April 26, 2024

School Birthday Muffins

School Birthday Muffins

It’s nice to be able to make a healthy snack for your family.  It’s also nice to have a recipe in your arsenal that makes a LOT of healthy snacks!  This recipe for School Birthday Muffins fits that bill!

This is a recipe my daughter’s preschool gave me in case I wanted to bring a treat for her birthday.  No nuts, so we can include kids with nut allergies, and pretty healthy to boot.  The recipe specifies “6 cups of chopped fruit,” so that leaves it open to a lot of variations.  You can easily use six cups of mashed banana, if you want to make it easy on yourself!  Also try canned pumpkin, or a combination of berries and bananas.

Next time one of your little ones has a birthday, maybe bring these to share with her class.  Your child’s teacher will thank you!

School Birthday Muffins (adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook)
(makes 3 dozen)

Ingredients:

Wet

  • 2 sticks butter, or soy margarine, or vegan butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups milk, or soy milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 6 cups chopped fruit – I used 3 apples and 1 cup of baby carrots, chopped in the food processor, along with 2 cups of Craisins

Dry

  • 6 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Grease muffin tin or use paper liners.
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the eggs; then the milk and vanilla.  With a rubber spatula, fold in the fruit.
  3. In a separate large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.  Stir in the wet ingredients until just mixed.  Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full of batter.
  4. Bake for about 32 minutes, or until puffy and golden.  Remove muffins from tin and cool on a baking rack.  Store in a sealed container.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana


To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Samson’s Carrot Cookies

Samson's Carrot Cookies resize

For Christmas, I got my kindergartner The Disney Princess Cookbook, and I’m so happy I did!  With pretty princesses on every page, it features real recipes (and not just cake mix plus applesauce-type concoctions) that are great for parents and kids to make together.  I have her read the recipes, and she’s learning about following directions, measurements, and even fractions!  We’ve made a few things from her cookbook, but the one we like best is Samson’s Carrot Cookies.

Samson, if you don’t know, is the name of Prince Phillip’s horse in “Sleeping Beauty.”  These cookies are soft and cake-like, with carrots, apples, and cranberries.  (We omitted the walnuts since my girl is allergic, but I know they’d be delicious!)   These make great bribes for little girls who stay in their beds all night, too.  (Yep… guilty!)   Try them this weekend with your favorite little prince or princess.

Disney Princess Cookbook resize

Samson’s Carrot Cookies

(from The Disney Princess Cookbook)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • (we added 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.  It’s not in the recipe but it was a lovely addition)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup shredded carrot
  • 1/2 cup shredded apple
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries (raisins would work too)

Directions:

  1. Heat the oven to 375*F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon,  nutmeg, and ground ginger.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and melted butter.  Then beat in the egg with a fork.
  4. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until the batter is smooth.  Then stir in the oats, shredded carrot and apple, walnuts, and dried cranberries.
  5. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart.
  6. Bake the cookies until they just begin to turn golden brown on top, about 8 minutes.  (NOTE: The recipe says ‘8 minutes’, but I found 12 minutes was more like it in my oven.  Let’s say check at 8 minutes, but be prepared for 4-5 more!)  Leave them on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana


To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Laurie Samson's Carrot Cookie resize

Hey Mom, I stole another cookie off the counter while you were writing your blog! Want a bite?