Banana Muffins

I've always liked banana nut bread. This recipe comes pretty close to that. I first saw the recipe on Food Network and thought it looked simple enough.

Ingredients (original recipe was for 18 muffins, I adjusted for 6)

-2 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

[below in one bowl]

-1 cup flour

-1/3 tsp baking soda

-1/6 tsp baking powder

-1/3 tsp salt

-1/6 tsp cinnamon (or just eye it and pour)

-1/6 tsp nutmeg (basically a pinch or so)

[below in separate bowl]

-1/3 cup oil

-1 egg

-1/3 tsp vanilla extract

-2/3 cups sugar (I used about 1/2 cup actually, or at most 3/4, it's plenty sweet)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.

2. Combine the first bowl of dry ingredients

3. Combine the wet ingredients (oil, egg, vanilla) with sugar, beat well.

4. Add bananas in batches to wet ingredient bowl while you stir.

5. Add dry ingredients slowly to wet bowl, a batch at a time while you stir.

6. Mix well, but don't overmix.

7. Divide batter into 6 muffin cups.

8. Bake for around 25 min.

9. Cool muffins on rack before eating. You can frost them according to original recipe or just eat them as they are.

Notes:

The moist banana bits inside the muffin taste wonderful. I think this would make a yummy breakfast treat. Next time I may add some crushed walnuts and chocolate chips just for fun. I've never baked with oil before so the result surprised me. It was actually quite good! My previous blueberry muffin recipe used butter and milk.

Smurf Treats

note: smurf=blueberry+marshmallow

Smurf Muffin (12 muffins)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
-1 cup milk
- 1 cup blueberries (fresh, but make sure to drain water and you can lightly toast them on cookie sheet if you want)
- topping: marshmallow fluff, strawberry preserve, mini-marshmallows, more blueberries

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 400F/200C
2. Melt butter, sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl.
3. Beat eggs in a bowl, then add sugar, milk, and melted butter
4. Add flour mixture to above and fold in (do not go crazy with mixing)
5. Fold blueberries into muffin mixture. Then spoon mix into cupcake liners
6. Bake for 25-30 min until they rice and are firm and brown. Cool on rack.
7. Spread marshmallow fluff on top and top off with blueberries and mini-marshmallows

Thoughts:
This recipe is modified from a raspberry muffin recipe from DK Children's Quick & Easy Cook Book by Angela Wilkes. I picked it up because it was very colorful and has step by step pictures/directions. Unfortunately it is neither quick nor easy especially when most things are made from scratch. Totally worth it though, not sure if I can go back to store bought muffins. Next step, find out how to make lemon-poppy muffin from scratch yay!

Smurf Bread
-Toast bread, spread nutella, add blueberries and mini-marshmallows. Serve!