Imagine their surprise when the pervs click through and it's all gnomes and cleaning with vinegar.
But keep scrolling if you really want to see pictures of my muffin...Sicko.
Here are 3 really good muffin recipes that are pretty healthy and can add some extra veggies into your kids' diet--ala Deceptively Delicious, but not with purees. They're quick, easy, healthy snacks and Huck thinks he's getting a treat, when he's really getting zucchini & carrots or peas or pumpkin.
None of them contain refined white sugar and all 3 freeze well. I bake them in large batches and keep them in big baggies in the freezer. I often pop 2 frozen muffins in a little bowl when we head out to do something and dole them out once they thaw, which is very quickly. I also use mini muffin tins (you might need to shorten the cooking times by a tad) because he seems to prefer the smaller size. I swear, he'd probably eat dog shit if it was baked in a mini muffin tin.
Click continue reading below for the recipes...and my sexy muffin shots.
MORNING GLORY MUFFINS
This is a modified version of the Zucchini Muffin recipe from The Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook. These are so moist. The recipe says it makes 12 muffins but they must be the size of cantaloupes! I can get 24 mini muffins AND 8 regular muffins out of this recipe.
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt (I leave this out)
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
2 1/2 cups of assorted goodies: grated zucchini, grated apple, grated carrot, golden raisins, walnuts, coconut.
*My favorite combo is 1 cup zucchini (1 medium zucchini), 1 cup carrot (2 carrots), 1/2 cup apple (1 small apple). I don't peel anything because I like the added color (and nutrition). If you go a little over on these measurements, don't sweat it. They will still turn out great. And the balance of goodies really doesn't matter. I've done it every which way and they are always moist and delicious.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil muffin tins.
In a bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
*Oat bran in the sifter is a pain in the ass, so I recommend NOT sifting it. I just use a wire whisk on the whole thing and it's fine.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until pale yellow. Add the yogurt, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly mixed. With a rubber spatula, fold in the goodies. Then stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended.
Spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate muffin tin to ensure even baking (I never do this) then bake another 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Again, when you do mini muffins, you should check for doneness 5-10 minutes earlier than the recipe (for regular sized muffins) calls for. They just cook faster. Cool on a wire rack.
PUMPKIN MOLASSES MUFFINS
Got this out of The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. It doesn't have a
super pumpkin-y flavor, very delicate and dark. I've added more pumpkin here because I just think it's
better that way.
Again, the recipe says it makes 8 muffins but that must be if your making them in 9" pie shells or something. I can get 12 mini muffins AND 9 regular sized muffins out of this recipe. Or 24 minis and 5-6 mommy regular sized ones.
1 stick of butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin (I push it to 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin tins--with oil, shortening or butter, whichever you prefer.
Combine butter, brown sugar & molasses and beat until creamy. Add the pumpkin & egg and mix well.
In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix them with a whisk or fork.
Add the combined dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together with a mixing spoon until batter is smooth.
Spoon into muffin tins. Fill them about 2/3 full. Bake 15 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
ADDITIONS: Supposedly this is also great with chopped dates or prunes or walnuts, but I haven't tried it. I'd probably do about 1 cup total of added stuff.
VEGGIE CORN MUFFINS
I sometimes use these as a dinner side for Huck. You can make them with any good cornbread or cornmeal muffin recipe (people seem to be particular about their cornbread recipes). Look for a Southern Style cornbread recipe if you want to make them without refined white sugar. Frankly, I just use Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix (no sugar) and follow the instructions on the bag.
*Don't make my mistake and use paper cups. I had them left over from cupcakes and decided to give it a try. It makes a big mess getting the paper off. They would be much easier to deal with without the cups and we can all do without the added waste.
This really does make 12 muffins. Haven't done minis of these yet.
2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1-2 cups of diced veggies or organic frozen veggie, single or blend
Preheat oven to 400F. Oil/grease muffin tins.
Mix up everything except the veggies until blended. Fold the veggies into the batter.
*In the past I've used an organic frozen veggie blend with corn, peas, carrots and green beans (either Cascadian or Woodstock Farms), but Huck picks out the green beans. I guess their size really accentuates their veggie-ness and he's just can't pretend they aren't there. Next time I'll either find a blend that doesn't have the green beans or just do a single veggie. I think peas or carrots by themselves would both be good and you could call them "Green Polka Dot Muffins" or something equally innocuous.
ALTERNATIVE: CORN MUFFINS WITH RASPBERRY PRESERVES: Use the same mix or cornbread recipe. Spoon batter into muffin tin halfway then put on a dollop of an all-natural (or homemade) raspberry preserve. Then spoon more cornbread batter on top. Mmmmm. Cook the same as above.
Hope you enjoy these. When I have time--and ripe bananas--I'll share the recipe for my ELVIS MUFFINS, too. Be on the look out.