by Sarah Festa
I love pinterest for a variety of reasons—one of which is certainly the recipes. It has helped me be much more creative with my meal choices and has helped me introduce my 14 month old to lots of new and exciting foods. This week I decided to try out the Toddler Muffin. It’s basically a cross between banana bread, carrot cake and zucchini bread. How could I deny that cute little face of those yummy things?! I couldn’t. So, during nap time I ventured into the kitchen and whipped some up.
I love pinterest for a variety of reasons—one of which is certainly the recipes. It has helped me be much more creative with my meal choices and has helped me introduce my 14 month old to lots of new and exciting foods. This week I decided to try out the Toddler Muffin. It’s basically a cross between banana bread, carrot cake and zucchini bread. How could I deny that cute little face of those yummy things?! I couldn’t. So, during nap time I ventured into the kitchen and whipped some up.
| Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup brown sugar, or to taste 2 large bananas, mashed 1 (4.5 ounce) jar baby food squash 2 carrots, grated 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup oat bran 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1/2 teaspoon salt | Directions: 1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups. 2. 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, oat bran, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt until just combined. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups. 3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 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. |
In terms of ingredients, I did a few “switch-er-oos”. I didn’t have any squash baby food, so I just grated a fresh one so I had equal parts carrots and squash. Also, we didn’t have any oat bran, so I subbed in half a cup up oatmeal. | 
The recipe called for pumpkin pie spice, which I just happened to have on hand! I have the Penzey’s version (they make the BEST spices…in my humble opinion). It’s a combo of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace and cloves. YUM! |
This recipe made 24 mini muffins and 6 regular sized muffins. I will definitely be freezing some of these—I love having great food tucked away. I decided to go the extra step and top each mini muffin with a raisin. My little one loves raisins and it just seemed to fit!
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The results? These are a big hit. The form factor of the mini muffin makes it just perfect for little hands! They are just a little sweet, which is good, and they are jam packed with stuff that’s good for you. I could see experimenting with cutting back on the butter and adding some applesauce, but let’s be honest…butter makes everything better!
Sarah Festa is a stay at home mom to a smiley, happy 14 month old. She stays active by going on adventures with her loving husband, having playdates with her mom’s meetup group, Sneakers and High Heels, and sewing with NOVA Modern Quilt Guild. Before “domestication”, Sarah earned her Master’s in Education Administration through the University of Notre Dame and worked as a principal for a charter school in DC.
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