Strawberry banana muffins

Just the idea of strawberry banana anything makes me happy. It's a cheery combination that reminds me of childhood and sticky fingers and milkshakes on sunny days. It was only a matter of time, really, before I baked these two gorgeous fruits together in a muffin. A happy, smiley muffin that my kids adore as much as I do.

These muffins are simple to prepare. A mashed banana and a full two cups of chopped fresh strawberries go into the batter. That's a lot of strawberry banana goodness in each crumbly bite!

Here's how I made them:
makes one dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 overripe banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

While my oven preheated to 375 degrees (F), I creamed the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. To that, I added the eggs, oil, banana and vanilla and beat well until smooth (I used my stand mixer, but a hand-held electric beater or mixing by hand would work just fine). In a separate mixing bowl, I whisked together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. The dry ingredients were added gradually to the wet ingredients, beating well until smooth. The strawberries were stirred in last. I filled each cup of a greased standard muffin tin about three-quarters full and baked them until a toothpick inserted in the centre came out clean, which was 22 minutes in my oven.

Pretty little muffins, they are.

What's your favourite kind of muffin? Have you done any baking recently? Leave a comment and brag about your efforts!