Twinkle Muffins

My Seashell adores berries . . . strawberries and blueberries particularly.  She also loves bananas, and her favorite thing to do is grab a big ol' hunk of banana in her hand and chomp down on it - especially when I give her a piece for each hand and she can alternate taking bites.

I made these muffins this morning, and she loved them.  The best part is that I popped 8 of them in the freezer for another time, ate 2 when they came out of the oven, gave 2 to Seashell to enjoy, and still have a dozen left for the week. 

I am calling them "Twinkle Muffins" because I nicknamed my sweet girl "Twinkle" when she was around 5 or 6 months old because she has a beautiful sparkle to her personality and has an endearing twinkle in her eye. 

The browned butter makes these muffins nutty, the berries add sweetness, and the bananas bring a light creaminess.  I used brown sugar for a bit of a molassess taste and whole wheat flour because that's all I had on hand (white flour would be great, too).  The touch of salt you add to the flour balances everything into a yummy zen moment.

Twinkle Muffins
Source:  my own

Ingredients (makes 24 mini muffins or 12 regular muffins):
2 very ripe bananas
handful of blueberries
4 or 5 strawberries, sliced into small pieces
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 generous T. butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar (you could also use honey or agave syrup) 

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Brown the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  You will know when the butter has browned because the white solids from the butter will disappear.  Be careful not to burn the butter, but it will turn a glorious golden brown color.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk together the flour with a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking powder; set this aside.  In another bowl, mash up the bananas.  Add the berries, eggs, and brown sugar to the bananas. Stir to combine. 

Fold the flour into the berry mixture.  Stir everything lightly to incorporate the ingredients.  I greased the muffin cups with a little melted butter; however, you could line the cups with muffin liners or you could use non-stick cooking spray.  Scoop spoonfuls of the yummy batter into the mini muffin tin, and bake for about 25 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes or so, and then remove and allow muffins to cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy these sweet, scrumptious Twinkle Muffins!!