PEANUT BUTTER MUFFINS

I was searching for a peanut butter muffin recipe, and found one by Lauren Groveman, a food writer for the Larchmont Gazzette, which I think is in NY. At first, I wanted to follow Lauren's original recipe; but the more I studied it, the more I wanted to change it. So I hesitate to title these Lauren Groveman's because of all the changes I've made.

I really like these muffins. The banana and chocolate chips complement the peanut butter. The

cocoa-cinnamon-ginger-sugar sprinkled on top of the muffins give

them a spicy sweet crunch, and the muffins are moist and delicious. I halved the recipe, not knowing how they would turn out; but if I make them again, I'll make a full batch. These are best with milk chocolate chips -- I used Hershey's.

Peanut Butter Muffins

Adapted Half Batch from Lauren Groveman's Kitchen

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup peanut butter

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 large egg

1/2 cup lite sour cream

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. coffee syrup, coffee brandy or strong coffee

1-3/4 cups white whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup diced ripe banana

1 tsp. lemon juice

Topping: 1 tsp. cocoa; 2 tsp. sugar; 1/2 tsp. cinnamon; 1/4 tsp. ginger

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 6-cup standard muffin tin and a 12-cup mini-muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

In large mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, oil and egg, by hand or electric mixer, till very smooth. (I prefer making cookies and muffins by hand for best results. The peanut butter will need to be soft, at room temperature for easy mixing.) Add sour cream, milk, applesauce, honey and brown sugar and beat well, scraping sides and bottom as needed. Stir in vanilla and coffee flavorings. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, stirring or whisking till well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Toss banana pieces with lemon juice. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients all at once, stirring just till barely combined. Stir in banana.

Divide batter among muffin cups -- you should have enough batter to fill cups to top, doming the batter slightly above the top. Sprinkle each with the topping. Bake in center of oven, 14-16 minutes for the minis, 18-22 minutes for the standard. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool. These freeze very well.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP-BLISS MUFFINS

Yesterday I looked in my garage fridge and realized that the 8 containers of yogurt were all past their expiration dates. I've used yogurt up to a month past expiration, but I thought I should move this process along. So I decided to bake muffins. Not wanting to repeat muffins I've already made, I concocted this muffin. The title should probably be something like "peanut butter cup-bliss muffins with peanut crumb topping," but I thought that was too long. Anyway, the yogurt did its job. These muffins are
nice and moist and pretty flavorful. And, P. S., I would have used milk-chocolate chips; but when I checked my pantry, I found I didn't have any. And, true to my word, I wasn't going to go out and buy any when I had the Bliss on hand. Feel free to sub milk chocolate chips for the Bliss. These muffins are a nice change, and I enjoyed them.

Peanut Butter Cup-Bliss Muffins
Rating: 8 out of 10
INGREDIENTS:
Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped fine
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1 Tbsp. melted butter

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and work together with a fork or with your fingers.

Muffins:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips, chunks or Hershey Bliss Milk Chocolate cut into small pieces
3/4 cup - 1 cup Reese's PB Miniatures, chopped, then frozen
1 cup vanilla nonfat or low-fat yogurt
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. chocolate flavor (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by spraying with non-stick cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk. Add the milk chocolate and the frozen PB cups and toss to distribute. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients till smooth and well combined. Add all at once to the dry ingredients, using a spatula. Only mix to combine, leaving lumps. It's important not to overmix. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup and top with about 1-1/2 Tbsp. topping, pressing in slightly. Place muffins in oven and immediately reduce heat to 350F. Bake about 16-19 minutes, or till toothpick inserted near center returns with just a few crumbs. Cool in pans about 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to wire rack to finish cooling. Yield: 12 muffins.