Zucchini Muffins, Strawberry Banana Muffins, and Uh-oh Charlie Got Carried Away Muffins

Back to School means back to looking for quick, healthy breakfasts for the kids. It needs to be appealing. It needs to be easy. It needs to be more tempting than a Toaster Strudel.

With my kids, if it is baked in the oven, it is a crowd pleaser. So last night I hunkered down with some past their prime bananas and went to work creating some muffins!

Recipe 1:

 

Zucchini Banana Muffins
(This recipe is adapted from Taste of Home. You can find their recipe for Zucchini Banana Bread here)

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 mashed, ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 small zucchinis shredded

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a muffin tin with Pam.

In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together egg, oil, bananas, vanilla, and zucchinis. Stir into your dry ingredients. Spoon into your prepared muffin pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and spring back when touched.

Note: I shredded my zucchini on my microplaner as I seem to have misplaced my grater. This created more of a puree rather than a shredded effect. The end result was a very moist muffin with the consistency of banana bread!

Recipe 2:

Strawberry Banana Bread Muffins
(This is adapted from an earlier post of mine. You can find it here.)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup strawberry yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1 medium banana, mashed

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup strawberries1/2 cup walnuts (I left these out as Tim doesn't like walnuts)

Preheat oven to 325 and spray a muffin pan with Pam.


Beat together first 6 ingredients until blended. Combine and add the next 3 ingredients and stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in the strawberries and walnuts. Do not overmix.



Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and spring back when touched.


Recipe 3:

Uh-Oh Charlie Got Carried Away Muffins

I'm not sure exactly what got into me, but as I was looking at those Strawberry Banana Bread Muffins, I started thinking... wouldn't these be good with coconut on top? Oh! and slivered almonds?? Oh, Oh, OH! and a light dusting of brown sugar to caramelize the topping together???

And you know what? I was right! If you make these muffins, be brave, be daring, ADD THE TOPPING!

Topping:
1/3 cup sweetened coconut
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/4 light brown sugar

After spooning the muffin batter into the muffin pans, top the muffins with coconut and almonds and then lightly sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Holy cannolis these are scrumptious! 

Note: Be sure your children get a few before you find yourself licking the crumbs off the counter!