Here is a cardinal rule you should have in your kitchen: Never throw away old bananas.

Everyone's tolerance for aging bananas is different. My tolerance to continue eating bananas after the brown spots have begun to appear is higher than the other member of my house. But there is that point when no one in the house is interested in eating a mottled-skin banana that's going to be mushy and starchy. That's exactly when this new cardinal rule needs to kick in. It is the moment where you tell yourself that these are going to into my banana muffin recipe. All you need is a minimum of three overripe bananas. If you have four or five, no problem. The more overripe the bananas are, the better. 

This is a simple recipe which doesn't take a lot of time to make. The ingredients are pretty simple and straightforward. These will last awhile if stored in a closed plastic bag. They also freeze well. 

This recipe was one I found online. I made them once and decided to cut back on the sugar. The most recent time I made these (and took the photos), I decided to add some currants to batter and then I sprinkled a few on top prior to getting placed in the oven. This is completely optional but do consider adding other ingredients such as: crushed nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, etc. 

Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3-4 very ripe bananas, peeled
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix the softened butter and sugar. Add 2 lightly-beaten eggs and stir to mix.
   
   
   
3. In a separate bowl, add chunks of bananas and vanilla extract and mash together with a fork. Add to the butter/sugar bowl and stir to mix.
   
   
   
4. In a separate, larger, bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to mix and add to the banana bowl. Using a hand mixer on low, combine all ingredients until well mixed. 
5. Ladle the mixture into the paper liners. Fill to about a quarter inch under the rim line.
   
   
   
6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the muffins. Cool muffins and a cookie rack.  

Apple Cranberry Muffins

A pound of fresh cranberries were a part of this week's box. I popped one into my mouth and got the full dose of that cranberry tartness. I was also taken back to my childhood Thanksgiving meals where a gelatinous can of cranberry sauce was opened and sliced.

I got online and did some researching. Fresh cranberries can be frozen and will keep for up to nine months. Because of its tartness, it is often combined with other, sweeter fruits when making breads or muffins. Because we had a number of apples, I decided to go for this recipe.

This made a dozen muffins and two small loafs of bread. That I stuck in the freezer for the holidays.

Apple Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 large apple, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup cranberry juice
• 1/2 - 1/3 cup finely chopped cranberries
• 3 tablespoons vanilla extract (yes, 3. Not a typo)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine apples, sugar (2 tbsp.), and cinnamon and set aside.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• Combine eggs, oil, cranberry juice, cranberries, and vanilla extract in a bowl.
• Slowly pour the egg/oil mixture into the flour mixture stirring until fully mixed together
• Grease the muffin pans
• Fill about 1/3 of pan with the batter and then spoon a tablespoon of apples into the batter. 
• Make another pass with the batter covering the apples and filling up the muffins about 2/3 full.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

There are more apples than we can keep up with. During these times we often add sliced apples to our salads. Today I decided to make muffins (always looking for reasons to pull out the Kitchen-Aid mixer). I searched for a basic recipe online and made the following. The bad news is it ended up only using two apples!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 cups finely chopped apples, peeled and cored

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375
• Mix first four ingredients in a bowl and mix together
• Chop apples. Keep in a bowl with some lemon juice sprinkled on top to prevent browning
• With mixer on low, add all remaining ingredients and mix until flour is moistened
• Spoon batter into a greased muffin pan
• Bake until golden brown on top - 18 - 24 minutes
• Let cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from the pan
  

Yields about 8-10 muffins. I used regular white flour today but next time I might experiment with whole wheat flour for some or all of the flour.