I’ve had such a crummy week, being sick and stressed for finals, so I decided to go to my happy place and bake something. I came across this recipe and fell in love with it instantly. It was simple to make and made the house smell wonderfully fruity.

Banana, Strawberry, and Orange Muffins (adapted from For the Love of Cooking):

  • 2 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoon  baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice (I used 1 orange)
  • 1 1/2 cups of strawberries, diced
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange zest, divided
  • 2 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. (If you don’t want to use paper liners, you could coat a muffin pan with cooking spray instead.)

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 tablespoon of orange zest together in a small bowl.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the bananas, eggs, brown sugar, melted butter, orange juice, and vanilla until well blended.

Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. (Don’t overbeat or else your muffins will end up being heavy and tough. Get the lumps out and make sure the mixture is just mixed.)

Add 1 cup of sliced strawberries and gently mix together.

Combine the sugar and remaining tablespoon of orange zest together.

Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Sprinkle the remaining strawberries evenly over the tops of each muffin, making sure to push them down a bit. Then, sprinkle sugared orange zest evenly on top of each muffin.

Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.