400 temp seems a little high, but I'm not much of a baker.

You might want to try these one at a time to see what works. Reduce temperature first. Make sure muffins are in the middle of the oven, not on a lower rack (if you didn't already do that). Place muffin pan on a cookie sheet to insulate from the bottom if there's still excess darkening. If you're waiting till a skewer comes out clean to remove the muffins, back off a bit and remove when just a very few crumbs cling. They'll bake further from residual heat while resting and be a bit more moist. Waiting till there are no crumbs you risk dryness. You didn't mention tops browning excessively, but those could always be covered with foil part way into the baking process.

If you find you really like this combo and are baking them regularly, at some future point you might think about switching out the milk for buttermilk or yogurt and adding some soda. Their keeping qualities will improve and I keep thinking it would be a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the other ingredients. Soda wouldn't hurt with the honey anyway.

Good luck.

I like the idea of using a baking pan under the muffin tins. They seemed to be burning from the bottom up, the tops were fine.

L, I can't add one darned thing to Carol's very thorough post. I'd reduce the heat first, if that doesn't do it, try the baking pan and go from there.

Good luck, I don't know if they will help you sleep, but they would be a good quick/portable breakfast.

Annie

Carol I'm thinking about trying this recipe again using some cherry yogurt I bought instead of milk. How much soda should I add do you think? I'm thinking maybe 1 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. soda, or maybe keep all the baking powder and add some soda?? I'm out of my league.

Skip adding soda....and turn your oven down to 375 and test with a tooth pick after 20 minutes....and make sure the shelf of your oven is in the middle of the oven.
Linda c

Now that I'm looking at that recipe more closely, I think for your first attempt you could just switch out the milk for yogurt and leave well enough alone as LindaC suggested. You already have 3/8 tsp. soda in the baking powder, which is probably about right.

If you do that and then discover there's a problem with the rise let us know. Soda is pretty potent stuff so it's better not to overdo it.

The main benefits with the yogurt would be a nice rise and better keeping qualities, which for a single person household is a real advantage, especially as we're moving into cooler seasons.

Carol

Another idea is to soak the oats in the milk (or yogurt) for a little while, maybe 15 minutes. That way some of the liquid will be absorbed.

Also, try using smaller bananas, or, if your bananas are big, use a bit less than all of them. "Two bananas" can yield wildly different amounts of mashed banana. I wish all recipes used measurements instead of numbers.

OK, I'm going to try these again. I'm out of instant oats, I just had some because I bought them by mistake but I have the old fashioned oats which I think I can use by pulsing them in the food processor. I'll probably omit the oat bran this time and use whole wheat pastry flour. They had a good rise, which is one reason I liked them. I think the cherry yogurt would be the perfect compliment to the other ingredients, and make the perfect bedtime snack. Although I've been eating them mostly in the AM.

I have about 30 med. bananas that my neighbor gifted me with that I'm trying to use up, so I'm going to make another batch right away. If they come out I'll post a picture.

Do you have an oven thermometer to check the real temperature?

I should have mentioned that the point of both my suggestions was to get the interior done before the outside got overdone. Twenty minutes tops.