Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins

These muffins are probably, hands down, the most tasty muffin that I have made in my life. Ever. If you love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, then this is the muffin for you!! I found this recipe in Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook and just the thought of a peanut butter and jelly muffin made me salivate! I made a few changes to her recipe (it should just be expected now that I will find something to change in a recipe!) and I have to say that not a one of them was regretted!

This muffin is best served once cool. For two reasons. Reason number one - the peanut butter and jelly flavors stand out much better once cooled. Reason number two - you will burn your mouth terribly bad from the hot jelly if you eat these muffins straight from the oven! Talking from experience here! You would think that burning my mouth pretty badly the first time around would have changed my mind from wanting to try another straight away, but no. I immedietely grabbed a second muffin and proceeded to burn my mouth again on the hot jelly! I gave up until the muffins were cooled and ate two more once they had cooled a bit. So that's 4 of these muffins within 3 hours of them being out of the oven, all to myself.

Don't judge me. At least they are healthy muffins with veggies!!

Ingredients...

...1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

...1/2 c. carrot puree (Steam or boil some carrots until soft, then put in food processor with water until it is smooth)

...1/2 c. brown sugar

...2 T. butter

...1/2 c. vanilla yogurt

...1 egg white

...1 c. flour

...1 tsp. baking powder

...1 tsp. baking soda

...1/2 tsp. salt

...1/2 c. jam/preserves/jelly (I used my homemade strawberry rhubarb jam...sooooo good!!)

Directions...

In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, carrot puree, sugar and butter until well combined. Stir in the yogurt and egg white. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until just combined, but do not overmix (lumps are okay!). Spoon the batter into 12 greased or lined muffin cups and then create a "well" in the top of each muffin. Drop a spoonful of the jam (or preserves/jelly) into each "well". Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Banana Nut Muffins

Remember a few weeks ago when I was craving what I thought to be an apple muffin? Well, I learned with that recipe that maybe it wasn't an apple muffin I was craving at all. So I kept at making muffins until I discovered that what I was actually craving was a moist, chewy banana nut muffin. Yep. Not exactly apple muffins.

Darn you, pregnancy cravings. Why can't you be more clear?

You know those monster muffins that they sell at Perkins? The ones that you just know are so calorie laden that you shouldn't even look at them for fear of what will happen to your hips. But you still order one anyways and then proceed to enjoy every last crumb. Yeah...that's what I wanted. Minus all the calories.

Is it really possible to get the best of both worlds? Why yes. Yes it is.

I found this recipe in my trusty ol' hometown church cookbook and this recipe alone just goes to prove that little ol' church ladies really do know what they're talking about when it comes to making a tasty dish!

Ingredients...

...1 c. flour
...1/2 c. sugar
...2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
...1/2 tsp. salt
...3/4 c. quick oatmeal
...1/3 c. nuts (I used cashews and crushed them up)
...1 egg
...3 T. oil
...1/2 c. milk
...1/4 tsp. baking soda
...1/2 c. mashed bananas

Directions...

Mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nuts and oatmeal. In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs and then stir in the milk and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and then stir in the bananas. Stir only until the dry ingredeints are moistened. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

To see more great recipes, be sure to check out Friday's at the Table over at And Baby Makes Five, Foodie Friday's over at Designs by Gollum and Food on Friday's over at Anne Kroeker!

Apple Muffins

I have been craving a moist, spicy, nutty apple muffin for weeks now. I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and make one. I've made lots of muffins before, but never an apple cinnamon muffin. So I searched high and low over at Allrecipes and finally decided that this particular recipe was the chosen one.

I'm not going to lie.

This was nothing like I was hoping for. While it was good...there just wasn't enough "spice" to it. And I forgot to add in nuts. And there was too much apple.

However, for what it's worth, despite that this muffin didn't meet my craving, it was pretty good. Kind of a dense muffin, not so much a light and fluffy muffin.

Ingredients...

...2 c. flour

...1 T. baking powder

...1/2 tsp. salt

...1 tsp. ground cinnamon

...3/4 c. milk

...2 eggs

...1/4 c. applesauce

...1/4 c. honey

...1 c. chopped apples

Directions...

