Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

Bananas must be ripe to lend natural sweetness and moisture. Lemon juice avoids browning and adds a hint of tartness. Using almond butter swaps the peanut element, keeping flavor but removing peanuts for nut-sensitive diets—feel free to try sunflower seed butter too. Pumpkin seeds provide the crunch instead of peanuts, more subtle but still satisfying. Brown sugar deepens the flavor better than white for this blend. Flour measurements altered down slightly to keep the texture moist but not dense. Vanilla is pure concentrate, a teaspoon reduced to three milliliters to balance the taste. Feel free to choose your preferred milk—dairy or plant-based. Adjust chopped seeds amount as desired for texture variation.

Preheat the oven hotter than usual; this compensates for wetter batter from banana and milk increases. Grease muffin liners or paper for easy release. Mash banana with lemon first to keep from darkening and add a subtle acid punch. Whisk dry components separately to ensure even rising agents before adding to wet mix. Cream butter and sugar well to aerate, important since the butter substitutes a third of the fat with almond butter. Beat eggs slowly, one at a time, integrating fully. Add dry ingredients in portions between milk and banana to avoid overmixing—results in lighter crumb. Spoon batter evenly so baking is uniform. Sprinkle seeds on top rather than inside for crunch texture on bite. Bake until tops golden and toothpick clean, usually closer to 35 minutes here. Cool on wire rack to prevent soggy bottoms. When serving, fresh banana slices keep moistness balanced; jam topping adds sweet acidity and freshness. Leftover muffins freeze well wrapped tightly.