Banana Blackberry Muffins

It’s been a busy blogging season, hasn’t it?

Together we’ve enjoyed contests and co-op’s.

I’ve hit you up to vote me into my dream job for the uber-remarkable Vita-Mix,

Then asked for the same offering to be shared with Haitian survivors.

Sometimes busy is nice.

But, as I prepared this post, I felt that you deserved more than I’d given already.

Which is to say that I wanted to give you less.

An old-fashioned blog post with a wee bit of friendly rambling and one heck of a delectable recipe.

Shall we onto simpler times? Yea. I think we shall…

Last summer, I lunched with a beloved aunt on a beautiful summer evening. It had been sometime since we’d seen each other, and we relished the time together: giggling over a delicious dinner, remembering family stories. At one point, with a trademark wink in her eye, Aunt Paula grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her guest room. There, from a shelf, she pulled down my Great-grandma’s recipe box. Inside was a stack of yellowed cards. There was a recipe for potatoes. And, I think, a recipe for some sort of chicken dish, but the remainder of the recipes were for sweets. Desserts. Cakes. Candy. I’d never known it, but it seems Great-Gramma Brown was quite the pastry chef. {Wouldn’t we have just gotten along beautifully?!}

Then, crossing the room, my Aunt Paula threw open the wooden doors of the closet.
“See these,” she motioned toward a rank of jackets hanging obediently on a wooden rod, “These were Grandpa Brown’s church suits. I should donate them to a thrift store. Really I should. But, I just don’t have the heart to let go of them yet. Anyway, come here,” she invited, ” put your hands in the pockets.”

I stepped ceremoniously toward the jackets. I adored my Grandpa Brown. I adore my Grandpa Brown. There is not a day in my life when I’m not entirely inspired by remembering his good life. His incredible heart. His eye-twinkling smile. Standing now, so near his clothes made my memory of him even keener.

I thrust my hands into the pockets. There was something deep inside, I could feel it. I wrapped my fingers around whatever it was and pulled it out. It was a jolly rancher. Grandpa Brown was notoriously in amor with candy. I couldn’t help but giggle knowingly.

I felt in the next pocket, and the one after that, and the one after that. In every one of his pockets, he’d left a legacy. A piece of candy, sometimes two. Often a whole handful of sweets. There were jolly ranchers and peppermint swirls and–of course–his signature pink mints. Ask any cousin I own and they’ll tell you about those pink peppermints.

Turning toward my Aunt Paula, her eyes brimming with tears of joy, tears of sorrow, I giggled through my own watery veil. “You know,” I said, “ I try so hard to eat healthy. I firmly limit my cookie and cake intake to twice or thrice daily, but I just realized…There’s no hope, is there?! Sugar runs through my veins, doesn’t it?”

And thus we see why breakfast at my house is oft accompanied by pink frosting {and fine, fine memories of one Grandpa Brown who ate taffy and pink peppermints even before the sun had fully risen itself into a morn.}

Banana Blackberry Muffins with Pink Pomegranate Drizzle

I’m at a loss for words. Are these muffins not the most gorgeous breakfast pastries ever to behold? Their rich brown cake, heaping mounds of melted blackberries, and that drizzle. Oh! That pink pomegranate drizzle is enough to set your heart aflame. I made the recipe with sucanat, or evaporated cane juice, available in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods or Sunflower Farmer’s Market. Add to that the warm hello of cinnamon and cardamom and oh.my. This recipe makes for absolutely unforgettable eating. Ok, just talking about them is making my mouth quiver. I must off post haste. Time to bake them again. (And, should you be wondering, the ingredient list is accurate. There are no eggs in this recipe.)

2 very ripe bananas

3/4 c. evaporated cane juice (or brown sugar)

2 T. butter

1/2 c. oil

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp each cardamom & cinnamon

1 3/4 c. flour

1/4 c. milk or cream

2 c. fresh or frozen blackberries

In a large mixing bowl, combine bananas, sugar, butter and oil. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients (adding an additional 1/2 tsp. of baking powder if you’re baking below 5,000 feet). Spoon into six large muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 24-26 minutes, or until muffin tops spring back to the touch. Glaze with drizzle recipe below.

Pink Pomegranate Drizzle

Touched with the slightest hint of color, and the light touch of almond extract, this glaze completes the Banana Blackberry muffin recipe like Sinatra completed his songs. Perfectly.

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 T. pomegranate juice or grape juice

2 T. melted butter

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/4 c. almond meal

2 T. white sparkling sugar

In a small bowl, combine sugar, juice, butter and almond extract. Add extra juice by the teaspoonfuls if a thinner consistency is desired. Add powdered sugar for a thicker consistency. Stir until smooth, transfer to a plastic ziploc bag, snip off one corner, and drizzle over warm muffins. In a small bowl, combine almond meal and sparkling sugar. Sprinkle immediately over glaze.

May Your Weekend Be Merry & Blackberry.