Cranberry Banana Muffins

You're standing in the produce section of your grocery store, and you see this display of perfectly ripe bananas. They look so good. You know they'll be delicious on cereal, or mixed with yogurt, maybe even just on their own. Bananas are delicious. And they're cheap. So you buy a bunch. And they sit on your counter, and time goes by. You might eat one, or even two of them, knowing that you were right, and bananas are awesome, but you'll never finish that whole bunch.  A week later, you have some sad looking bananas, freckled with brown spots or even large splotches of 'rot'.  They're still good, they smell awesome, but you don't really want to eat them.  So what do you do? You make banana muffins!  The mushier the better! Just don't let them cross over that line from 'mushy' to 'rancid'.

Cranberry Banana Muffins
(almost my mum's recipe)
2-4 overripe bananas, slightly mashed
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup milk
1 T white vinegar
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup dried  cranberries (Craisins)
handful banana chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C and lightly grease the inside of two 12-cup muffin tins (or, alternately, use the same tin twice. It probably won't need to be re-greased).
2. Mix milk and vinegar in a small dish, allow to sit for ~5 minutes while mixing other ingredients.
3. Using a mixer, blend together butter and sugars until creamy.
4. Mix in eggs, bananas and vanilla.
5. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a measuring cup or bowl.
6. Add dry ingredients and milk gradually, alternating.
7. Add in dried cranberries and stir to combine.
8. Pour batter into muffin cups until 2/3 full. These muffins don't really rise much, so don't expect a 'muffin top'.
9. Sprinkle banana chips on top, if you're feeling creative.
10. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a cooling rack.

These can be frozen in airtight containers (ziplock bags work well) and kept for a couple of weeks, or they can be consumed in one sitting in a display of mass gluttony.   Alternately, you can also use a lightly greased loaf tin and make a banana bread. This, of course, is best eaten with a gooey middle.

With the exception of the cranberries, these muffins are a taste of my childhood. My mum used to make these often with leftover bananas.  Occasionally she would add nuts to the recipe as well, although it was never a preference of mine.

Food safety tip: while it is much more delicious to eat this banana 'bread' with a gooey middle, it indicates undercooked egg in the batter which increases the risk of food-borne diseases including E. coli and Salmonella. So proceed at your own risk.