One Bowl Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

As we've shared before, the boys love muffins. Banana muffins are usually our go-to recipe as we almost always wind up with overripe bananas in the house. I'm always looking for ways to make them a little quicker and easier, which is why I've come up with this one bowl banana chocolate chip muffin recipe. Fast to make and easy to clean up.

When I make these, I always make them in our KitchenAid mixer, which makes the mixing fast and smooth. It had actually been a while since I made some, but we were pretty excited to enjoy a fresh batch this week.

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

If you've been reading us for a little while, then you know we love muffins here at Kitchen Floor Crafts. In fact, apparently we love them enough to travel with muffin ingredients. This weekend I traveled to a mini-college reunion at a friend's house, and I was so inspired to try a new recipe I brought the ingredients along with me. 

They were so delicious, and even moderately healthy, that they will definitely be making an appearance on our breakfast table on Valentine's morning. The mix of berries and white chocolate make them very family friendly. 

Applesauce and Yellow Raisin Spiced Muffins

So we made these yummy muffins late Sunday afternoon, and I'm embarrassed to admit they're already gone. All 12 of them, the whole dozen. And we didn't share any with anyone but us. Really, it's just a testament to how yummy they are.

As you know, we love cooking together here, and especially love baking (and eating) muffins. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

There's something about these cool evenings and warm days that instantly make me start craving "fall" food. My aunt had sent me a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins at the beginning of the summer and I'd been waiting for the right moment to try making them with Big Brother. The cool, crisp, sunny weather today had me convinced it was the right time.

The original recipe came from a Ranger Rick magazine and was one my aunt had enjoyed making with my cousins when they were little.

Raspberry Muffins

The other morning both Big Brother and I were in the mood for muffins, and as we're in the stages of emptying out the freezer to prepare for the coming of our summer CSA, I knew we had some frozen raspberries to use up. In the past I've enjoyed using this recipe from Eating Well. I had to tweak the recipe a little as I didn't have all the ingredients so my adapted recipe is below.

Hearty Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients:

zest of one orange
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk (with 1 tsp lemon juice)**
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
2 tbsp of Swedish Sugar (optional: a coarse, white sugar)
**(The original recipe called for buttermilk, but gave the tip that if you didn't have buttermilk you can mix 1 tsp of lemon juice into regular milk. Great to know!) 

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat 12 large muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. Use a peeler or zester to remove the zest from the orange. Combine the zest and the sugar in a large bowl and mix until the zest is evenly mixed into the sugar. Add the milk, oil, egg and vanilla and mix until blended.
3. Add the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the mixing bowl. Mix until just blended.
4. Gently fold in the raspberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle each top with a small amount of Swedish Sugar.
5. Bake the muffins until the edges and tops are lightly browned. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing onto a wire rack.

Cooking with Kids

There are so many benefits to cooking with kids. The math lessons that kids can gather from cooking and baking are endless; from practicing the early stages of counting, to understanding measurements, and a hands on approach to learning fractions. Cooking with kids also helps them to understand what goes into food so they can think about healthy choices. Kids are also more likely to try something they've helped make and they take pride in the finished product.

The challenge can be to find tasks which are developmentally appropriate yet still make the child feel involved in the process. And, when cooking with kids it will definitely take longer and definitely be messier. But, it will be fun.

Counting the liners as he puts them into the muffin pan. 

I measured the sugar, he poured it in. 

Oops! Accidents will happen. 

Adding the frozen raspberries. (We had picked two kinds this summer, a red raspberry and a golden variety.) 

Sprinkling on the Swedish Sugar. 

Are they done yet? 

We ate the muffins still warm with bananas and yogurt for a great morning snack! Yum!