March 6, 2013

Two Year Old Muffins


No, these muffins have not been sitting around for two years, but depending on your tolerance for sticky fingers and nibbles, they might be just as questionable! My two year old had a hand in every step of the baking process... literally. There are probably some who would set firmer boundaries and not allow licking and snacking and poking of ingredients, but I confess that I'm pretty loose with discipline in the kitchen. Little Smith has become my cooking companion and we have so much fun making a giant mess. I give him options for ingredients;  frozen peaches or apples? apple, wheat flour? no mama, oats? yup. He calls muffins, scones, and most baked goods 'doughnuts', so these are Little Smith's Apple Carrot Oat Doughnut Muffins. They're very tasty, but we decided to keep these just for the family :)

Apple Carrot Oat Muffins: these (like most of my baking) are loosely based on the Joy of Cooking basic muffin recipe.
  • 1 3/4 c all purpose flour
  • 1/2 c oats
  • 1 tbs baking powder
  • 1 tbs wheat germ
  • 1 tbs cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 pealed and minced apples (minus some for nibbling)
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and grated
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 c brown sugar
  • 2/3 c apple sauce (plus extra for snacking)
  • 1/3 c plain yogurt
  • 6 tbs melted unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and butter a standard 12 cup muffin tin, making sure to cover the corners and top surface. 

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, wheat germ, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. 

In a large bowl beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the apple and carrot and stir to combine. Mix in the apple sauce, yogurt, and melted butter. Gradually fold in the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. 


Distribute the batter equally in the muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes (this will depend on how large your apples were, etc... mine took 23 minutes this time) until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean. If your oven has a window, sit in front of it with your two year old on your lap watching those muffins bake.

Remove and cool for a few minutes in the pan, then unmold and finish cooling on a baking rack (that's the hardest part if you're two... waiting!). Serve one muffin and hide the rest or they will be gobbled up in one sitting. These are best eaten within a day (stored in an airtight container once cooled completely).


I love the texture of the apples and carrots in these muffins and the hint of cinnamon, delicious for any season but especially now when so little is fresh, since both carrots and apples store so well throughout the winter. I enjoyed my fair share and Little Smith?


I'm pretty sure he liked them too. The best part though was when his pop got home from work and he rushed to greet him exclaiming "my doughnuts dada!". He was so proud. There's going to be a lot of 'doughnuts' in our future.

*our ultrasound is coming up on friday morning, so i will be back to fill you in on the girl/boy verdict as soon as i can- exciting stuff!

11 comments:

  1. These look really good Lilly! I am always looking for healthy snacks for our household...I might give these a try! I love Little Smiths t-shirt too! Good luck for the ultrasound x

    ReplyDelete
  2. i love the muffin recipe, healthy and yummy!

    the last shot just makes me laugh :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum! And how exciting that you're finding out if you're having a boy or a girl tomorrow! Kellie xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a sweetheart! It's great that you're getting him involved in the kitchen. I confess I am not that patient about touching batter, etc. I am a bit of a germaphobe. My poor kids!

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh these food/cooking posts kill me! I adore them and your pictures are super awesome, but i simply cannot get anything to go right in my kitchen! I massacred pancakes with my kids at the weekend...i blame high school....i made the cookery teacher cry, she suddenly broke down sobbing, and screamed that i was a recurring nightmare! And i was such a good girl and tried so hard, but cooking and me no no no! i would love to make those muffins! sigh sigh sigh! can i just soak up your success by osmosis? xxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. These look so tasty and fun to make! I'm sure my Oliver would be interested in helping.

    ... and TOMORROW! EEEEEEEK! I am shameless. So I will say that I will be stalking your blog tomorrow afternoon. No pressure. Good luck, and hope everything goes smoothly/little one looks healthy! :) Will be thinking of you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That last photo of him is just too cute! You are going to nurture a healthy eater for sure-- great idea having him help create the recipe.
    And add me on the YAY ultrasound chorus!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Haha, loved the last pic - does he look content or WHAT?! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks yummy, and I love his expressions! You're a great mama letting him have a hand in all the parts. I sometimes get a little frustrated by all the little hands around when I'm trying to bake or cook!

    ReplyDelete
  10. YUM, these look wonderful!
    I'm going to have to try these. Such sweet pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  11. These look so delicious and wonderfully toddler friendly! Thanks so much for this recipe. We will definitely be trying these in the next couple weeks!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.