Food: Simply Delicious Deli's Banana Muffins

Why is it when you purchase bananas they decide to get overly ripe entirely too soon? I've found that even when I try to be dedicated to my purchase and consume them before they turn mushy, I still end up with a couple of seemingly undesirable bananas at the end of the week.

So what do you do when you have a couple of browned fruits glaring at you from across the kitchen? You make THE BEST BANANA MUFFINS ON EARTH (I'm not kidding). This moist and flavorful recipe originated at a little deli in Warren, OH that sadly is no longer in business. However, after it closed, a cookbook with customers' favorites was published...The Best of Simply Delicious Cookbook. I was lucky enough to receive a copy as a gift.

As a side note, I'll be sure to share other recipes from Walt and Andrea Lazar's cookbook in the future. It contains so many wonderful dishes. For example, one family favorite is a salad called "Spicy Peanut Noodle," consisting of noodles, sweet-and-spicy sesame-hot pepper sauce, whole peanuts and green onions. Another is the most incredible chicken salad using poached chicken, fresh lemons, homemade mayo and sliced almonds (my mouth is just watering thinking about spreading it over a fresh croissant).

Banana Muffins

From: The Best of Simply Delicious Cookbook (c 1992)

Ingredients

• 4 oz unsalted, room temperature butter
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 large, ripe bananas, mashed (MM Note: I've sometimes used three and it's turned out just fine)
• 2 c unbleached flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 4 T sour cream (MM Note: You can use low-fat sour cream, but using fat free will result in sub-par muffins)
• Zest from 1 orange (MM Note: When zesting, use only the colored portion of the rind, the white portion is bitter)
• Juice from 1 orange

Directions

• Cream together butter and sugar.
• Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition.
• Add bananas and mix well.
• In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and soda.
• Add dry ingredients to banana mixture. Stir until just mixed.
• Gently fold in sour cream, orange zest and orange juice. (MM Note: Be careful not to completely blend in the sour cream - otherwise you'll miss out on the nice, thick flecks of baked, sour cream goodness when you bite into the muffin).
• Spoon into greased (or lined) muffin tins.
• Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until done in center.