Ripe fruit = great muffins!

One weekend morning, we took three large bananas that were a day or two past their prime, and dug out an old recipe for muffins with which we experimented.

You can enhance the recipe by substituting butter milk or sour cream for the milk. The recipe can be prepared plain, or you can add chocolate chips, walnuts, maraschino cherries or whatever you fancy to the batter just before spooning it into the muffin cups or greased muffin pan.

The outcome was not only delicious, it used up a few ingredients sitting in the cupboards and the refrigerator. These muffins, quick to prepare, are the perfect companion to a cup of coffee or tea.

• Start 30 to 45 minutes before serving;
• This recipe will make between 8 and 11 muffins, depending on how much batter you make.

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Very ripe bananas	3 or 4
Vegetable oil	90 mL (6 tablespoons)
Sugar or sugar substitute	65 mL (quarter cup)
Salt	1 mL (¼ teaspoon)
Egg	One (well beaten)
Milk or butter milk (room temperature)	65 mL (quarter cup)
Vanilla extract	5 mL (1 teaspoon)
All-purpose unbleached flour	500 mL (2 cups)
Baking soda	5 mL (1 teaspoon)
Baking powder	5 mL (1 teaspoon)
Chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)	To taste – a few per muffin

Preparation

1. 1. Mixing: Mash the bananas. Having about 250 mL (one cup) is a good base for the muffins. Add the vegetable oil, sugar and salt. Use an egg beater, and beat until well-mixed;
   2. Add the beaten egg, milk (or butter milk or sour cream) and vanilla, and keep mixing with the egg beater. If the mixture is a little watery, add a bit more flour;
   3. Sift or mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder thoroughly together in a separate container;
   4. Add the mixed ingredients from step 3 gradually to the mixture in step 2 while mixing together;
   5. Quickly stir in the chocolate chips or nuts just before spooning the mixture into either a greased muffin pan or into paper muffin cups placed in the muffin baking pan. Depending on how much batter you have, and how big the muffin pan is, you can get between 8 and 11 generous muffins per batch of batter;
   6. Baking: Place the muffin pan into a pre-heated 350°F (165°C) oven, and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!