Muffins – Page 2 – The Pajama Chef

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

May 22, 2015September 16, 2017 Sarah

Add some pumpkin to your normal banana muffins for a fun twist on a classic recipe. 🙂

When you move, you often have a lot of food to use up so you don’t have to haul it across town. Or is that just me? Soooo I hope you can bear with me as I talk about pumpkin in May. I love it year round, and hope a lot of you do too! Ha!

As you know if you’ve ever read my blog, I love muffins. SO much. I almost always have them wrapped in sandwich bags to add to our work lunches–it’s so handy. And since I try to make most of my muffins on the healthier side, it’s a fun good-for-you pseudo-dessert to enjoy during the work day. I’m sure some nutritionists/dieticians might disagree with me on this… but heyyy I like my muffins and I’m not ashamed of it. 🙂 Muffins aren’t ever filling enough for a normal breakfast, but they are a great lunchbox addition or snack. I know these muffins don’t look like much, but they taste great. Like their name implies, they’re a cross between banana and pumpkin muffins. Neither flavor overwhelms, and both flavors go great with pumpkin pie spice. I love making muffins with lots of fruit and/or spice so you don’t have to have tons ‘o sugar to get tons ‘o flavor. I know this is a recipe I’ll turn to again and again since I always have brown bananas on hand, and come fall, will have half empty cans of pumpkin to use up. If you want to spice these up a bit, feel free to stir in some sliced almonds or mini chocolate chips. Mmm! Enjoy!

two years ago: Apple Cream Chicken
three years ago: Pork Chops with Balsamic Blackberry Salad + Orzo

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Servings: 12-16
Time: 30 minutes
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adapted from Simmworks Family Blog

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2-3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray or line with paper liners. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice.

In a smaller bowl or measuring cup, whisk together bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs, and vanilla, until fully combined.

Add wet mixture to dry mixture, gently folding until combined. Divide batter between prepared muffin cups, then bake for 13-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Healthy Tropical Banana Muffins

January 7, 2015January 1, 2015 Sarah

Fresh ginger, yogurt, and coconut oil make for a healthy tropical banana muffin that you won’t be able to resist!

Banana muffins… can you ever have enough recipes? I think not. These banana muffins aren’t your basic cinnamon/nut laced version. These banana muffins are tropical and healthy. Perfect for a dreary January morning, methinks. And the shredded coconut on top is just the start of the amazingness!

It’s honestly been a few months since I made these delicious muffins, so I don’t have one in front of me right now. Sad day! But I do remember just how wonderful these tasted. It’s only been recently that I’ve started to buy fresh ginger, and let me tell you… fresh ginger is just SO wonderful. It’s fragrant as you’re grating it, and then it adds a little extra burst of flavor with the bananas, coconut oil, and warm spices. These muffins are a nice way to escape on a lil vacation at breakfast or snacktime, even if it’s just an average winter weekday back at home. Enjoy!

one year ago: Cranberry Steel Cut Oats with Caramelized Pears
two years ago: Mexican Cornbread Pot Pie
three years ago: Lasagna Soup
four years ago: Whole Wheat Cornbread

Healthy Tropical Banana Muffins

Servings: 12 muffins
Time: 20 minutes
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adapted from A Hint of Honey

Ingredients:

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour [could use all white whole wheat/all all-purpose]
1/4 cup all-purpose flour [could use all white whole wheat/all all-purpose]
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt [or plain yogurt/sour cream]
2 tablespoons brown sugar [may want to increase to 1/4 cup if using plain yogurt or sour cream]
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large ripe bananas, mashed [about 1 cup]
shredded coconut, for topping

Directions:

Grease muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper liners. Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, stir together yogurt, brown sugar, oil, eggs, ginger, vanilla, and bananas. Fold wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way full, then top with shredded coconut. Bake until golden, approximately 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Leftovers can be frozen for a later time.

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

SRC: Gingerbread Muffins

November 30, 2014December 5, 2014 Sarah

The warm, spicy flavor of gingerbread in a muffin, instead of fussy cookies. Perfect for breakfast, teatime, or anytime!

This month for the Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to Jessie Weaver, written by Jessie. 🙂 Jessie lives with her family in Tennessee too–in fact, she used to live in Nashville! How fun. Jessie has three little ones and still has time to blog on many subjects, from recipes to faith to family fun. Going to her blog is always a joy and I love seeing what she posts for Secret Recipe Club each month. While Jessie has a lot of great recipes on her blog, two that caught my eye were Peanut Butter Pie with Pretzel Crust and Gingerbread Muffins with White Chocolate Chips. I let Ben pick and muffins it was! These muffins are SO seasonally appropriate, huh? 🙂

I always love a good muffin, and these were no exception. They come together in just a few minutes in one bowl for easy cleanup… and smell absolutely amazing as they bake! We put up our tree on Friday and let me tell you, I should have made them while we were decorating. These muffins can compete with a gingerbread candle for best smell ever. I actually have a gingerbread candle, so I should do a test run. Haha. But as for taste, I think muffins win over candles any day! They’re perfect to make on a cold afternoon during the holiday season. If you like, you can add white chocolate chips like Jessie did. I’m sure they’re great that way too. Enjoy!

one year ago: Dark Chocolate Ginger Squares
two years ago: Caramel Apple Dip
three years ago: Honey Yeast Dinner Rolls
four years ago: Pumpkin Pancakes

Gingerbread Muffins

Servings: 12
Time: 30 minutes
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from Jessie Weaver

2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil [coconut or canola, or melted butter]
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, optional — I think cinnamon chips could also be yummy too

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray well with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, ginger, baking soda, and sugar. In a measuring cup, whisk together oil, molasses, milk, and eggs. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just mixed. Fold in white chocolate chips, if using, then divide batter between muffin cups, about 2/3 way full.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

For more SRC recipes, check out the link below:

Linked up with Weekend Potluck.

