Tag: Muffin Recipes For Kids

Cheeseburger Muffins

Muffin Mama1 Comment

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I grew up eating McDonald’s, so I consider it a supreme culinary accomplishment to recreate the perfect nuances of the McDonald’s cheeseburger in a compact, succulent muffin.

This is the pinnacle. This muffin brings together the perfect combination of ketchup, mustard, cheddar, and a buttery-meat taste of what we all crave in a cheeseburger. You can substitute turkey for hamburger meat. Serve warm with a side of sliced pickles for a healthy version of a fast food childhood memory.

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Cheeseburger Muffins (makes 18)

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp mustard
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a large frying pan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, milk, butter, eggs, and mustard; stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
5. Fold in beef mixture and cheese.
6. Distribute cheeseburger mixture into the muffin-pan cups, ¾ full.
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
8. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

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Chocolate Avocado Muffins

Muffin Mama1 Comment

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Trust me, you are going to want to eat these muffins morning, noon, and night, whether you like avocado or not. If the rich, deep chocolate flavor is not reason alone, the healthful properties of these muffins add more fuel to a daily diet of avocado in a chocolate muffin. These muffins are unbelievably rich; your kids will detect no hint of green.

Fun Facts about Chocolate and Avocado

-Both chocolate and avocado are full of antioxidants. In fact, avocados are among the most antioxidant-rich foods.

-Fat is an important part of a healthy diet, especially for children. The healthy fat of the avocado helps lower cholesterol.

-Avocados are an excellent source of fiber and folic acid. They contain several kinds of carotenoids, including lutein, which is essential for eye health.

-Aside from being irresistibly delicious, chocolate contains serotonin, which stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure.

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Sink your teeth into these muffins!

Chocolate Avocado Muffins (makes 18)

1 avocado, ripe
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup canola oil or unsalted butter, melted and at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
2 2/3 flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups frozen raspberries (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin pans with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix avocado and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs, butter, vanilla, and milk.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture, mixing just until moistened.
5. Fold in optional ingredients (raspberries or chocolate chips or both).
6. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan, filling each muffin cup about 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Lemon Ricotta Muffins

Muffin Mama1 Comment

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A wonderful way to start the day, these refreshing lemony ricotta muffins look fancy and taste delicious. Without the lemon, this recipe makes a great ricotta muffin. The almonds on top look great and add even more protein.

*Note: Omit almonds for young children.

Lemon Ricotta Muffins (makes 12)

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup), melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp lemon zest, finely grated (from 2 lemons)
1 egg
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/3 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta cheese and lemon zest. Add the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract.
4. Add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture and stir until just blended. This is a thick batter.
5. Using and ice cream scooper, divide the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and extra sugar on top. Prod almonds into batter, slightly.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are a pale golden color.

Green Monster Smoothie Muffins

Muffin Mama2 Comments

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My kids won’t touch spinach, but in a muffin, anything goes. I personally never got into the smoothie rage. I don’t like drinking my food and my kids are scared of monsters.

These super green muffins are sweet-like-cake and packed with protein and vegetables. Plus, calling anything “monster” piques a child’s interest.

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Green Monster Smoothie Muffins (makes 12)

3 ripe bananas
2 cups baby spinach
1 6oz container greek yogurt
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp honey
¾ cups flour
6 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1/8 cup canola oil
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a blender, puree the bananas, spinach, yogurt, peanut butter and honey.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, egg, oil, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Pour the smoothie mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.
7. Allow muffins to cool before removing them from the pan.

 

Crustless Quiche Muffins

Muffin Mama1 Comment

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In an attempt to tempt Michael to try spinach, I decided to mix the “loathed” vegetable with one of his favorite foods: eggs. Not only did he approve, but he gobbled down two! This recipe is also great for serving to last-minute company.

These individual, crustless quiches are perfect on-the-go meals. Whip up a batch (or two) on Sunday evening, and you have an easy go-to breakfast for busy weekday mornings. They’re also really versatile – this version features spinach and a combination of cheddar and mozzarella, but cooked broccoli and cheddar or crispy bacon can easily be substituted or added!

Note: Crustless quiches can be placed in a large ziplock bag or individually wrapped and frozen.

