Whole Wheat Banana Toddler Size Muffins

I am a huge fan of the mini-muffin pan. A woman with a toddler obviously invented it. She figured out that no matter what she baked inside of it...her picky "I don't like it" before I even tried it toddler would eat it. Brilliant! My toddler will eat almost anything I bake in my little nugget of a muffin tin. She finds immense delight in calling anything "baby ones". Thus, making everything mini...edible. So, I made these muffins for her Mother's Day Out class in hopes that all the toddlers would have the same reasonable logic.

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
2/3 c. Canola oil
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
3 bananas
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. nuts (optional- I usually leave these out when making them for children)

Mix: Oil, sugars, eggs and bananas. In a separate bowl combine whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add: Dry mixture to wet mixture just until blended.
Bake: Fill mini muffin tin 1/2-3/4 full for 8-10 min. Be sure to not over bake as they will get drier and drier the longer you over cook them. You can also use a regular sized muffin tin and bake for the same amount of time.

PB & J Surprise Muffins

I think that the marriage of peanut butter and jelly is possibly one of the greatest inventions of all time. Right up there with the portable potty that fits in the back of mini vans.

There are two kinds of PB & J sandwich lovers.

One has a stronger love for the peanut butter...slathers it on real thick and likes that it sticks to the top of their mouth (along with the bread) and is ridiculously hard to swallow without some sort of liquid. This type of person likes just a smidgen of jelly on that sandwich. Just enough that the sweetness just barely gets on their taste buds. These are my people.

The other is the jelly lover. Loves a thick layer of sugary jelly that overpowers the skinny layer of peanut butter. These types do not like the stickiness factor or so I have been informed. I cannot understand this sort of love as I do not appreciate the jelly overload. However, I am convinced that these people are also the type who eat jelly-filled donuts. Your out there...I know it...I have some in my family.

So, when I saw this recipe for muffins with PB and a jelly filling I was a bit apprehensive (being a PB girl) as they have a dabble of jelly filling. But, I gave it a whirl anyway figuring that all that bread around it could drown out the jelly if it was too overpowering. It turns out they are perfectly tasty.

To boot these tasty muffins are actually "healthy" which in my book is defined as "anything made with wheat flour- regardless of butter/sugar content".

PB & J Surprise Muffins

1 3/4 c. flour (white or whole wheat)

1/3 c. sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1 egg

3/4 c. milk

1/3 c. melted butter

1/2 c. jelly

Mix: All ingredients in order that they appear in the recipe. Batter will be thick.

Place: 1 tbsp. of batter into muffin tin and make indentation with finger. Then place 1 tsp. jelly in center. Cover with another tbsp. batter and spread until jelly is not visible. I do not use muffin cups, but knock yourself out.
Bake: 375 degrees for 18-20 min.
Yield: 1 dozen