Packed with protein, whole grain and vegetable nutrients, these tasty and filling muffins will satisfy you for a long time when eaten for breakfast or a snack. Not growing up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (I would beg my mom to put last night’s Chicken Parmesan in my lunch!), I never grew to love peanut butter besides the occasional chocolate covered peanut butter cup treat. I was impressed with these muffins, and found that a fresh grinding of raw peanuts at my local store made such a satisfying treat.
I think most kids are used to the smooth, somewhat processed peanut butter and that’s fine to use too, as long as they are getting their protein and heart-healthy oils from the peanuts. The wheat flour and wheat germ offer extra whole grain nutrients that you won’t want to pass up. On those hard-to-get up mornings that we occasionally have- don’t run out, or let your kids run out of the door on an empty stomach and empty-handed! Try these muffins instead!
Ingredients (8 large muffins, or 16 mini muffins)
1/3 cup white flour
1/3 cup wheat flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1/4 cup tightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sweet potato puree, carrot puree, unsweetened applesauce, or combination
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, smooth, crunchy or freshly ground
8 heaping teaspoons favorite jam (thicker is better)
Preheat the oven to 350 F and position the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Whisk together the dry ingredients including the flours, wheat germ, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In another bowl whisk the eggs and brown sugar until well combined, then whisk in the oil, puree or applesauce, and peanut butter. Finally, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until the flour is just moistened (over-mixing will make the muffins dense)
Dry ingredients in one bowl, then getting ready to add in the wet ingredients
Mix just until moistened and there are no dry flour specs
Scoop two tablespoons of the batter into the large muffin cups, then place a heaping teaspoon of jam on top of the muffin batter. Cover the jam with another 2 tablespoons of the batter, filling the cup just over the top. If using mini-muffin cups, scale back the quantities to fit the cup size.
Place jam in the middle
Cover jam with more batter filling to the top
Ready to bake,check mini muffins after 20 minutes, and large muffins after 25 minutes
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Let cool, the jam gets very hot and will burn tender little mouths if eaten when the muffins are first removed from the oven.
The P B and J muffin in all its glory! be careful it’s hot!
