How to Make Children Happy

Eating muffins in the rain. They are SOOOO Portland.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of two little boys and my little girl, for an entire Saturday. Of course, we all played like mad between rainstorms, silly games like "throw the rag in the tree and get it out with a stick" and "dirty birdbath water soup". Naturally, it necessitated the making of some muffins.

Believe it or not, two chocolate chunks were all this muffin needed.

I'm in the midst of my plant based nutrition class, and we just covered the evils of oil and fat. So I tried these with no oil - and I swear, I never missed it. Sweet enough and perfect texture. I really wanted the kids to be super stoked on the treat, so I put two chocolate chunks in each muffin. It didn't seem cheap or like I was running out of chocolate - it was seriously just enough to make the muffin seem like a real treat. Even Josh said so, and he is way tougher to please than a bunch of cute & spazzy kids.

2 Cups white whole wheat flour (or 1 cup WW & 1 cup AP)

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup apple sauce
1 cup mashed banana
1 cup non-dairy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 375º. Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Add the wet ingredients and combine until they are just mixed. Pour into muffin tins. Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 - 22 minutes (test with a toothpick until toothpick comes out clean). Let the muffins cool for a bit in the muffin pan, then twist them out to cool on racks. Eat.