A Basket of Bananas

It's been a while since I made use of my little red riding hood basket. There hasn't been much of a chance to bake in large quantities given the amount of time I spent at school in MPR and LH1 last semester. Luckily it's still the beginning of the semester right now and I don't have to cook dinner, which gives me time to bake in between studying and blogging.

But perhaps a basket will be going out tomorrow morning given how much this batter has risen. I should have done a test batch first... but 3 dozen is still a good amount. It just doesn't have the same ring to it as 6 dozen plus 2 though. *sigh* Those were the good days.

I'll stop with the reminiscing and start the recipe now.

Banana Muffins

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
6 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
dash of cinnamon

Cream together the butter and sugar until lighter in color and fluffy. (You can substitute and use 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup granulated sugar for a muffin that has a more molasses-y touch to it.) Add the eggs one at a time, making sure everything is incorporated before adding the next egg. Mix in the mashed bananas. (I like to mash half the bananas until they disintegrate and leave the other half of the bananas as slightly larger chunks).

In a separate bowl, combine the salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour. Sift and add to the banana mixture. Stir to combine without overmixing. Add a dash of cinnamon and vanilla at the end.Place a heaping tablespoon into each muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until done.

The tops will be nice and golden, the muffin soft and moist. Yum. Feel free to add chocolate chips or nuts as desired.