muffins, fill 12 muffin tin cups ⅔ full. Sprinkle each cup with granola. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until muffins are golden and spring back when touched. Cool on wire rack and serve warm.