Recipe: Small Batch Banana Muffins

I had one, very ripe banana left, and I didn't want it to go to waste. Most banana bread recipes call for more than one banana, aaaaand I'm kind of tired of making banana bread (been there, done that*). I found this recipe on the Cook Fast, Eat Well blog that called for just one banana, and it was only a small batch of muffins, so that was perfect (I don't need to be eating a dozen-plus muffins on my own). 

Ingredients

•         1 large ripe banana
•         ¼ cup granulated sugar
•         2 ½ tablespoons butter, melted
•         1 large egg
•         ½ cup all-purpose flour
•         ½ teaspoon baking powder
•         ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1.   Heat Oven. Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line four muffin cups with paper liners or grease generously with nonstick cooking spray.

2.   Make Batter. Mash banana in a medium bowl with a fork. Add sugar. Stir to combine. Add melted butter and egg. Stir until smooth. Add flour and baking powder. Stir until a batter forms.

3.   Bake. Scoop batter into the prepared muffin pan, about ⅔ full. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

4.   Cool. Remove pan from the oven. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

This recipe is not the greatest. I thought it was weird that I had to read more than one sentence to learn how hot to heat the oven. And while the ingredients list salt, no where in the directions does it tell you when to put the salt into the batter. I'm an experienced baker, so I caught this, but a newbie would wonder, "Wait, why did I measure out this salt if I'm not going to put it into the muffins?" Also, there was too much batter to fill four muffins tins 2/3 of the way full. I made mine completely full, because there wasn't enough batter to go around for a fifth muffin. And even though the recipe says to bake the muffins for 20 minutes, all ovens are different, and every recipe should include a step to test if the batter is fully cooked (i.e. stick a toothpick in the center and see if it comes out clean). 

While I can't say the recipe was written well, these blonde muffins

*If you do want to make banana bread, I've made it MANY times. Here are some recipes I've tried:

• Easy Banana Bread
• Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
• Chai-Spiced Banana Bread
• Banana Peanut Butter Bread (Peanut Butter Banana Bread?)
• Strawberry-Banana Bread
• Buttermilk Banana Nut Bread (scroll down to the bottom)