In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs. In a larger bowl, stir together dry ingredients until well combined. In another seperate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Gently fold in beaten eggs. Add wet mixture to flour mixture until everything is just moistened. Fill greased muffin cups until 3/4 full and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

To see more delicious recipes, check out Tempt my Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace and Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

This is supposed to be a muffin. I swear. But it came out more like a cupcake. Actually. This probably should be titled "Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes". But can we pretend not so that I can still eat these for breakfast guilt free?

Just don't judge me if I choose to add some chocolate frosting...

These muffins/cupcakes are really moist. Almost too moist. They fell apart very easily, and didn't cut in two as easily as I please for a muffin to for buttering purposes. But ohhhh was it sooo goooodd!!

Alright. I give. Eat these for breakfast. Every. Day. Because they're good. And if you need a cupcake recipe too, then these will do.

Let's just call these the Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcake Muffin and call it good.

Ingredients...

...1 chocoalte cake mix
...1 can pumpkin
...2 eggs
...1 tsp. cinnamon
...1 tsp. vanilla

Directions...

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined and there are no dry pieces left. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Orange Raisin Muffins

I was searching for a new and different muffin recipe the other day when I came upon this. Orange flavored muffins...sounds, well, interesting. I almost passed it over and kept looking, but my interest was caught. I knew I must try this muffin recipe. When I bit into this muffin, it was like I was eating a fresh orange...except in bread form. Seriously! I'm amazed at how true the fresh orange flavor stayed in this muffin! Usually in baking, flavors get lost, but the orange taste shows right through in this recipe! Luuuurrrrvvveee it! When I was mixing up the ingredients, I was in love with how much like an Orange Julius it smelled. Which got me to thinking that I need to research a muffin option to taste just like a Julius. And if there are no recipes out there, then I will make one.

Mark.

My.

Word.

Ingredients...

...1 large orange
...1/2 cup orange juice
...1/2 cup applesauce (you can also substitute butter or plain yogurt if you have no applesauce)
...1 egg
...1 1/2 cups flour
...3/4 cup sugar
...1 tsp. baking powder
...1 tsp. baking soda
...1 tsp. salt
...1/2 cup raisins

Directions...

Peel orange and place peel in blender or food processor. Split orange into sections and also place in blender or processor. Add orange juice as well, and then blend or process until smooth. Add egg and applesauce, continuing to blend until all ingredients are smooth and there are no lumps. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Stir in orange mixture until all ingredients are wet. Fold in raisins. Portion into muffin tins and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

To see more recipes featuring oranges, check out the In Season Recipe Swap over at Tammy's Recipes!

Low Fat Banana Muffins

Remember those delicious Healthy Pumpkin Pie muffins that I made a few weeks back, and how excited I was about having a super healthy muffin recipe? Well here's another! I love banana bread, and have perfected that recipe of mine down to an art, so here's a banana muffin recipe that is a sure keeper! PLUS, it's (virtually) fat free!

Ingredients...

...2 eggs
...4 bananas
...2 cups flour
...1 tsp. salt
...1/2 c. sugar
...1 tsp. baking soda
...1/4 c. milk (not pictured)
...1 tsp. cinnamon (not pictured)
...1 tsp. vanilla extract (not pictured)

Directions...

In a small bowl, mash and stir together bananas, eggs, milk and vanilla. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients until well combined. Spoon batter into a greased muffin tin and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Muffins

One of the things I love about this time of year is getting to do so much baking with pumpkin. It's just so warm and inviting! And it makes my house smell a.maz.ing. which means I don't have to buy any special fall scented air fresheners. Soooo...I decided instead of filling up on calorific pumpkin pie and other such deliciousness, I would give my ever growing baby belly a healthier, less caloried up, option. So I found a basic healthy pumpkin muffin recipe, made some tweaks here and there and came up with this! Besides...I'll have enough calorie and fat watching with being pregnant through the holiday season (oh Lord, help me...), I figured I wouldn't need to start worrying about that now. Plus...I wanted something kind of healthy to make up for Halloween this coming weekend....*looks nervously around*

Ingredients...

