The sketch

Turn the oven on. Use one big glass bowl for everything. Add the butter to the bowl and microwave it to soften it, then butter the muffin tin. Combine the rest of the wet ingredients with the butter and mix. Add the dry ingredients as a layer on top and mix them together before mixing everything together. Portion the batter into the muffin slots using your hands, then put the muffins in the oven.

This recipe evolved from Allrecipes’ Banana Muffins II.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2–3 ripe bananas (must be quite ripe!)
• ½ cup white sugar
• ⅓ cup butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• A pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
• ¼ cup lightly packed brown sugar, for sweeter muffins (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• ½ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Use the markers on a stick of butter for measuring, or eyeball it. Put the butter in a large microwave-safe glass bowl - large enough to eventually hold all the wet and dry ingredients. Microwave it for 40–50 seconds, until nearly melted.

3. Use a paper towel or pastry brush to butter the muffin tin. I dip the paper towel back into the melted butter once for every two slots.

4. Add the white sugar, egg, and bananas to the bowl. If you want sweeter muffins, add the brown sugar too. I like mine only slightly sweet, so I skip the brown sugar. Mash everything together with a fork. I usually make one or two passes and accept some banana chunks.

5. Add the vanilla and give the mixture a quick stir so the egg is beaten in.

6. Add the flour on top, followed by the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and a few pinches of nutmeg.

7. Mix the dry ingredients together on top for about 20 seconds. Try not to pull in the wet ingredients yet, but it’s fine if it happens.

8. Mix everything together for another 30 seconds. Make sure no pockets of flour remain, but try not to overmix.

9. Mix in the chocolate chips.

10. Use one hand to plop the batter into the muffin slots, filling each about two-thirds full. I usually make a second pass to even them out. In my 3-by-6 muffin tray, I sometimes end up with 1–3 empty slots.

11. Open the oven with your clean hand and put the muffins in. Wash your other hand and set a timer for 20 minutes. If this is your first time, try setting the timer for 18 minutes and checking then. It will probably take around 23 minutes.