Quick Breakfast = Muffins.

Today I decided it was time to make a few more batches of muffins to freeze for those hurried mornings when you need to eat on the run. There are some clever people, like my mother, who never eat on the run. My mother manages to sit down and eat a proper breakfast every morning and if you are like her, you can can enjoy these muffins on the weekend - without having to bake anything.

These muffins split 50-50. The banana blueberry muffins were heavenly and the husband and I nearly ate all of them on Sunday alone! I think the key was the pureed banana which gave the muffin a subtle flavor. Substituting blackberries or raspberries for the blueberries would also be good. The coffee cake muffins weren't bad, just not what I was hoping for. The muffins were more dense than I like them, which I admit could be a stirring error. Overall they just felt like they were lacking something, perhaps chopped nuts included in the batter and more spices would make them better.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

2 extra ripe, medium bananas
6 Tbs. margarine
6 Tbs. brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 c. frozen blueberries, rinsed & drained

1. Puree bananas in a blender (1 cup)

2. Beat margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in bananas and egg.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon peel. Blend into banana mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.

4. Line 6 large muffin cups with paper liners. Coat lightly with vegetable spray. Divide batter evenly.

5. Bake in 375 oven for 20-25 minutes.

Yield: 6 muffins
Recipe obtained from: Favorite Brand Name Bake Sale Cookbook

What I did: I had enough batter to fill about 9 cups and I didn't use liners - just spray & fill. I also used fresh blueberries, because that's what I had and there was no issue.

Coffee Cake Muffins

3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
3 Tbs. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. buttermilk or sour milk

1. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with paper cups; set aside.

2. For topping, in a small bowl, stir together the 3 Tbs. flour, brown sugar, and the 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in the 2 Tbs. butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts; set topping aside.

3. In a medium bowl stir together the 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, the 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt. Cut in the 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. In another bowl combine egg and buttermilk. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy)

5. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each one-third full. Top with half of the topping, the remaining batter, and the remaining topping. Bake in a 400 oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.


Yield: 12 muffins
Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens

Nutritional Information (per muffin): 180 cal., 8 g. total fat (4 g. sat. fat), 34 mg. chol.,196 mg sodium, 25 g. carbo., 1 g. fiber, 3 g. pro.

What I did: I had less than 12 muffins and used walnuts.