Peanut Butter & Jelly Banana Muffins



 

My PB&J Banana Pancakes were so delicious I just had to turn them into a muffin.  I worked from my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe with a few minor adjustments based on what I had on hand.  I didn't have any Earth Balance vegan butter so I figured I would make these without any added fat.  I had a Silk strawberry soy yogurt so I threw in that in lieu of the Earth Balance (applesauce is also a good sub for butter or oil in baking).  Since I was going healthy with these I used whole wheat and oat flour.  I'd say they turned out pretty great for a healthy little treat.  I'm also going to try baking this in a loaf pan and adding extra layers of jelly so stay tuned for that!

 

 

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Ingredients

1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond or Soy Milk

1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice or Apple Cider Vinegar

1 1/2 cups Flour (I use 1 cup Whole Wheat + 1/2 cup Oat Flour)

1/2 cup Quick Oats

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/3 cup Earth Balance Vegan Butter, softened (optional: sub applesauce or soy yogurt)

1/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar (packed)

3 very ripe Bananas (medium-large size), mashed

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

 

Jelly or fruit preserves (raspberry or strawberry are my faves)

 

Peanut Butter Glaze

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

3 Tbsp almond milk

3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

 

Method

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin pan, set aside.

Mix lemon juice and soy milk in small bowl and set aside (this will curdle slightly).

Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon), set aside.

In another bowl add butter, sugars, mashed banana and mix with an electric mixer on low speed (or whisk by hand) for about a minute or two. Next whisk in the almond milk/lemon, and vanilla. Whisk together until mixed.

Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined (you don't want to over mix). Add heaping tablespoon full of mixture to muffin tins, should be about half full.  Next in each muffin tin add about a teaspoon of jelly to middle.  If you want more peanut butter flavor then add a bit on top of jelly (see pic below).  Then take remaining batter and dollop on top gently smoothing out.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

While baking make your peanut butter glaze by whisking the ingredients together in a bowl.  You can adjust ingredients to taste. 

 

When muffins are done, let cool and then spread glaze on them.  Can be topped with chopped peanuts for crunch or a sprinkle of powdered sugar to make them pretty!

 

 

 

 



Homemade Corn Tortillas

When you can't find good corn tortillas without unecessary additives and preservatives, there's only one option: make your own!  It's really pretty easy, I promise.  It requires 3 simple ingredients, masa (corn flour), water, and salt.   I found the masa in the supermarket with the other flours.  The brand I bought, Maseca, had instructions for making tortillas on the back of the package which was helpful.  Even more helpful were the videos (see below) on their website.  They're in Spanish but luckily they have subtitles. One thing to note is that they use a tortilla press, something I do not own.  So I put the balls dough, one at a time, between two sheets of plastic wrap and used a can of beans to roll them out.  No, they were not anywhere close to being perfetly circular in the end, but they tasted great, were functional, and best of all, they didn't break when folded into a taco.

Video #1: Preparing the masa

Video #2: Making the tortillas



Recipe (my adapted version)
Makes 16 tortillas
Ingredients
Two cups Maseca
1/4 tablespoon salt
1 1/4 cup water
A large mixing bowl

Method
Mix Maseca corn flour, water and salt in a large bowl.

Mix by hand until a smooth consistency has been created and does not stick to your hands. Shape into a ball and divide into 16 portions and roll into balls.

Cover a large cutting board with plastic wrap. One by one, place a ball of dough on top, press down to slightly flatten it.  Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and roll out with a rolling pin (a can works too).  Carefully peel off when done.  You don't want them to break.

Place in a pre-heated ungreased skillet and cook for about 1 minute on each side.  Place them on between damp cloths or paper towel to keep from drying out.

When reheating you can place them in aluminum foil and heat in the oven at 350 degrees 5-10 minutes.  You can also wrap them in damp paper towel and microwave them for 15-20 seconds.  Both of these methods allow them to steam, preventing them from getting dry.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'll just say it...these are amazing.  Make them immediately.

Makes 12 muffins

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Ingredients:

1/3 cup Unsweetened Soy Milk

1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 cup Quick Oats

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1/3 cup Earth Balance Vegan Butter, softened

1/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar (packed)

3 Ripe Bananas (medium-large size), mashed

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin pan, set aside.

Mix lemon juice and soy milk in small bowl and set aside.
Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon), set aside.

In another bowl add butter, sugars, mashed banana and mix with an electric mixer on low speed for about a minute or two.  Next whisk in the soy milk/lemon, and vanilla. Whisk together until mixed.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined (you don't want to over mix). Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Note: my favorite way to make these is to use a combo of semi-sweet chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips.  And these are also good with walnuts.
Nutrition Info (1 muffin): 219 calories, 8g fat, 2g fiber, 2.5g protein

Iced Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Still on a muffin kick and sticking with something light for summer, I made some healthy, vegan muffins that combine the flavors of lemon and blueberry.  A personal favorite!

Makes 12 muffins
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Ingredients

1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Quick Oats
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Vegan Butter (like Earth Balance), softened
1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1/3 Unsweetened Soy Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
1 cup fresh bluebrries

Lemon Glaze

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
½ cup Powdered Sugar

Pre- heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin pan, set aside.

Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, oats, baking powder, salt), set aside.

In another bowl add sugar, butter, applesauce, soy milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk together until mixed. Add dry ingredients to and stir until just combined (you don't want to over mix). Gently fold in the blueberries. Batter will be thick.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Once muffins are cool and ready to glaze, make the the glaze by whisking the lemon juice and powdered sugar together in a bowl. Drizzle over muffins.


Nutrition Info: 165 calories, 4g fat, 2g fiber, 2g protein

Strawberry Peach Muffins

Delicious, healthy and vegan muffins using summer fruit.   This recipe can also be made as a bread in a loaf pan (cooking time will be doubled).   I prefer making them as muffins because they're already portioned and freeze better this way.

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Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Quick Oats
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Vegan Butter (like Earth Balance), softened
1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1/3 Unsweetened Soy Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Pecans, finely chopped
1 Large Peach, peeled and diced small
1 cup Fresh Strawberries, hulled and diced small

Pre- heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a muffin pan, set aside.

Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon), set aside.

In another bowl add sugar, butter, applesauce, soy milk, vanilla, and pecans.  Whisk together until mixed.   Add dry ingredients to this and stir until just combined (you don't want to over mix).  Gently fold in the fruit.  Batter will be thick.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Nutrition Info: 165 calories, 6g fat, 2g fiber, 3g protein

Suggestions/Tips: 

- In lieu of oats you can use another 1/2cup of whole wheat flour or if you have rolled oats I'd recommend giving them a a few pulses in the food processor.
- You can substitute light brown sugar for half sugar
- For the applesauce I recommend buying a pack of the individual cups which are 1/2 cup.  This way you won't have to worry about a whole jar going bad if you don't use it.
- If you put the butter in the microwave to soften it, make sure you give it some time to cool a bit.  You don't want it to be scorching hot when you mix it with the other ingredients.
- I recommend dicing the fruit small, (about the size of a blueberry) and the totally should be about 1 heaping cup.