Date Night Banana Date Muffins

Banana Date Muffins are little nuggets of love.

There is just something so tantalizing about warm muffins fresh from the oven.  Letting them sit until they cool changes the texture.  It means the butter doesn’t melt into the crumb to create the sort of mushiness that reminds me of true love.  You all remember that feeling of new love, right?  That sort of insatiable need to be with the object of your affection.  The desire to do nothing except breathe them in.  The feel of warmth under your hands.  The moment your lips part slightly as you lean in closer.  Banana date muffins fresh out of the oven are exactly like that. 

Except the part where true love doesn’t let you eat.  Banana Date Muffins don’t do that.  (Don’t let you not eat…they make you gobble.)

There are an amazing number of recipes that contain dates in my recipe stash.  They aren’t the bacon wrapped dates featured in so many restaurants now.  Instead they are wonderful baked creations like Yum Yum Cake and Applesauce Date Nut Bread.  Foods that offer comfort.  This is interesting since dates have been reported to have health benefits like curing sexual weakness,increasing energy, and “curing” intoxication. The other benefits are less sexy.  Like dates, bananas are really good for you, but I’m sure that this recipe should not be considered health food.  Without doing a lot of research, (except eating most of this batch of muffins) I am confident in saying that these muffins are likely to add to your love handles instead of subtracting from them.  I suppose you could substitute the flour to whole wheat or even gluten-free.  The egg can be substituted with applesauce.  Instead of sugar, you could experiment with using a substitute, less sugar, or perhaps none at all. 

If you are thinking about making this recipe for date night, skip over the scan of the recipe in my great-grandma’s shaky handwriting and skip to the typed version below it.  

Banana Date Muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup mashed banana (about 3 medium)
1 egg
1/3 cup salad oil (or olive, coconut or grapeseed oil)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped dates

Mix together banana, egg, oil, and sugar.  Pour into flour, baking powder, baking soda.  Mix only until ingredients are moistened.  Fold in dates.  Fill 12-greased muffin tins 2/3 full.  Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

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