My, oh MY have the terrible two’s hit hard! When baby girl hit 2.5, it appeared as though she had been saving up all of her temper tantrum energy to unleash upon us. So now I’ve got a teething baby and a defiant toddler to keep my days busy.
Of course, they are pretty cute when they are actually playing nicely together. Lately my daughter has been pretending her husband is her brother. They go on lots of vacations together. Until she slams the door in his face, shoves him, or knocks him over…
Surprisingly, I actually make time to cook occasionally. I’m still following a menu rotation, but I have been enjoying making the occasional snack, breakfast, and treat. My daughter also enjoys cooking with me and insists on pulling up her chair next to the kitchen counter to help. (Usually she gets so close with her chair, that she smashes me in my spot.) As you can imagine, a two year old isn’t much help, so I try to think of things that she can help with in the kitchen.
Not surprisingly, she loves to bake desserts with me. Also not surprisingly, I don’t like her to have mountains of sweets, as she can get quite hyper when she is on a sugar high. That’s one reason that I am thrilled with this recipe. It is super easy, my toddler can help me with it, and it’s healthy. This = hey, I might actually make this! Because what mom, after an exhausting day chasing after kids, really wants to dirty another sink-full of dishes to make dessert or a snack? (Or when does anyone, besides my toddler, want to dirty an entire sink-full??)
These muffins are the perfect afternoon or after-dinner treat. They are full of chocolate-y banana goodness with peanut butter rounding out the flavor for a delicious mouthful. They are moist and springy, with absolutely no flour in them. (Yes, they’re gluten free!) And they’re small…which actually just means that I get to eat more without feeling guilty.
You can adjust the sweetness by adding a bit more honey if you feel they’re not sweet enough, but the chocolate chips on top add plenty of sweetness for us. The banana not only makes the muffins healthier, but also adds its natural sugars. Finally, there is also some peanut butter hidden in there, but I don’t feel like it overpowers the taste.
The best part? My little girl loves to top each and every muffin with the chocolate chips. And she can do it all by herself.
Flourless Blender Chocolate Banana Mini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 large (very ripe) banana
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (we use creamy)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 – 3 Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
- about 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, for topping
Directions
- Place first 8 ingredients (all but the chocolate chips) in the blender and process til smooth, about 1 minute.
- Grease a mini muffin pan and portion batter into 24 cups. I like to use a cookie scoop to do this. Top each muffin with several mini chocolate chips.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400° for 8-12 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Crowther Cafe 