Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins Recipe Review

I have a 4 and a half year old. Her list of acceptable food choices is limited. And as much as I’d like to be one of those noble moms who valiantly challenges their kids to eat anything and everything, I don’t. She’s healthy on her regular rotation of plain berries, bananas, broccoli, yogurt, mac and cheese, hot dogs, chicken, chicken nuggets, steak, fish, cereal, nuts, peanut butter crackers, ham, and fruit squishies. Oh and milk. She’s a milk-a-holic. We try to get her to vary her selection and sometimes we win, sometimes we don’t. I was told by a pediatric nutritionist that you have to ask a kid to try something new like 21 times before they’ll eat it, so keep up the effort.

Right.

Or, you can sneak vegetables into their muffins.

I like the second option.

My sister-in-law gave this book to me when the Cupcake was still gumming baby food.

The first thing we made were the cauliflower muffins which were a big hit in our house. I’ve tried a couple other things with mixed reception from the hubs and an emphatic “YUCK” from the Cupcake, but I thought for sure this recipe for Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins would be a winner all the way around.

Here’s what you need: 

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter – this is what I used:

• 1/2 cup carrot puree (recipe below)
• 1 large egg white
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Here’s what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spar or line with paper bakin cups.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix 1/2 cup of the brown sugar with the peanut butter, the carrot and banana purees, and the egg white, using a wooden spoon.

3. Put the flour, baking powder, bakin soda, and salt in a bowl and stir to mix. Add to the bowl with the peanut butter mixture and stir just to compbine (the batter will be  a little lumpy – d not over mix). Add the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar and stir once or twice.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 14 – 20 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool

5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freez for up to 1 month.

How to make the carrot puree:

1. Peel carrots, trim the ends and cut into 3 inch chunks
2. Steam for 10 to 12 minutes
3. Puree in a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes, with a few teaspoons of water if needed for a smooth texture.

Here are my take-aways:

• I think the muffins can keep in the fridge for longer than the 2 days that the book says. I’m fairly certain that I ate one on day 4 or 5 and I have lived to tell.
• I thought these were delish! Loved the batter (you have to try the batter!), and loved the muffins. They were hearty and smelled good and had just the right amount of crunch on top. Warmed up with butter was dreamy.
• The hubs scrunched his nose at them – but begrudgingly ate them anyway. He would never admit that he liked them. But he ate them. More than once.
• The Cupcake took one smell of them and declared them officially inedible. I may test that 21 tries theory on these though, I liked them that much.

Let me know if you make these and what you think!