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.

Crispy Coconut Orange Marmalade Muffins

I love oranges. And I ADORE coconut--especially toasted coconut. Add these two flavors to a baked good, and I'm pretty much a goner. I canned orange marmalade this winter, and we aren't using it up very quickly. So I decided to use it to flavor a new muffin recipe. 

My dad is visiting this week, so he got to taste some fresh from the oven. His description: "Legendary." Hopefully you'll agree!

Crispy Coconut Orange Marmalade Muffins

Makes 24 

Muffin Ingredients: 

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 small instant vanilla pudding mix, dry

1 cup milk

2 1/2 cups flour (I used half whole-wheat on one batch and they turned out just as well!)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups orange marmalade

Topping Ingredients:

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare muffin pans with cooking spray or cupcake liners.

2. In a medium mixing bowl beat softened butter and granulated sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Stir in pudding and milk until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir to combine well. Stir in orange marmalade until well combined. 

4. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. 

5. Prepare topping by stirring coconut, brown sugar, and flour together in a bowl. Pour melted butter on top of this, and stir until well combined. Sprinkle about 1 scant tablespoon on the top of each muffin before baking.

6. Bake muffins for 20 minutes. Remove promptly to cool. 

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