Warm banana bread muffins are topped with a sweet cinnamon streusel and drizzled with vanilla glaze! Say hello to breakfast!
At this point I’m pretty sure the only reason I buy bananas is to watch them “go bad” on the counter just to have an excuse to bake with them. 😉 But honestly, making actual banana bread lately has just seemed so…tedious…not to mention time consuming too. I mean do I really want to wait a whole hour for my tasty treat to bake in the oven?? Nope, no thank you! Especially when I feel like I’m already baking just sitting in my house considering how hot its been here lately.😳 So muffins definitely seemed like the more viable option. And that’s how these banana bread coffee cake muffins were born! They’re light and airy, full of sweet cinnamon flavor AND only take 25 minutes to bake!
Ok so there’s 3 components to these little bites of heaven and all are crucial to their tastiness.
- The actual muffin: I just used my go-to banana bread recipe as the base and turn it into muffins instead of using a loaf tin. I love this recipe because it’s refined sugar free, dairy free and there’s no oil or butter in it too! (Making it a much healthier base than most store bought coffee cakes!)
- Crumb topping: Aka the BEST part of the muffin if you ask me! 😉 It’s crunchy and sweet and adds so much texture to muffin too!
- Vanilla glaze: Adds even more sweetness and gives the muffin that special little touch.
How to make an easy crumb topping
You can’t have coffee cake without a good crumb topping, am I right?! And this one is just perfect! It’s slightly sweet, cinnamon-y and gives the muffin a deliciously crispy top too! Here’s how I did it.
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil
- Mix the flour, coconut sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then “cut” in your butter or coconut oil with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.
Note: For the best results use cold butter or coconut oil. (It might take a little more time to fully incorporate the fat, but it really helps to keep the crumbs solid and crisp up more in the oven.) I’ve also tried melting the fat first and then mixing it in but it still gave the crumbles a “sand like” consistency instead of leaving them in large chunks.
You can also make the crumb topping the day before and store it in the fridge overnight. This helps so much with prep time the next day!
How to make a vanilla glaze
To be completely honest, I almost didn’t put a glaze on these muffins. (What a sin that would’ve been right? 😉 ) But thankfully I came to my senses and whipped up a SUPER easy one that paired perfectly with the muffin’s sweet crunchy topping.
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- Pour all of these ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together until smooth.
- Then take a small spoon drizzle your glaze over each muffin.
Note: The glaze hardens as it cools so don’t worry if it seems a little thin at first. If you prefer a slightly different consistency then just make the following changes below:
- Thicker glaze: ONLY add 1 tsp of almond milk
- Thinner glaze: Use 3 tsp of almond milk
- If you prefer not to have a glaze, a light dusting of powdered sugar would also be a nice touch too! (Plus it makes them look pretty. 😉 )
How do I store banana bread coffee cake muffins?
Place the muffins in a sealed container and store them in a cool place. If stored like this, the crumb topping may become a little soft but it still tastes amazing. (You can always crisp them back up by heating them in oven for a few minutes too. I’ll usually do this in the morning when we want a few for breakfast or brunch.)
I hope you’re all having the best day loves! Happy beginning of September!
More recipes like this:
- Banana Pancake Donuts with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
- Cinnamon Peach Banana Bread
- Banana Bread Brownies
- Lemon French Toast with Blueberry Compote
[Made one of my recipes? Make sure to tag my social media @kalefornia_kravings – I love seeing what you create!]
Banana Bread Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup mashed banana
For the crumb topping:
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil
For the vanilla glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp unsweetened almond milk
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
To make the crumb topping:
- Mix the flour, coconut sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then add the butter or coconut oil and work it into your flour mixture with a large fork until it's crumbly. Place the topping the fridge until you're ready to use it.
To make the vanilla glaze:
- Whisk all of your glaze ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Set it aside until then muffins are done baking.
To make the muffins:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with liners.
- Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, coconut sugar, applesauce, vanilla and mashed banana together. Add your dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into each muffin liner about 2/3's of the way up. Sprinkle your streusel topping over each muffin and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool completely before drizzling your glaze over the top!
