awesome lunchbox muffins
Today my little Abby starts first grade! She's had quite an exciting week... she fell off her bike last Monday and broke both bones in her left arm near her wrist, and yesterday she finally got her hard cast (which she was amazingly excited about). I've never broken a bone, and I had no idea that they had waterproof casts! I'm thrilled that we won't have to do the old garbage-bag-over-the-cast trick during bath time. :) She is so excited to go to school and show all her friends her lovely purple cast!
Last year I made a lunch for her to take every single day, since she was completely unwilling to even try the cafeteria food. This year, with me working a lot more and being more busy in general, I've convinced her that she could handle cafeteria food two days a week, and bring a lunch from home the other three. That means I still get to come up with a lot of fun ideas for her lunches, but there's a little less pressure on me. We went to Costco and stocked up on some of her favorites (hummus cups, squeezy apple sauce packets, bunny snacks, etc.) but I also want her to have some homemade goodness in her lunches too! We made these fantastic muffins together yesterday, and I think they'll be the perfect thing to throw in for a yummy reminder of home.
This recipe really is the best muffin recipe ever! I love that it was so easy to make three totally different varieties of muffins in just a few minutes. There are a million possibilities... I'm excited to try them with a little cinnamon and some grated apple, and with a little cocoa powder and some toffee chips. The recipe is so easy that Abby was able to make them with just a little help from mom. I've got most of the batch in the freezer, just waiting for Abby's lunchbox. Yum!
Lunchbox Muffins
adapted from this recipe
1 1/2 cups flour3/4 cup sugar1/2 teaspoon salt2 teaspoons baking powder1/3 cup melted butter1 egg1/3 cup milk
for the blueberry coconut muffins:1/2 cup fresh blueberries + 1/4 cup shredded coconut
for the raspberry macadamia muffins:1/2 cup fresh raspberries, chopped + 2 tablespoons chopped macadamia nuts
for the strawberry chocolate chip muffins:1/2 cup fresh strawberries, chopped + small handful chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 400. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners, or spray with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together butter, egg, and milk. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Separate the batter into three bowls. Gently fold the toppings into each bowl of batter. Scoop into mini muffin cups, filling 2/3 full (I used a cookie scoop and it was the perfect size). Bake 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
Note: You could obviously make these as full size muffins instead (bake 15-20 minutes), but I love that the mini muffin ones are a perfect size for Abby's lunch. And if you want to make an entire batch of the same flavor, just triple the amount of the add-ins.
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