The Sneaky Chef: Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins

Wow! She's back! I have still been experimenting with new recipes but not having the time to post any! I especially love my Sneaky Chef cookbook. Buy it if you can. for me, it's not just that you are sneaking vegetables into your child's (or other adult's!) diet, but you are taking generally popular dishes and making them healthy...for everyone!

The Flour Blend
1 c. unbleached white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. unsweetened wheat germ
Mix well.

Orange Puree
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and rougly chopped
3 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced into thick chunks
3-4 tbsp. water
Steam or boil carrots and sweet potatoes until very tender. Puree until very smooth.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins

Ingredients:

1 c. Flour Blend
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 c. canola oil
3/4 Orange Puree
3/4 c. smooth peanut butter
8 heaping tsp. jam*

*Note: jelly does not work as well; it disappears into the muffins.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the Flour Blend, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined, then whisk in oil, Orange Puree, and peanut butter. Fold in dry ingredients and mix until just moistened (don't over mix or batter will be dense.)

Scoop about 2 tbsp. of batter into the muffin cups until half full. Place heaping tsp. of jam in the center. Cover the the jam with another 2 tbsp. of batter, filling cups just over top. Bake for 25 to 30 min, until tops are golden brown. Yields 8 large muffins.

Delish! And so filling! Today was the second time I made this recipe and I made a couple of adjustments that made them more yummy. I added a little individual serving cup of organic cinnamon applesauce and cut back on the oil a bit, so they were more moist. I used a peanut butter/honey combo for half of the peanut butter (made a double recipe this time). As written, these muffins are not very sweet. One of these is enough to fill me up, really. Serve with a glass of cold milk! :)

And...if you are short on time, or don't want to puree veggies, just buy some baby food!