Wednesday, February 1, 2012

This Is For You Corrie - Strawberry Banana Muffins

What is it about a nice warm muffin that is so comforting?  They are good for breakfast, lunch or dinner and even as a snack - especially with a big glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee.  Sit down, prop your feet up, peel that paper back and enjoy every morsel.  Mm Mm Mm  What does Starbucks and most coffee shops tempt you with but a case full of muffins in different flavor varieties.  If they have streusel topping, they are even more tempting.  Here is a recipe you can easily make for way less than Starbucks charges and they are twice as good because they are made with love.

Our grandsons are muffin lovers, probably even more than cupcakes.  The really great thing is you don't need a plate and a fork to eat them.  Even better.  Therefore, I try to bake them often so they have some to munch on when they are here.  Last night, I baked these strawberry banana muffins for dinner and they were terrific with the chicken, broccoli casserole that I wrote about yesterday.  Here is what you will need.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)
1 cup chopped strawberries
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line muffin tin with papers  (makes 12)

Melt butter and let cool to room temperature.  Stir together eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla. (I mash my bananas with a potato masher or you can use a fork.)  Add cooled butter to this mixture.

Sift dry ingredients together.  Add berries to the dry ingredients and mix, making sure all the berries are coated well.  This will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins when baking.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients until just combined.  Add 1/4 cup milk.  I used a fork, don't over mix.  It will make your muffins tough.  This batter is pretty dense, so don't be alarmed.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full.  I used a heaping 1/4 cup measure to fill mine, or you could use an ice cream scoop.  Bake 18 - 20 minutes at 400 or until nice and brown on top.  Remove from oven and enjoy!!


Dan and I had a muffin for breakfast this morning and they were maybe a little better than they were for dinner last night - if that is possible.  Yum.  Yum.

If you want to make some memories with your children, let them help when you are doing simple baking projects like muffins.  They will really appreciate what goes into the process and will be so proud to have contributed to the final product.  Nothing like a muffin made with love.  Enjoy!

Everyday Donna

Things to remember:

One of my proudest moments from childhood was the cake I baked from scratch when I was 9 years old.  My grandmother helped me and it was crooked as can be, but the best cake I ever ate.  One of the best memories ever.  Led to a lifetime love of baking.♥