Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins

We love banana muffins, blackberry or blueberry, they are our absolute favourite. I make a batch nearly every week with intentions of freezing them but they don't normally hang around long enough! 

I found myself with an abundance of ripe bananas but with no fresh berries, so I decided to make some peanut butter muffins. Peanut butter is a bit like marmite in our house, you either love it or you hate it. My eldest doesn't like it but my younger two love it. I definitely put it down to exposure during weaning. First time round I was quite cautious and peanut butter was something that was quite late to be introduced which was completely rejected. My younger two were exposed to peanut butter much earlier on and they both love it. 

Why Choose Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is a great addition to your child's diet, assuming they have no nut allergy. It is a great source of protein and contains essential vitamins and minerals such as zinc, magnesium and potassium. Peanut butter is high in fat, which is mostly unsaturated fat, but is relatively low in sugar. It is important to buy a brand that is made purely from 100% peanuts with no added ingredients because many brands include added oil, sugar and salt which will change the nutritional value. 

Peanut butter and banana, match made in heaven

Peanut butter and banana is a winning combination, they go together like pasta and cheese, pancakes and syrup or strawberries and cream. We love peanut butter and banana on toast, banana oat thumbprint cookies, peanut butter porridge cups and peanut and banana overnight oats. 

These banana and peanut butter muffins are perfect for breakfast or as a healthy snack. They are freezer friendly so perfect to keep on hand. With all my recipes, I prefer to defrost over night in the fridge so they are ready for the next day. Alternatively you can defrost in the microwave. When I make these muffins with blueberries or blackberries I do not add any additional sweetener because the fruit provides the extra sweetness. With these muffins I included a tbsp of honey to make up for the missing sugar. This is optional and please remember not to give honey to babies under 12 months old.

Recipe

Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins

Ingredients 

150g self raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 medium bananas, mashed

60g unsalted butter

1 egg, beaten

100g crunchy peanut butter
1 tbsp honey (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan). Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl then make a well. Melt the butter in a pan (and honey if using), once melted remove from the heat then add the peanut butter and stir well. In a large bowl add the peanut butter mixture, add the egg and mashed banana and mix well. Next add the wet mixture to the flour and mix well until well combined. Divide the mixture equally into a greased muffin tray. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden. You can check the inside is done by inserting a metal skewer and it comes out clean. If it comes out with mixture then pop back into the oven and check regularly.