Banana Crunch Muffins

This recipe comes from one of Ina Garten's wonderfully simple cookbooks, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. She notes that it is important to use very ripe bananas for this recipe.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk (although I probably used 2%, as it is what we keep in our house)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
1 cup medium diced bananas (about 1 banana)
1 cup small diced walnuts
1 cup granola *(See note)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
small amounts of dried banana chips, granola, and/or shredded coconut for topping (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour and butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well, but do not over-mix (batter should still be a little lumpy and thick)
3. Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper cups, filling just almost to the top. Top each muffin (if desired) with any mixture of the dried banana chips, granola, and/or coconut. Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending upon your oven's baking tendencies!) until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, about 5-10 minutes, remove from the pan, and serve. 

Serves: 18 large muffins

*Note: I use crunchy granola bars and I break them into small pieces, but you can use home-made granola or store bought granola that is not in a bar.