Moist, tender banana bread muffins flavored with peanut butter and accented with crunchy peanuts.

I am officially in the 2nd trimester (of pregnancy). WOOHOO! Seriously I’m like frolicking around the house doing the “happy dance”. I’m sure all you moms out there can relate to my sheer excitement and relief. I’m finally able to eat like a normal person, not lose my lunch over the slightest of smells, and make it to the gym! It’s the little things people.

The best part? I’m finally able to be back in my kitchen (and actually enjoy it). My intense food aversion for sweets has also gone away so I am able to taste test my goodies once again! This could get really dangerous. Real quick.

Perhaps my biggest food aversion during the first trimester was peanut butter; and I LOVE peanut butter. I would try making my husband a sandwich and inevitably end up having to run out of the room. It was bad. So as soon as the aversion went away I ate PB&J every day for like a week straight.

So of course I had to celebrate by developing a recipe with all the creamy goodness! Too much peanut butter? No such thing.

I also enjoy a good “Elvis Sandwich”. For those of you unfamiliar with this term, it is a sandwich with peanut butter and banana slices (some people even put bacon on it). It got it’s name because apparently it was Elvis’s favorite.

If you have been following my blog for a while you know how much I love unique flavor combinations. They are kind of my thing. This was one I couldn’t resist making a recipe with! I decided to go with muffins because they are easy to make and easy to eat. See the pattern here? Perfect for this momma-to-be who is now exhausted all the time. (I definitely had to take a nap while these were cooling.) Pregnancy is a funny thing.

To make these two-bowl muffins, mix together the wet ingredients in one bowl, the dry in another, and then combine the two! Easy-peasy.

Just be careful not to over-mix the batter. This can lead to tough or unevenly baked muffins. 15-20 strokes should do the trick, so long as no flour streaks remain.

Also, these muffins are made from pretty standard ingredients you should have around the house! If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (I never do), you can do what I do and make your own. Simply mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar per cup on milk and let it stand 5 minutes. For this recipe you would use 3/4 teaspoon and 1/4 milk.

When filling your muffin pan, fill those puppies right up to the top. Don’t forget! These muffins are baked at a higher temperature for the first few minutes and then finished at 350 degrees F. This creates fluffy, bakery-style muffin tops!

You need to make these muffins! The bananas and peanut butter create a perfectly symphony of flavors that will leave your taste buds singing for more. The King was definitely onto something! Aside from the amazing flavor, the texture of these muffins is absolutely divine. One of the most tender muffins I have ever had. Wonderful in the morning with a hot cup of coffee or in the evening with a cold glass of milk. You just “can’t help falling in love” with these muffins.

The Recipe

*Yields 12 standard size muffins

1 1/2 cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
2 bananas
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin or line it with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugars until well combined. Add the banana, peanut butter, buttermilk, yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Mix until fully incorporated.

4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined and no flour streaks remain (15-20 strokes).

5. Fill the prepared muffin cups to the top with batter. Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees F. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue baking for another 12-15 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.