strawberry banana muffins

Some weeks back, just before I was leaving down south for a smallbatch work demo, and right before my husband returned home from a trip to portland...I baked these muffins. I had a couple ripe bananas that I really wanted to use and my local grocery had strawberries on sale so it made sense to combine these two into something sweet. Also, I figured it would be nice to bring on my trip, and how nice it would be for my husband to come home to something sweet as a welcome back home sorta deal. Clearly, I baked way more than enough muffins. Needless to say, the neighbors were happy, so I heard.

what you need:

1/2 cup (1 stick)unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1 cup fresh strawberries(cut into bite sized pieces)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

what to do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Melt the butter, and let it cool to room temperature.

In a bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter and stir it all up.   

In another bowl(large one) combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Then gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour(this helps to prevent the berries from sinking during the baking) Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Hey, do not over mix the batter or you'll get tough muffins! 

Now divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place the tray in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Ding! Hopefully your timer goes off and you've got muffins. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool off. Ta-da! You've got tasty muffins to eat, and share and store for a few days at room temperature. 

On my way out of town. Going over the bay bridge...icy-looking waters.