Strawberry Banana Muffins

As Easter approaches and the markets are filled with beautiful red strawberries, these muffins are a great way to enjoy the fruits of the season! They are also a good make ahead for Easter Brunch.

Muffins are one of my favorite breakfast and brunch breads. They are easy to mix (by hand, no electric mixer required!), ingredients can be measured ahead of time and stored until ready to mix, they bake quickly and they always taste best the day they're baked, plus they make the house smell scrumptious! I considered omitting the cinnamon from these, but decided to try it as the recipe was written. It could barely be tasted, but it gave a nice undertone to the full flavor. These were a BIG hit at our house!

And they cooked beautifully in my new muffin pan! USA Pans... I absolutely cannot say enough good things about their pans! They cook evenly, brown perfectly, nothing sticks and they are a breeze to clean!

Strawberry Banana Muffins

1 cup mashed banana
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs and mashed banana.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add the butter mixture. Stir in chopped strawberries. Stir just until dry ingredients are wet and strawberries are combined. Spoon into prepared muffin pan.
Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm to the touch, approximately 20-24 minutes. Cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes. Yield: 12 muffins