...1 1/2 cups plus 1 T. flour
...1 1/3 cups white sugar
...1/2 tsp. baking powder
...1/2 tsp. baking soda
...1/2 tsp. salt
...1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
...1/2 tsp. cinnamon
...1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
...2 eggs
...1/2 (of a 15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree
...1/3 cup vanilla yogurt (plain will work as well. or unsweetened applesauce.)

Directions...

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. In a seperate, smaller bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin puree and yogurt until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined and a batter is formed. Grease 12 muffin cups and fill each cup halfway with muffin batter. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This recipe makes 18 muffins

To see other great breakfast recipe ideas to kick start your day, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap over at Life as Mom.

Berry Oatmeal Muffins

I bought a bag of fresh berries at Aldi two weeks ago or so, with the intent to make delicious berry muffins with them. When I found this recipe, I knew it was a winner because it called for wheat germ...which is the first recipe in a while that I've came across calling for that. And beings that I bought a pretty big bag of wheat germ at the local Bulk Foods Amish store this past spring, I've been anxious to use it. This is a healthy to boot recipe which is great for those watching what they eat and their health. Overall, this was a pretty good recipe. I was disappointed with the lack of rising that the individual muffins did, but otherwise it's a great alternative to cold cereal for breakfast!

Ingredients...

...3/4 cup cooking oats
...1/4 cup wheat germ
...1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
...1/2 cup white sugar
...1 tbs. baking powder
...3/4 cup milk
...1/2 cup plain yogurt (you can substitute butter, oil or applesauce)
...1 egg
...1 cup fresh berries (I used fresh frozen)

Topping...

...1/4 cup cooking oats
...1/4 cup brown sugar
...1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions...

In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in milk, yogurt and egg until dry ingredients are moist and all is well combined. Fold in fresh berries. Scoop into prepared muffin cups. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients until well mixed and sprinkle on top of muffin batter. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Apple Strudel Muffins

I had some apples leftover that I found on clearance for 20c/lb last week. I already have several pints of applesauce in my freezer, so I decided to switch it up and make some baked goods with the apples...

Ingredients...

...2 cups flour
...1 tsp. baking powder
...1/2 tsp. baking soda
...1/2 tsp. salt
...1/2 cup butter
...1 cup white sugar
...2 eggs
...1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
...2 cups chopped apples

...1/3 cup brown sugar
...1 tbsp. butter
...1 tbsp. flour
...1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Directions...

Preheat oven to 375*. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and eggs. Add in vanilla and apples. Slowly stir in flour mixture until well blended. Fill muffin cups with mixture. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and butter until it comes coarsely together. Put topping on muffins. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes or until golden.

My Thoughts...

This was a really great muffin! I loved the streusel topping, and the moist apple flavor offered by this muffin! What a great change from cold cereal at breakfast!

Sugared Rhubarb Muffins

I made these muffins to have on hand for breakfasts this week, and when hubs got home from work, the following conversation took place...

"mmmm muffins! They're rhubarb aren't they?" **sense a little disappointment on his part here**
"yes...how did you guess?"
"because thats ALL you make anymore. rhubarb EVERYTHING!"

oh. uhhhhh....guilty as charged? Oh well...

The ingredients...

...2 c. flour
...1 c. sugar
...2 t. baking powder
...1 egg
...1 c. milk
...1/3 c. oil (I used plain yogurt...which did not work out. So I highly recommend just using the oil. Or perhaps applesauce.)
...1 c. rhubarb
...1/2 t. vanilla
...cinnamon sugar mixture

Directions...

Preaheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. In another, smaller, bowl, combine egg, vanilla, milk and oil. Stir wet mixture into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in rhubarb. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, and sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

My Thoughts....

These were good. But as mentioned above, I used plain yogurt and it simply did not work out. I'm eager to try this with the oil and see if it turns out right. But seriously, this was a really good muffin and I will definetely make it again with the proper adjustments!