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.