Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I created these muffins for a healthy (and preschooler friendly) snack the other day; I wanted them to be an alternative to banana bread.  My family loves banana bread; I love peanut butter toast with banana sliced on top.  These muffins are a happy hybrid of the two. They incorporate three whole bananas, a bunch of creamy peanut butter, and are made with half whole wheat flour. Yum!

I threw in a handful of cacao nibs for some crunch.  The nibs are totally optional, and they didn’t add a ton of flavor.  You could even use crunchy peanut butter instead, if you want crunch but don’t have cacao nibs on hand.  Chocolate chips would be pretty great too. I bet if I’d added chocolate chips Dulcie would have been fighting me for the leftover muffins!

These definitely walk the line between health food and a treat, which I’m a huge fan of in my muffin making. Like these muffins, for example. And as far as I can tell, all kids are big fans of both peanut butter and banana.  

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins with Cacao Nibs

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cacao nibs

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Combine the bananas, sugar, honey, peanut butter, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract in a food processor and process until smooth.  You could also use a mixer or a wooden spoon plus a strong arm; I’ve just gotten in the habit of combining all the wet ingredients for muffins using the food processor.  It makes quick work of the bananas!
Combine the flours, baking soda, salt, and cacao nibs in a large bowl.  Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir to combine.
Spoon into a prepared muffin tin (I used papers), then bake at 400 for 16-18 minutes.