It started with a good 30 minutes of playtime with the nephew at my sister and brother-in-law’s place in KC. There were lots of plastic bats and softballs flying, and fits of toddler squeals every few seconds. It was sheer joy. Then, off to the ladies room I went and a few shots of dry shampoo and a swipe of makeup later, John and I were out the door. Our first stop was the Plaza where we had one thing on our minds: coffee. After walking into Latte Land and having a quick scan of the menu, my eyes were immediately drawn to the most beautiful banana muffin I’d ever seen, studded with giant whole, shelled walnuts. My mind was made up: A medium house coffee and that giant banana muffin. A few minutes went by after receiving my coffee and I realized they’d forgotten my muffin. Extremely apologetic, the barista snagged my prize from the pastry case and offered me some free milk as a remedy for his fault. I obliged. The setting was perfect: Coffee, a banana muffin the size of my fist, and free local milk and wifi – I was in sheer heaven. One bite into that muffin and I already wanted another one. Instead, I settled for recreating the recipe at home. Just a few days later upon our return back to Wichita, that’s exactly what I did. And literally, this is one of the best muffins I’ve ever had. Three things I love about this recipe are 1) it’s hearty and healthy, 2) takes less than an hour to prepare, and 3) yields two GIANT vegan muffins that are seriously worthy of being sold at that very coffee shop. I wonder if they have an opening for a part-time baker? If so, that would be awesome, because I’m convinced the world needs more of these muffins. These muffins are insanely moist and perfectly sweet, and they scream with rich banana flavor. And those giant nuts up top? Everything I’d hoped for and more. Plus, thanks to wholesome ingredients like flaxseed, whole-wheat pastry flour, and whole, shelled almonds, they’re actually quite healthy. At about 370 calories a piece, one of these constitutes a full breakfast meal. Since that’s about what I eat in the morning anyway, I’d be happy to keep these as a special weekend treat or cycle them the into my weekday breakfast routine. Oh joy.
