With school starting soon for our kiddo, school lunches have been on my mind. My little one is a, shall we say, a “selective” eater. (I use the term “selective” over “picky” so that when she reads these blog posts in 5 years, she won’t get quite so mad at me. Love you kiddo!)
Because of said selectiveness, I’m working a little harder on trying to come up with a variety of foodstuffs that she’ll actually eat when she opens her lunchbox at school.
To that end, we’ve spent a bit of time together browsing blogs and books for kid-friendly recipes to try, including the ever-inspiring weelicious. These breakfast cupcakes cued a jaw-drop for our daughter, but because of the cream cheese frosting, she ultimately gave them a thumbs down. (Note that this in no way a reflection of the recipe – most new foods are a bust with our kid, and everyone else gobbled them up!)
I really liked the base muffin recipe though, and wasn’t ready to let it go. It uses very little sugar, has a bit of protein from the nut butter, and is totally tasty with a little smear of jam.
And, I soon discovered, when you cut these cute mini muffins in half and put the jam inside, you’ve got the little mini muffin sandwiches! Even cuter!
Not only are they cute, but with the jam inside, they’re perfect for travel. Say, for school lunches!
Oh, and does our daughter like this version? Well, no, to be honest. No she does not. Because (silent sigh) … she doesn’t like jam. A smear of Nutella gets the thumbs up, though!
Baby steps, right?
PB&J Mini Muffin Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain salt or sea salt
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (can substitute sunflower seed butter)
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup jam or jelly
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray the cups of a 24-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick spray or grease well with a little oil.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, egg, and sugar until smooth. Add the milk and vanilla and mix.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk just until smooth. Don't overmix as that can lead to tough muffins! No one wants tough muffins.
- Bake 8-10 minutes, until the tops spring back when you poke them and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.
- Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Using a butter knife to help pry the muffins out of their cups, gently remove the muffins and place them on a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
- Cut muffins in half, spread on 1/2 teaspoon of jam on the insides of each bottom half, and then replace the top.
- Muffins keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
