Banana Carrot Oatmeal Muffins

As we dive into a new school year, quick breakfasts are a big help for busy mornings.     I made a BIG batch and wrapped most individually for the freezer!

 

3 sticks butter, softened

4 cups sugar (I did 2 white, 2 brown)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp allspice  

3 T ginger (yes tablespooon)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 eggs
1 Tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder


10 super ripe bananas, smooshed















2 carrots, grated








1 1/2 cups plain kefir* 


* or buttermilk, or milk and a little sour cream or a mix of milk and plain yogurt or even just milk ...



2 cups rolled (old fashioned) oats
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour











Cream together butter, sugar, spices and baking soda/powder.       Add eggs, then bananas, then kefir.    Mix in grated carrots.     

 
Then mix in flour and oats WITH A LIGHT HAND. Scoop into muffin papers - these are "medium" tulip papers, and my overflowing scoop was probably 3 oz.    Sprinkle with raw sugar if you can find yours ... 



 Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then about 25 minutes at 350.    The hot oven start helps give them better lift and a slightly crunchy top.   







40 yummy muffins for my freezer and busy mornings!  

When life gives you lemons ... or prematurely thawed blueberries: Blueberry Muffins

Life with three kids gets interesting.    Someone, probably someone with the same last name, left the freezer open a little bit ... enough that the ice bucket had chilled water and most of the food thawed.     Including a whole quart of New Jersey blueberries frozen for a winter pie.   I also had three ready-for-baking overripe bananas.  So I decided the only course of action (besides tossing thawed meat and cleaning the freezer) was to make muffins - a LOT of muffins:








Melt (or better yet brown!) a two sticks of butter.    Stir in three mushed overripe bananas.  Cool a little bit then stir in 1 1/2 cups of milk and a cup of sour cream, then 5 eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla and if you have it on hand a dash of orange oil.     Then add one cup of brown sugar and one cup of white sugar. 

In a separate bowl measure 7 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 Tablespoons of Baking powder (YES TABLESPOONS) and mix together

Stir liquids and dry ingredients together in whichever bowl is very large.   






I was using these new muffin papers, which allow me to make taller muffins in standard muffin tins.   Scoop about 3oz of batter into each muffin paper.    Sprinkle each LIBERALLY with sparkling sugar or raw sugar for a bit of a crispy top.  This made 31 large muffins.   (Most of which I wrapped individually in foil once cool - and into the freezer they hopped!)

Bake at 425 for about ten minutes (so they rise and get a nice crispy crust), then lower temp to 350 until cooked through.