Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

Ok, you get it... we like muffins. I like making lots of different kinds because I get tired of the same ol' thing! The boys really liked this one!

I found this recipe and adapted it to make it a little healthier. This muffin was really yummy and very filling! Perfect breakfast or snack!

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup quick cooking oatmeal (I used 2 pkgs of instant oatmeal with flax seeds)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS melted butter

3/4 cup sugar (I used sucanat)

2 eggs

2 medium size bananas, mashed

1 cup buttermilk

6 TBS creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease 12 cup muffin tin (I made mini's). In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients together. In medium size bowl mix the wet ingredients well. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until no flour streaks remain.

Divide batter evenly into muffin tin, filling almost to the top. Bake 16-20 minutes until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean.
Cool a few minutes before moving to wire cooking rack.

Spiced Pear Muffins

We were given some yummy pears a week ago and I thought they would go great in some muffins! We love muffins! So here is the recipe I came up with! The boys weren't crazy about these (they aren't big on nuts so if I make some more I'll do half without)... but I thought they were great! Perfect for these cooler mornings we're getting!

Spiced Pear Muffins

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sucanat (or sugar)

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/2 cup oil (I used coconut)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1-2 cups chopped pears*

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda salt and spices together. In a smaller bowl mix eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Fold in pears and pecans. Line muffin tin with paper baking cups. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely so that muffin doesn't stick to paper cups.

*I used 2 full cups of chopped pears and it was A LOT. They were good but you could definitely use less and they would still be good!

Chocolate Banana Muffin

We love muffins around here! They are quick to put together and a good double batch will make us a few breakfasts and snacks! I had a few bananas that needed to be used but I really wanted something a little different than banana muffins/bread. So, I decided to use my Double Chocolate Cherry Muffin recipe and alter it a bit. Here is the yummy result!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sucanat (unrefined sugar)
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil (or melted butter)
2-3 smashed overripe bananas

Preheat oven to 375. Grease tins or line with paper liners. In a medium bowl whisk buttermilk, eggs and vanilla together. In a large bowl whisk together flour, rapadura, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. With a spatula fold in wet ingredients and bananas until barely combined. Next mix in coconut oil. Spoon mixture into muffin tin and bake for 18-20 minutes. Toothpick in center should come out pretty clean with a few crumbs! These were super moist!

When I make this recipe, I make 12 regular muffins and 24 mini muffins! You could halve it easily and just make a dozen regular! They do freeze well so it's worth it to make the extra to me!

Double Chocolate Cherry Muffins

I had a bag of cherries in the fridge that really needed to be eaten! I LOVE cherries but these were almost too far gone. In all honesty, I had just forgotten about them. I have a serious fruit buying compulsion, especially during the summer months when fruit is so yummy! I buy too much! I guess that could be a good thing, right? Anyway, a few weeks ago, I had found a chocolate chip cherry muffin on a blog and thought I'd saved the recipe. Nope, could not find it. So, I found a few and just came up with my own version! They are so good!! The cherry flavor doesn't really come through too much, but they are still great! And healthy too!




Double Chocolate Cherry Muffins


1/2 cup coconut oil* (or melted and cooled butter)
2 large eggs (best if at room temperature)
1 cup buttermilk (best if at room temperature)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup rapaurda**
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped fresh cherries



Preheat oven to 375. Butter muffin tin or line with paper liners. In a medium bowl whisk buttermilk, eggs and vanilla together. In a large bowl whisk together flour, rapadura, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. With a spatula fold in wet ingredients and cherries until barely combined. Next mix in coconut oil. Spoon mixture into muffin tin and bake for 18-20 minutes. Toothpick in center should come out pretty clean with a few crumbs!



*If you've never used coconut oil, I highly recommend trying it. It is so good for you! In these muffins I can't taste/smell the coconut oil at all. If you have a problem with the smell of coconut, get refined coconut oil. When baking with coconut oil it's best to use room temperature milk/eggs because the coconut oil will solidify when added to something cold. I didn't set mine out very long but it mixed in fine. Always melt coconut oil in a pot on the stove. Or just set it near a hot oven and it will melt!

**Another note, rapadura is not the same as brown sugar. Brown sugar is not a healthy alternative to sugar. I think this is a huge misunderstanding. Brown sugar is basically white refined sugar with added molasses. So, it is not a better alternative. Rapadura is still sugar. It's just not processed or refined which means that it has much better nutritional value than white sugar. So, it is healthier but of course it should be used in moderation!



Oh and do you want to know what all fruit we have right now? I just went to the store yesterday and bought:

seedless watermelon
cherries (yes, more)
green grapes
clementines

and we already had:
peaches
apples
bananas
oh, and the old bag of cherries (they are gone now though!)

I also have organic frozen strawberries and blueberries in the freezer. How do we afford it?? Well, we get help from WIC. And also I buy more fruit than packaged snacks. I'd rather buy a bag of grapes than a box of crackers.

We're just a little fruity!

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Banana Blueberry Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour*
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar**
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. In bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt together. Beat sugar and butter together; add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Mix in mashed banana. Gradually add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in blueberries. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter into paper lined muffin tins. This recipe makes 9 muffins and doubles well! Double and put half in the freezer for quick breakfasts! Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean!

The boys LOVED these and I was soo happy to give them such a yummy and good for them treat!


*I'm using King Arthur Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour in my recipes and I love it! White wheat bakes up lighter than a red wheat, they also make an organic version but I haven't been able to find it around here.
**I used Rapunzel Pure Organic Whole Cane Sugar (Unrefined) in this recipe. It worked really well and tasted so good!