Tip

These muffins are a great snack for children and adults. I find them particularly handy after a morning working in the garden or during a hike. For toddlers I would suggest 1/2 muffin as a snack with some fresh fruit or crackers and cheese.

Ingredients

Makes 12 muffins

•  1 ½ cups wholemeal self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ cup oil plus 3 tablespoons of oil (in place of butter). You could use rice bran oil or macadamia oil.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2 ripe bananas mashed
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup sultanas
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of brown sugar or honey (only if bananas are not really ripe, by ripe I mean soft and the skin is starting to go brown). I suggest cooking the muffins without added sugar first and if you require additional sweetness, next time try 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar or honey or dried fruits.

 Instructions

1.  Set oven to 180^OC
2.  Use a light tasting vegetable oil or a small amount of butter to grease a 12-muffin tin
3.  Set aside flour and cinnamon in a bowl
4.  Place oil in a large mixing bowl and beat in vanilla essence, eggs and milk. If you require added honey or sugar, beat this into the oil mix. You could add extra sultanas or other dried fruits for sweetness instead of honey or sugar. Stir in mashed banana, walnuts and sultanas. Gradually fold in flour and cinnamon. I usually add this in three parts.
5. Transfer the mix into muffin tins. The most efficient way of transferring the mix is by using two soup spoons. I find this is the best way to evenly distribute the mix and make the least mess!
6.  Bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.
7.  Once cooked, cool muffins on a cake rack.