Slapdash Baking with Delicious Results: Banana Nutella Pecan Muffins

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I wasn't going to write a post about these muffins... They weren't anything special, as far as the process went, just something I threw together to get rid of some old bananas and buttermilk and feed a friend who needed comfort food in her life.  I didn't even plan on adding the nutella until the last minute – as is often the case when I make spur-of-the-moment baked goods, I was ad-libbing the whole time.  For once, I was baking to eat, rather than baking to blog.

Hence the terrible photographs.  I didn't take any pics until after we'd tried the muffins and declared them delicious – moist, banana-y, and chocolatey, with a nice crunch from the pecan bits – and multiple Facebook friends had read my status update and demanded the recipe. 

I didn't even have a recipe, as such, but I wrote down the basic measurements and method before I could forget them, and snapped a few awful nighttime photos, and determined to post about them despite my imperfect (or nonexistent) blog-planning.

So here we are.  The recipe is below, prettied up with better instructions and general measurements – this is the kind of baking that doesn't require exaction.  I recommend making these, as I did, at the dining table with a wooden spoon, chatting with a good friend.  Don't let concerns about perfection and exact results distract you from the conversation; these muffins are likely to turn out tasty no matter what you do (just don't forget the flour or the eggs!), and the friend time is really the important thing here.

Banana Nutella Pecan Muffins:

Preheat oven to 400F/200C and line/grease a muffin tin.

Combine in a large bowl:

     2-3 ripe bananas, mashed

     1/2 c oil

     1/2 c buttermilk

     3/4 c sugar
     1 egg

     dash vanilla

In a separate bowl, whisk or stir together:

     1 1/4 c flour

     2 1/2 tsp baking powder

     hefty pinch salt

Gently combine wet and dry ingredients, then fill muffin cups about 2/3 full.  With two teaspoons, put a plop of nutella in the center of each muffin, then sprinkle with pecan bits (as many as you like).  Bake in preheated oven for15-20 minutes, until the muffins are golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of one muffin comes out clean.