Toddler Muffins

A couple of weeks ago I reached out to one of my facebook groups for breakfast ideas for Zeke. He is not a picky eater at all and was happily eating what I made for breakfast each day, but I wanted some ideas for my arsenal. I was the one getting bored! Several ideas these moms suggested were smoothies, greek yogurt, fruit, banana pancakes, giant breakfast cookies, and these, Toddler Muffins. I entered the search on pinterest and found them quickly. I made them just a few days later and they were a success! Jeremiah and I really enjoyed them too, so we had to set limits for ourselves so we wouldn't eat all of Zeke's breakfasts! I enjoyed them best on the first day when they were fresh out of the oven. I tried them with a little butter one time and a little glaze another and actually preferred them plain! (Which is a surprise if you know me.) If you would like a good breakfast for your little one that increases his intake of fruits and vegetables (or even for you adults!) then you should give these a try!

Toddler Muffins
**From Deliciously Declassified

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar, or to taste (I used 1/2 c. and was happy with the amount of sweetness)
2 large bananas, mashed
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
2 carrots, grated (I'm not actually sure how many I put in, I had baby carrots I wanted to use up, but they were not overwhelming, regardless.)
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. all-purpose flour (I used Ultragrain flour)
1/2 c. Quaker oats
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cloves (I don't always have ground cloves on hand, so I'll often substitute pumpkin pie spice and use a little less of the cinnamon and nutmeg.)
1/2 t. salt

HOW TO MAKE THEM:
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth.
Mix in the mashed bananas, squash, carrots, and eggs.
Stir in the flour, oats, baking soda, spices, and salt until just combined.
Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups.
Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups (if you’re making large muffins, use a full ice cream scoop, if you’re making mini muffins, use 1/2 a scoop).
Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean- bake time largely depends on your muffin size, I only baked my mini muffins for 13 minutes.
Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze. (We ate ours quick enough, we just left them at room temperature. Next time I might actually double the batch so we'd have some to put in the freezer.) 

To life... full of sneaky fruits and vegetables!