Crustless Quiche Muffins (makes 12)

4 large eggs
1 cup (or 1 10oz box) frozen chopped spinach or other vegetable
3/4 cup shredded cheese (I use a combination of mozzarella and Cheddar)
1/4 tsp salt
onion powder (to taste)
garlic powder (to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pans with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. Thaw spinach in microwave and squeeze out extra juice.
3. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
4. Spoon mixture into the cupcake liners until 3/4 full.
5. Bake for about 25-30 minutes.

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Macaroni and Cheese Muffins

Muffin Mama2 Comments

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Hooray for handheld mac and cheese! This spin-off of the traditional macaroni and cheese is an invitation for kids to eat with their hands. The layered textures are fun—the bottom, soft and decadent, melts in the mouth; the crunchy top is munchable. These muffins freeze well, re-heat easily and make tasty lunchtime treats.

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Macaroni and Cheese Muffins (makes 18)

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 Tbsp butter
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup milk (whole or skim)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt (to taste)
1 tsp pepper (to taste)

 

Crunchy Topping

1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. In a bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, olive oil, and salt.
2. Add cheese.

 

Muffins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook for about 8 minutes (until slightly firm).
3. Remove pot from heat, drain macaroni, and return macaroni to pot. Stir in butter and beaten egg until pasta is evenly coated.
4. Add to the pasta the Cheddar cheese, milk, Parmesan, mozzarella, and cottage cheese. Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir.
5. Distribute mixture into each cup of prepared muffin tin.
6. Sprinkle the Crunchy Topping mixture over the tops.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until tops are nicely browned.
8. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing muffins from the tin (this allows the cheese to set and muffins to take shape).

French Toast Muffins

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French toast is the ultimate comfort food. I craved it, and ate it, throughout my entire pregnancy. No wonder my kids have been fans of French Toast ever since they started solid food. These “cakes” taste exactly like my favorite French toast but with a finer texture. They are super portable – can be toted to the office or packed for a morning playdate or Sunday picnic.

Both toppings below are equally delicious. The first is a cinnamon and sugar glaze, and the second combines the traditional tastes associated with French Toast: drizzled maple syrup and powdered sugar. As on French toast, apply the topping by drizzling. Or, dip each muffin into a puddle of maple syrup and a mound of powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar mixture.

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French Toast Muffins (makes 10)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together egg, milk, and melted butter.
4. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir until just moistened (batter may be lumpy).
5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
7. Top each muffin with one of the two coatings (recipes below) and serve warm.

Topping 1: Cinnamon Sugar Coating

1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted

1. In a bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, melt butter.
3. Dip tops of finished muffins in the melted butter, and then in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Topping 2: Maple Sugar Coating

maple syrup (good quality)
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. With a toothpick, poke a few holes in muffin tops.
2. Use a spoon to drizzle syrup over muffin tops.
3. Sprinkle powdered sugar on tops.

 

My Muffin Obsession

Muffin Mama3 Comments

Ok folks, here’s how it all started…

My muffin obsession began the morning my first-born son entered tumultuous toddlerhood. On this particular morning, my little Michael obstinately rejected a spoon of banana puree, pushing my hand away like an angry teenager.

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I realized that I would have to find some kind of portable, protein-packed nourishment that would delight, occupy, and ward off tantrums. I needed a fun food that Michael could feed himself…found it…

The Muffin.

And so it began. As I whipped up batches in less than ten minutes and served muffins 20 minutes after, I knew that I had discovered a gold mine. These muffins were my solution – a global solution – for any mother who’s pressed for time and agonises over weekly meal planning. Did I mention clean-up consists of washing two mixing bowls and some utensils?

As I stocked our freezer with mini meals, I relished the joy of hosting thematic playdates with muffins that brought smiles to children and made adults feel like kids again.

A few weeks into my obsession with muffin making, after devouring four mac and cheese muffins, my husband expressed some concern. I believe his exact words were, “I’m afraid we’re going to be eating only muffins for the rest of our lives.” Hmmm.

My mantra became: “a muffin for all moments.” Michael was gobbling up French toast muffins for breakfast, cheeseburger muffins for lunch, and Thai turkey meatloaf muffins for dinner. For snacks, he happily munched on cheesy broccoli corn muffins or peanut butter and jelly muffins.

When my younger son, Joey, approached 18 months, I experienced yet another round of toddling tantrums and muffin fever. Now, after several years of muffin-making, playdates, and hunger-inspired tantrums, I’ve decided to start this blog to share my tried and true recipes. I hope I can provide some solace and sustenance. Enjoy!

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