Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins

October 10, 2014February 23, 2015 Muffin MamaLeave a comment

A peanut buttery muffin with creamy, jelly-filled center trumps the PB & J sandwich any day. Its peanut butter isn’t sticky and its jelly doesn’t ooze all over the place. Plus, what child wouldn’t be pleasantly surprised to see frosting-like jelly inside.

The “frosting” actually contains some protein (cream cheese), which complements the amino acids in the peanut butter…shhh, don’t tell!

These muffins are quick and easy to prepare, requiring two mixing bowls and a whisk. They are fluffy, moist, soft and light. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or snacks.

*Possible Substitutions:

For the milk, substitute unsweetened vanilla almond milk or soy, cow, rice, goat, or coconut milk.
For the jelly, use strawberry jelly, jam, or preserves (or raspberry, apricot, raspberry, grape or cherry).
For the peanut butter, use soy nut butter.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins (makes 18)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1/2 heaping cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup jelly, jam or preserves
½ cup whipped cream cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk, milk, peanut butter, oil and vanilla extract.
4. Pour wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
5. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan, filling each muffin cup about 1/4 full.
6. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk cream cheese and jelly.
7. Spoon 1 tsp jelly filling onto each muffin cup. Top with batter to ¾ full.
8. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until tops are golden.

Pizza Muffins

October 8, 2014February 22, 2015 Muffin MamaLeave a comment

What child doesn’t like pizza? Mine! I’m continually perplexed that the even the smell of pizza doesn’t excite my kids. However, I’ve discovered that pizza in muffin-form is a gazillion times more interesting and fun.

This muffin doesn’t ooze or drip. The melted cheese on top looks like frosting on a cupcake. Try adding chopped mushrooms, onion, peppers, or sardines to the batter. Eat these muffins hot or cold. Serve for lunch or snack with a side of spaghetti or pizza sauce for dipping.

Pizza Muffins (makes 18)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 cup tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (or mozarella or both), shredded and divided
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups with olive oil or cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, basil, oregano, and sugar. Stir well until blended.
3. Mix in tomatoes and 1 1/2 cups of cheese.
4. In another bowl, beat egg, whisk in buttermilk, and stir until combined.
5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until half full.
6. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese on top of muffins.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean.

Grandma’s Pumpkin Muffins

October 6, 2014February 6, 2015 Muffin MamaLeave a comment

Just the smell of my grandmother’s pumpkin cake recipe brings memories of Autumn that make me think about apple orchards, the first day of school, and carving Jack-O’-Lanterns. I have turned her cake into nutritious muffins by adding a mix of golden and dark raisins and chopped nuts. If you bake these for Halloween, you might want to omit the nuts and raisins for young children. The recipe makes a great cake in a 10-inch Turk pan.

Grandma’s Pumpkin Muffins (makes 30)

2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can pumpkin puree (16 oz)
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dark raisins
1 cup chopped nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and pumpkin.
3. Add eggs 1 at a time and whisk well after each.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in the mixture.
5. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture. Mix until just blended.
6. Wash and dry raisins and then sprinkle with flour and then shake in sieve to remove excess flour.
7. Stir in raisins and nuts.
8. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Low-Sugar Banana Muffins

October 2, 2014February 6, 2015 Muffin Mama1 Comment

For Michael’s first birthday, I served these low-sugar banana muffins to compensate for the chocolate icing I lathered on top (his first-ever taste of chocolate). Michael ignored the chocolate icing and couldn’t get enough of the banana muffins!

For Joey’s first birthday, again, I served these muffins – some with icing and some without. The picture below demonstrates Joey’s choice.

This recipe is a great way to use rotten bananas. These muffins have plenty of potassium and not a lot of sugar. Plus, as you can see, for the toddler, they are much easier to eat than peeling and eating an actual banana!

Note: Omit raisins and walnuts for young children.

Low-Sugar Banana Muffins (makes 12)

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 medium bananas, cut into chunks
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
1/3 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup orange juice (or unsweetened orange juice)
1/2 cup raisins, soaked in water (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
3. In another mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork until they are all mushed. Add egg, applesauce, oil, and orange juice to the mushed banana.
4. Combine all ingredients in one bowl.
5. Fold in raisins and/or walnuts.
6. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan, filling each muffin cup about 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Apples & Honey Muffins

September 23, 2014February 23, 2015 Muffin MamaLeave a comment

Inspired by a Rosh Hashana playdate, these muffins are quite the comfort food and perfect for welcoming the Jewish new year. Made with crunchy rolled oats and honey, they are heavenly for the holy days. The combination of orange juice, applesauce, and cinnamon intensifies the flavor and makes these treats a perfect Rosh Hashana house gift.

This simple, delicious recipe is perfect for Rosh Hashana or just because. Start your own tradition by serving your next batch alongside sliced apples and honey. These muffins will definitely become a family favorite.

Apples & Honey Muffins (makes 12)

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats (or oatmeal)
l Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, rolled oats, baking powder and cinnamon. Make a well in the center.
3. In a small bowl, mix together applesauce, orange juice, honey, oil and egg.
4. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just to moisten.
5. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan, filling each muffin cup about 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 22 minutes.

My Muffin Obsession

August 20, 2014February 22, 2015 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.

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!

Muffin Mama

Recipes for little hands (and grown-ups, too)

Tag: Muffins