At the outset of what might turn out to be the coldest week this winter, Paul suggested a muffin with a little more heft to it.  Muffins are often first bites here so the aim with these is to sustain a little longer into the morning.  Since we had ripe bananas, and since over the weekend I at long last replenished our peanut butter supply (!), the basis for such a breakfast was immediately obvious.  It was the forecast, with snow, snow, and… snow that inspired the finishing touches.

These muffins (or mini-loaves, depending on your preference) do indeed satisfy the hungry morning tummy a little longer than others we’ve made.  The peanut butter of course adds satiating power, as do the mix-ins.  Let me know if these work as well for you!

Total Time: 40 minutes

Hands-On Time: 15 minutes

Kitchen Equipment: Mini-loaf or muffin tin, mixing bowls, mixing spoon, whisk

Servings: 6 mini-loaves or 18 muffins

Ingredients:

Wet Ingredients:

– 3 Ripe Bananas

– 1/3 Cup Kiefer

– 2 Large Eggs

– 1 Tsp Vanilla

– 1/3 Cup Applesauce

– 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

– 1/3 Cup Chunky Peanut Butter

– 1/3 Cup Coconut Oil

Dry Ingredients:

– 1 Cup All Purpose Flour

– 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

– 1 & 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

– 1 & 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

– 2 Tsp Cinnamon

– 1/2 Tsp Salt

– 1/2 Cup Chia Seeds

– 1/3 Cup Chopped Dates

– 1/3 Cup Coconut Flakes, for topping

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 325 Degrees F.

– Set the 1/3 cups peanut butter and coconut oil in a small saucepan over very low heat to melt.  (Melting the peanut butter makes it possible to stir it evenly into the batter.)

– Meanwhile, place bananas in a mixing bowl and mash coarsely, one smoosh with the back of a fork per piece.

– Add the other wet ingredients to the bananas and stir until just incorporated.

– Gently stir the peanut butter and coconut oil in the saucepan.  When completely melted, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

– Add all of the dry ingredients to a second bowl and whisk to throughly incorporate.

– Pull out baking tin and line with muffin cups or non-stick spray (as usual I used Spectrum brand coconut oil spray.)

– Stir the cooled peanut butter and oil into the wet ingredients until completely incorporated, then, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just mixed.

– Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle each muffin with the coconut flakes.

– Bake at 325 F for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool almost completely before removing from muffin or loaf tin.  Enjoy!