Flourless Banana Protein Muffins

Want the perfect pre-workout pick-me-up?  How about the ideal recovery snack? Or maybe you just want something yummy that you won't feel like you need to run 5 miles to make up for eating. ;-)

I made two batches of these--with half of them as mini-muffins and half as full-size, so 72 muffins in all. SEVENTY-TWO. And do you know how long they lasted in my home (which includes 1 man and 2 teenage boys)??  Less than 24 hours! I didn't know if I should be horrified or flattered.  

And here is all the math from my experience made into an imperfect equation for my Algebra 1 student:

72 muffins / 3X < 24hrs = 0

Therefore, the muffins were consumed at a rate of 3+ muffins/ hour. So my husband and two sons each ate an average of 1/hour for 24 hours. Of course, my younger 2 kids and I ate a few. And my husband and sons were gone on a camping trip for the first 18 of those 24 hours, so the math gets complicated. But, what isn't complicated is the recipe.  So we will move on to that.

Flourless Banana Protein Muffins
Makes 24 Regular/ 48 Mini Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
2 Ripe Bananas
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Honey
2 Eggs
1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I like THIS kind, and THIS kind)
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup Chocolate Chips (mini work best)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease/ line muffin pans
3. Blend all ingredients except chocolate chips in blender or food processor
4. Stir in chocolate chips
5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 11-13 minutes for mini-muffins; 14-16 minutes for regular muffins.

Banana Bread Cookies

Creativity in the kitchen so often arises out of necessity, am I right??  In the case of these cookies, I NEEDED something sweet.  However, my husband and I have sworn off refined sugars and flours for the month of January, so my sweet tooth was not easily appeased. 

I had some bananas sitting on the counter that I was guarding with my life so they would ripen enough to use in my sugar-free-sweet-treat-making endeavors.  Finally they began to turn brown, and I set to work. 

Now I know that raisins in cookies are not enjoyed by all. Usually you love'em or hate'em.  I am in-between. I love them if they are soft and don't break up the uniform texture of the cookie too much. I hate them if they are hard.  I think the Love'em camp would be larger if more cookie chefs took the time to plump their raisins in water before adding them to recipes.  Sun-Maid has figured this out and has done it for you with their Baking Raisins, available at grocery stores or on Amazon. 

You can also measure out your raisins, cover them with boiling water, and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Then drain off the water (but don't squeeze the raisins), and they are ready to add to your baking! 

But if you absolutely hate raisins in any form or fashion, leave them out. These cookies can stand on their own, with our without the addition of raisins!

Banana Bread Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup coconut oil, softened

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

3 very ripe bananas, mashed well

3 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)

1 cup baking raisins (raisins soaked in hot water 10 minutes, then drained), optional

1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment, silpat, or coat with cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and coconut oil until smooth. Add honey and beat well. Beat in eggs. 

4. Add 1/2 flour mixture to wet mix. Mix in bananas, then add remaining flour mix. Stir in oatmeal, raisins and pecans. 

5. Place rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes, until edges just begin to brown and tops no longer look wet.  Cool, then store in airtight container. 

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