Anyone else have those fond childhood memories of staring wide-eyed at tray upon tray of muffins bigger than your FACE at Costco? Well, even if not, I’m sure you could conjure up images of unimaginably large muffins, in varying flavors (the chocolate chocolate ones were always the biggest pull as a kid, though it was only for a special treat that we got those ones), usually sliced into quarters to mix and match or to actually be a reasonable sized-snack. Our mom used to run two separate girl scout troops for each of us growing up (still unclear how she managed both, plus working, plus finances, plus just being a mom, etc), and every time we went on a girl scout trip, Costco muffins (and other Costco-sized snacks) would be the go-to. Everyone loved Costco muffins – poppyseed, blueberry, apple crumble, double chocolate, and BANANA NUT. Oh yes, one of those elusive muffin varieties that only showed up once in a while (poppyseed and blueberry were standards). Fluffy, impossibly light given their exorbitant size, perfectly-bananay, and topped with walnuts. Nothing better, folks.
So, a decade+ later, here I am, gluten free and wishing I could by a tray of a dozen HUMONGOUS Costco muffins just because I’m an adult and I can eat what I want (in moderation), but I can’t. And this is when the made-from-scratch, gluten free, Costco-muffin-copy-cats are developed. First up, banana nut, of course. These muffins are a DREAM – I’ve eaten one a day for a few days now and can attest to their absolute perfection and the welcome nostalgia they rustle up with every bite. I tried leaving the batter to sit overnight in the fridge after reading somewhere that muffins will rise and hold shape better if you do this, and it seems to have worked, so give it a try! Next up, I’ll be experimenting with (and eating a ton of) the giant poppyseed muffins, and then will move on to blueberry and chocolate because if you have one, why not create recipes for them all?? The one huge let down of these was that I couldn’t for the life of me find the actual Costco-sized muffin trays! Sure, you can find “jumbo,” or “giant,” or “Texas style,” muffin trays that are, granted, larger than normal, but none of them come close to the 4 inch diameter, straight-sided muffin tins that Costco seems to use. One day I’ll track down an actual Costco pan…that’ll be the day. SINCE UPDATED: we’re now using these giant 4-inch cake pans for these muffins, and will update the recipe accordingly, so that you can get the actual Costco-sized treats at home!
We’ve since updated the series and made a BUNCH more giant muffins so check these out!: giant double chocolate muffins, giant poppyseed muffins, giant blueberry muffins, and giant apple streusel muffins!
In the meantime, if you’re a banana fan, I highly recommend making this simple but OH so glorious banana snacking cake, or these banoffee pie cupcakes (think banana, ginger cookie base, caramel, whipped cream, and chocolate), or these easy, healthy, grain free banana pancakes, or these mini banana nut loaves, or this heavenly Southern banana pudding!
Giant Gluten Free Banana Nut Muffins
Equipment
- Giant muffin tin (usually for 6 giant muffins)
- Giant muffin liners
- Blender or nutribullet
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup salted butter room temperature
- 1/2 Cup white sugar
- 1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 overripe bananas (not completely brown)
- 1/4 Cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp banana extract the secret ingredient!
- 1 1/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
- 1/4 Cup arrowroot starch
- 1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- First, make your muffin batter! This will need to sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours (I make mine at night or in the morning and then wait until morning or evening to make them). This step is important for getting the right rise out of the muffins.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the room temp butter with the white and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes until lighter and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly in between each addition. Finally, add the ripe/overripe bananas and the sour cream to a blender or nutribullet and blend until completely smooth, then scrape the blended mixture into the butter/sugar/eggs and beat to combine. Then add in the vanilla and banana extract and beat to combine. Then, stir in the gluten free 1-1 flour, starch, sweet rice flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup of the chopped walnuts until fully combined. Then cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Once the batter is ready, take the batter out of the fridge and let it sit at room temp for 45 minutes to soften. Then preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line the giant muffin tin with paper liners (8 muffins worth), then scoop the batter into the cups – I overfill them so that they're extra-big – so filling nearly to the top (a bit over 3/4 full). Then sprinkle the remaining chopped walnuts on top of the muffins and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool before serving/eating!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your muffins!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
31 Comments
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Colleen
I’m in my 3rd batch, don’t skip the key ingredient!!!
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Sara K
These came out great! I used cup4cup and took them out after 40 minutes, I think they could have baked for another 8-10. They are DELISH and were a big hit. Thanks for the recipe and the link to the cute pan set!
Sara K
I just made these for the second time. I used the set of 6 4-inch “muffin” pans and baked them for 50 minutes at 350. But they still ended up being slightly undercooked at the bottom. I noticed that the other Costco recipes start out at a higher heat and then lower – does this recipe need that as well?
Amelia Farber
Hi Sara! Good catch – because this recipe was written for “jumbo” muffin pans (not the 4-inch ones), it will likely need a longer time since the 4-inch pans are larger than the ones in the recipe. I recommend baking for longer until a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean!
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Tristan
I love banana bread and these muffins were incredible – kept coming back for another one. The banana extract really takes it to the next level
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