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

SRC: Cranberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

November 2, 2014November 5, 2014 Sarah

These sweet muffins swirled with cranberry compote and a delicious cream cheese center are the perfect afternoon snack!

Welcome to November’s Secret Recipe Club! This month I was assigned to Maxine’s blog, Why I Am Not Skinny. Maxine is a South African expat living in Brussels… two great places! I’ve been to South Africa for a few days when I was in Lesotho for part of a summer in college, and I would absolutely love to go back. On her blog, Maxine shares so many delicious recipes and restaurant recommendations. If/when I go to Brussels I will have to check out her blog again! Though I really wanted to make her Pea and Mint Risotto or Pumpkin Fritters, I settled on these Cranberry and Cream Cheese Muffins because I wanted a sweet treat. 🙂

I also kind of wanted to make these as a sort of redemption for Maxine, because her muffins didn’t come out quite as well as BBC’s picture. And I am SO glad I did. They were tangy and creamy and all sorts of deliciousness. Though they weren’t quite as simple as most muffins are–you have to make the cranberry compote and the cream cheese filling, they are well worth it. Next time [and there WILL be a next time] I think I’ll skip mashing the cranberries so as to have bigger chunks in the muffins, and I might reduce the temperature for baking down to 325 or 350 so they don’t brown quite as quickly. Some of my unpictured muffins definitely got a little dark. Maxine, I hope my muffins live up to your expectations! Thanks for a great recipe! 🙂

one year ago: Pumpkin Graham Muffins
two years ago: Pollo alla Poggia Alloro
three years ago: Homemade Maple and Brown Sugar Almond Butter
four years ago: Pumpkin Soup and Homemade Croutons

Cranberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

Servings: 12
Time: 30 minutes
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from Why I Am Not Skinny

Ingredients:

100 grams/3.5 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
250 grams sugar/1 cup + 2 tablespoons, divided
175 grams/6 ounces fresh cranberries [frozen can also be used, just add a splash of water or apple cider to help liquify]
200 grams/26 tablespoons flour – UPDATED: I used this calculator to come up with this. When I made the recipe I used my kitchen scale and didn’t measure in tablespoons… I think the previous measurement I had here was wrong. So sorry about that!
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
75 ml canola oil [this is just between 1/4 and 1/3 cup]
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well with cooking spray.

Beat together cream cheese with 2 tablespoons sugar. Place in refrigerator to chill until ready to use.

In a small saucepan, combine another 2 tablespoons sugar with 6 ounces fresh cranberries. Heat on medium, stirring occasionally, until cranberries pop. Then mash gently with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla, and almond extract. Fold in wet ingredients into the dry, then fold in cranberries. Do not overmix or else the batter will bleed.

Scoop batter–it will be thick–into prepared pan, about 1/2 to 2/3 way full. Do not overfill. Use a spoon to scoop a ball of cream cheese mixture into batter, pressing down gently. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Notes:
Some of my muffins spilled over the top of the muffin cups because I filled them too full, so don’t make that mistake.

Also, you may want to skip mashing the cranberries so the batter bleeds less.

Do not overbake–cheese may still seem a bit soft. If muffins are browning too much, cover with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking or reduce heat to 325 degrees F.

Be sure to check out all the other fun recipes made this week for the Secret Recipe Club below!

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

October 13, 2014October 4, 2014 Sarah

Cute lil mini muffins filled with bananas and chocolate are perfect lunchbox treats!

Even though it’s pumpkin season, I bet you still have some brown bananas hanging about, needing to become banana bread, right?!? Well, next time you do, you will have to try these adorable Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins! I have a million banana bread recipes on my blog, and I love every one of them. 🙂 This one is no exception! Each muffin is full of mini chocolate chips and tons of banana flavor. You know how some banana recipes only call for one banana? That’s never enough, and this recipe knows it. That’s why it includes THREE bananas. Triple the banana love, folks!

These muffins are extra moist and rich thanks to the double dose of butter and sour cream in the batter. Is it weird that the first thing that came in my mind while typing butter and sour cream is, “boy, I’d like a baked potato.” Wait–don’t answer that. I guess I’m hungry. 🙂 While baked potatoes and banana muffins don’t go together, these muffins pair perfectly with a tall glass of milk or a cup of hot cocoa. Ben has become, can we say, a bit obsessed with chocolate milk recently, so he’d say you should serve the little guys with chocolate milk, but I say, drink whatever kind of milk suits your fancy. 🙂

Normally I prefer our everyday lunch/snack muffins to be on the healthy side, but sometimes you gotta live it up and enjoy the chocolate! 🙂 There’s plenty to go around!

Just look at all those mini chips on top! That’s why I love mini chocolate chips…spreading the wealth! YUM!

one year ago: Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cake with Nutella Frosting
three years ago: Roasted Vegetable Soup
four years ago: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Servings: 36
Time: 30 minutes
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from The Lively Kitchen

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana [about 3]
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin pans with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.

With a mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one by one, mixing well in between. Beat in bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Slowly mix in flours and baking soda by hand until just combined, then fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon into prepared pans and bake for 10-13 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. These freeze well!