Browned butter banana strawberry muffins

I'm not going to lie, getting through that cleanse was tough. I honestly didn't think I could go without sweets, yogurt or cheese for ten whole days.

I really shouldn't have tortured myself while on the cleanse but I accidentally did so in two ways.
1) I spent way too much money buying cheese at Trader Joe's the day before I started the cleanse--I actually had to put my cheese library in a tupperwear at the back of the fridge just so I wouldn't be tempted.
2) I discovered a list of the best food blogs and subsequently went a little nuts while browsing them in between customers in the tasting room last week.

Numerous new food blogs combined with deprivation does strange things to the brain. I found myself dreaming of a life where all I do is make/drink/critique wine and write a food blog. I began wondering if I would love being a doctor as much as I love food, learning about wine, drinking wine, reading about food, writing about food, taking pictures of food and dreaming up recipes.


My top five favorite blogs:
101 Cookbooks
Joy the Baker
Smitten Kitchen
What Katie Ate
Cannelle et Vanille

I snapped out of my obsession with becoming a professional foodie/wino the moment I ate these muffins. I am super excited to start medical school and spend the next four+ years of my life studying my butt off.

I followed this recipe and used half a cup of buttermilk instead of yogurt to make muffins... I baked my muffins for 22 minutes at 350 F. The oven at my new house is a bit temperamental so I would check them after 15 minutes and go from there.

6 ounces unsalted butter, melted and browned to just over 1/2 cup of butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/4 cup mashed banana (from about 3 medium bananas)

1/2 cup diced strawberries plus 1 strawberry very thinly sliced, for topping

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Butter will begin to foam and crackle as it melts. When the crackling subsides, the butter will begin to brown. Swirl the pan as the butter cooks. When the butter browns and begins to smell nutty, remove the pan from the flame and transfer the butter to a small bowl. Taking the butter out of the hot saucepan will stop the butter from overcooking and burning. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, and yogurt or buttermilk. Whisk in the mashed bananas. When butter has cooled, whisk in the browned butter.

Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients. Fold together, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to reveal any hidden pockets of flour. Fold in the diced strawberries. Fold together ingredients, but try not to over stir.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins and top with thinly sliced strawberries.

(Adapted from Joy the Baker)



I've mentioned this before but I freaking love breakfast!