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Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins from Alida's Kitchen
Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins are a healthy muffin recipe made with buttermilk, brown sugar and topped with chopped peanuts and chocolate chips.  

When I boldly declared Whole Wheat  Peanut Butter Muffins as my favorite muffin of all time, Mike was not surprised in the least.  Not only do they have peanut butter, which I love, but they also have brown sugar and buttermilk, two of my favorite baking ingredients. Chocolate chips and chopped peanuts don’t hurt either. 🙂

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

Today I am sharing with you a muffin recipe that I thought was lost forever. Many years ago, I bought a bag of whole wheat flour, and featured on the back was a recipe for peanut butter muffins.  I decided to give the recipe a try and was blown away. The muffins tasted just like a peanut butter sandwich only in muffin form. They were incredible.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

Fast forward years later, after many moves, the recipe sadly got lost in the shuffle. Until now! I googled away and found my beloved recipe at A Tasteful Garden. I had all of the ingredients on hand, so immediately got to work.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

I decided to swap canola oil for butter and add chopped peanuts on top.  I also used mini chocolate chips.  I like that with small chips, it seems as though you get more chocolate per bite.  As with most quick breads made with whole wheat flour, these muffins are dense and hearty.  I find they are best enjoyed with a big glass of milk.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins

These muffins are even better than I remembered, and now thankfully will never be lost again!

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins
 
Yields: 12 muffins
Ingredients
  • 2¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup peanut butter
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (optional)
  • ⅓ cup chopped peanuts, for topping (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin pan with cooking spray or muffin liners. Set aside.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
  3. Cream together the oil and brown sugar. Add the peanut butter and mix until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Scrape sides of the bowl often to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
  4. Add one-third of the dry ingredients and mix until moistened. Add half of the buttermilk, mix until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and remaining buttermilk. Fold in chocolate chips, if using.
  5. Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if using. Bake until golden brown, 22-24 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then move to wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from King Arthur Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Muffins, found on A Tasteful Garden

Grilled Peanut Butter Chicken

If I had to pick my all time favorite food, it would be peanut butter (although cheese is a very close second).   I love peanut butter sandwiches, cookies, bars, on apples, plain, ice cream…*sigh*  I could go on and on.

So one day when I was opening my lovely jar of peanut butter, this chicken recipe caught my eye. Peanut butter? Chicken? Mmm… I do not often stumble upon many savory peanut butter dishes, so I was eager to give this a try.

As with most of my chicken recipes for the grill, I adapted this recipe to be quick and easy – mix the marinade, put marinade and chicken in Ziploc bag, let sit in the refrigerator for about 2 hours, grill, eat. It’s that simple.

 
The peanut butter, soy sauce and ginger combination give this chicken dish a Thai-inspired flavor. It is really quite tasty AND another way to eat more peanut butter. Yum!

Grilled Peanut Butter Chicken
Yields 4 servings

1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 pound chicken tenders or chicken breast  cut into 1 1/2 inch strips

  1. In a bowl, prepare the marinade by mixing all of the ingredients except the chicken.   
  2. Put chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken.  Make sure chicken gets completely coated. Set in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
  3. Lightly oil grates on grill OR use a foil tray to cook chicken.
  4. Place chicken on grill (or foil tray) and cook for 3-5 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Adapted from Smuckers Peanut Butter Jar Lid