Banana Nut Muffins

This feels weird for me because I don't usually want to share a recipe right out of a cookbook.  But if I do, I'm glad that it is The Joy of Cooking.  My parents had an old copy of Joy published in 1975 that didn't even have a cover, it had seen so much use.  The first loaf of bread I ever baked on my own was from Joy, and I always imagined that it would be one of the first cookbooks in my kitchen.  And it was!  When I was in college, I found a copy at a local thrift store for $10, and absolute steal!  It has many friends on my bookshelf now, but it is the first book I turn to when I come across a conundrum, or just need a reference.  So here it is, I only modified this recipe very slightly, and the muffins came out delicate and sweet, but only banana sweet, not sugary.

Banana Nut Muffins

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour or wheat bran (I used oat flour, yum)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2/3 c chopped walnuts (I used in total about a cup because of the extra I put on the tops of the muffins)
1 egg
3/4 c light brown sugar (I used raw sugar)
1 1/3 c mashed ripe bananas (that turned out to be 4 for me)
6 tbsp vegetable oil (canola)
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. This recipe makes about 11 muffins, so put papers in a muffin tin.
Mix all the dry ingredients but the sugar in one bowl, all the wet ingredients plus the sugar in another.  Add them together and stir until just mixed.  I use a folding method so as not to overwork the dough.  Fill the paper cups almost all the way to the top.  This dough doesn't rise much, so if you want a muffin top, you have to fill it more than you would in a standard recipe.  Sprinkle the extra nuts on the top of the muffins and bake between 18 and 23 minutes.  The muffins are done when they have browned a little on the tops and bounce back when you poke them.  I like to serve these muffins the extra healthy way, with a pat of butter.