Banana Muffins with Tart Lemon Icing

In my office, we always celebrate everyone's birthday. We sometimes get take out, or people will bring food in to share. My birthday is in May and I am hoping they will get take out from Crepe Heaven!

This past Monday it was a double birthday. The baker in our office made her famous apple crisp (so delicious). Since quite a few folks in our office are trying to lose weight, I decided to make a healthful baked good so everyone could join. I scoured Cooking Light, Food Network, Weight Watchers and a few of my cookbooks for a recipe. I finally settled on Banana Muffins with Tart Lemon Icing. I love banana bread, lemons, and icing. So how bad could combining all those things into little packages be? They turned out to be better then I thought. The tart yet sweet icing was perfect. I would make it again and drizzle it over strawberries, or angle food cake, and use it to ice a banana loaf. Hell, I'd even eat it by the spoonfuls, it was that good!

Banana Muffins with Tart Lemon Icing
Adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

Batter:
1/2 cup sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp Pure Vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup fat-free skim milk
4 large ripe bananas, mashed

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest, or more to taste
1 tsp Pure Vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 18 muffin holes with paper liners, or spray muffins holes with nonstick spray.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; cream with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until thoroughly mixed.

In another large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture; beat well with mixer. Add milk and remaining flour mixture; beat until batter is combined and then gently fold in mashed bananas.

Spoon batter into muffin holes/liners about 3/4 full. Bake until muffins start to brown and tooth pick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 2 minutes; remove to a wire rack and cool completely before icing.

Meanwhile, combine icing ingredients in a medium bowl; beat with an electric mixer until creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Ice cooled muffins; cover and refrigerate any uneaten muffins.