Blueberry Banana Muffins

Two of the things that I bake most often – every day things that I really never get tired of eating – are blueberry muffins and banana bread. Blueberry muffins are a classic that never goes out of style and they taste delicious whether you’re using fresh, in-season berries or frozen ones. I always have bananas on hand for whipping up a banana bread and it is so easy to put variations on the basic loaf that I never get bored. These Blueberry Banana Muffins marry the two treats nicely in the most wonderful way.

These muffins are so good that you should probably just skip ahead to the recipe at this point and stop reading the rest of the post. They are moist, tender and just dense enough to remind you of exactly how much banana is packed into each one. The batter is thick enough to keep the blueberries suspended during baking, so they won’t all end up at the bottom of your muffin cups. There are also quite a lot of blueberries in the batter, so there wouldn’t be room at the bottom for all of them even if they did sink. The berries are a great contrast for the banana and make for a deliciously fruity muffin.

I serve these muffins plain, however you could top them with a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking to add some extra sweetness and a bit of texture to the top of each one. They can also be spread with whipped cream cheese, if you are looking for a way to make a morning muffin seem a little bit heartier as you get your day started. The muffins will keep for 2-3 days after baking.

Blueberry Banana Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, vegetable oil, egg, vanilla and mashed bananas until smooth. Add in flour mixture and stir until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Fold in blueberries with a spoon or spatula, then divide batter evenly into prepared pan. Each cavity of the muffin pan will be quite full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached and the top springs back when lightly pressed.