HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’m feeling pretty lucky to be writing to you all this morning. We made it through a lot in 2021, and even though we don’t need to wait until January 1st to do a new thing, a new year is always a great reminder that fresh starts exist. After a year like 2020, doesn’t that thrill you? A new year offers us the opportunity to take inventory of our lives and hearts and relationships and be honest with ourselves: what do we need more of in this coming year? Where can we cut back? What are the desires of our hearts and how can we pursue those desires with intentionality in the coming months?

I spent this past weekend at my favorite place on planet earth with my dear friends, and one afternoon, we spent a chunk of time talking about our priorities. I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, but I like the idea of setting goals that tend to the priorities in my life. I found that writing down the things that were important to me offered an opportunity to see where I could better use my time, resources, and energy. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the things I call “priorities” were things I haven’t been giving much heart or thought, and it was useful to identify places where I could do better. My hope is that small bits of intentionality like this will yield a year loaded with direction and purpose and joy, and not just for me- for you too.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be spending some time seeking out direction and really assessing where and how to move forward with this site in 2021. Baking, writing, and connecting with you all in the coming year continues to be a priority in my life, but I want to do it in a way that best serves us both. I owe you all lots of gratitude and smiles for the ways this site has fed my heart (and belly!) since 2016, and I know there are really great things in store for the future too. We’ll talk more on that soon, but I do want to get to the recipe before I lose you all completely. Without further ado, here’s banana nutella muffins!

I’ve been making these muffins for a couple of months, and for me, they’ve been a lifesaver. Surely I’m not the only one with a perpetual pile of brown bananas on their counter? These muffins are a terrific use for those leftover bits of produce, and the added chocolate hazelnut swirl serves my sweet tooth well.

To make these banana nutella muffins, we combine the sugars, oil, milk, eggs, and mashed bananas in a single bowl. Stir with a hand mixer (or a wooden spoon and a sturdy bicep!) until combined and add in the dry ingredients of flour, leavening, cinnamon, and salt. Stir just until combined and then spoon into a prepared muffin tin. Gently heat the nutella spread just until smooth and swirl small dollops on top of each round of batter. I like to use a toothpick, but a butter knife works well too! Bake in the preheated oven just shy of 20 minutes and enjoy!

These banana nutella muffins are a great use for old bananas and will make a yummy addition to breakfasts in the coming months. I hope you’ll give them a try and let me know what you think! Truly, I’m excited and hopeful for the coming year, and I hope you are too. Happy New Year and happy baking!

If you like these banana nutella muffins you should try:

Banana Bread Cake
Banana Crumb Cake
Banana Cream Pie Cake
Raspberry Muffins
Java Chip Muffins
Coffee Cake Muffins
Hummingbird Muffins

Print