Is it just me or is walking a 5k so much harder than running a 5k?
I can’t tell you how many times I asked Kelly if we were at the finish yet.
It was great to come together in memory Adam and to catch up with the entire family especially since most of the reminiscing revolved around the baking experiences from our childhood.
Kelly and I were always making a mess in our parent’s kitchens creating recipes that no one, not even us, were able to eat.
The one time our brownies exploded in the oven? Well that was because we subbed a cup of baking powder for regular flour because we ran out of flour and figured they were both white so it would work.
After the walk, we headed to Bagel Boss which just so happens to be next to a Red Mango but once again, Red Mango let me down because not only did they not have their standard Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola but they didn’t even have their standard original yogurt (or pomegranate or any of the greek flavors).
Like what the heck Red Mango, get your act together before you lose me!
No problem really because I was actually craving a giant cinnamon raisin bagel anyway.
Kettle cooked bagels are the best bagels and if you are going to bother to eat a bagel it should be right.
The best thing I ate all weekend though happened two nights in a row and I don’t see the trend stopping any time soon.
I baked the most delicious PB & Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins and the dessert genius that I am decided to toast one, crumble it up and add it to a bowl of Trader Joe’s Light Vanilla Ice Cream with extra dark chocolate chips and a spoonful of peanut butter.
Like oh my goodness.
Let’s start at the beginning with how I ended up with a batch of the muffins.
I had a pile of slightly overripe bananas staring at me as I typed up Friday morning’s post so once I hit publish, I set my oven to 350 degrees and got started.
Totally normal to bake before the sun rises, I know.
When I feel like baking, I often start with one ingredient and go from there. Sorta like Kelly and I did as kids only I finally got the hang of it.
Along with the bananas went pumpkin and Mighty Maple peanut butter which give the muffins a fall feeling.
I am in love with the texture. One bite reminded me of the moist yet crumbly yet completely held together mushy yet firm feeling of an Entenmann’s Corn Muffin.
Please tell me you grew up on Entenmann’s Corn Muffins? Straight from the box or toasted and sliced up with peanut butter?
Okay, so even if you have no idea what I am talking about, even if my sheltered New Yorker mind believes Entenmann’s is sold throughout the world and even though these muffins have absolutely nothing to do with corn, you need to make them anyway.
There’s no egg or butter or oil involved here and the sweetness comes from the bananas, pumpkin and peanut butter. These muffins can be made vegan if you use almond milk in place of the organic skim and nondairy chocolate chips in place of the dark.
- •1 cup oat bran
- •1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- •1/3 cup Mighty Maple peanut butter plus extra spoonful*
- •2 overripe bananas
- •1/2 cup milk of choice (I used Horizon Organic Skim Milk)
- •1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- •1 tsp. Baking Soda
- •Pinch of Sea Salt (optional)
- •1 tsp (or more) cinnamon
- •1/4 cup to 1/2 mini dark chocolate chips (you can never have too many)
- *You can sub with maple almond butter. If you do not have a maple nut butter on hand, use any nut butter of choice and add two or three tablespoons of pure maple syrup to the batter. You can add more or less depending upon how sweet you wish to make your muffins.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mash bananas in a bowl.
- Once mashed, add the pumpkin, milk and 1/3 cup of peanut butter and mix together.
- Add in the whole wheat flour, oat bran, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon and mix.
- Sprinkle in the dark chocolate chips along with the extra spoonful of peanut butter and give one final mix.
- Spoon into lightly greased muffin tin and bake for twenty minutes or until the tops of the muffins are springy to the touch or slightly golden brown.
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Do you find it easier to run miles or walk miles?
Did you run a race over the weekend? How did it go?
If you had to select one muffin from a bakery case, which would you choose? Totally a chocolate chip.
The Cookie ChRUNicles 