I have been wanting to make these muffins for a while, but Let's be honest, you have to work up a certain amount of bravery to put broccoli in a blender and then add it to a muffin.
Turns out there was nothing to be afraid of! These were so delicious. I doubled the recipe when I made it, because so many of the ingredients called for a half of this, or a half of that. My kids ate the first 18 muffins right when they came out of the oven. Joseph was so impressed he took a plate over to his parent's house and the next day was Sunday, and that finished them up. 36 muffins in a day and a half. That has GOT to be a new record, even for us.
I am going to post this recipe a bit different. I am going to list all the ingredients here - and then walk you through some photos of me making the muffins. Then add the end, I'll post the recipe with ingredients and instructions in its entirety. That way, you can see my blender broccoli and not be totally freaked out when you see yours.
Ingredients :
1 cup flour, whole wheat
1 cup flour, all-purpose
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup broccoli, florets
1 medium zucchini
1 1/2 medium carrot
1/2 medium apple
1 medium banana
1/8 cup apple juice
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 cup yogurt, plain
I started out by getting all my ingredients out on the counter. I like to bake this way, instead of getting each one out as I need it. I shredded my carrots with my tiniest shredder and I peeled the zucchini before I shredded it.
Next it was time to mix the dry ingredients together. I did this in my largest bowl, since this is the place that everything gets added to at the end. I also always mix my dry ingredients together. I think it is really important to mix all the spices evenly through the flour mixture and also to get you baking agents like soda or powder to be evenly distributed so your muffins will rise equally.
This is my sugar, eggs, vanilla and butter. I used a hand mixer for this because I think it really makes a difference in the texture of the eggs and butter to have them beaten light and bubbly. Be sure your butter is nice and soft - get is as soft as you can without getting it too melty. It is important as part of the liquid balance in the muffins.
For those of you that make Popeye Smoothies this is probably a totally normal sight. But I was prepared to completely grossed out by it. Actually it just smelled like apples and tasted like banana. And the only sign there was broccoli was in it was the tiny little flowers that looked like dots. If you ask me, that is lots less scary that strips of unpeeled zucchini. I decided this was nothing that I should have been worried about at all.
You add your blender to your wet ingredients, stir and then add those wet ingredients to your dry. Stir just until incorporated and bake.
Ready for the recipe?
Ingredients :
1 cup flour, whole wheat
1 cup flour, all-purpose
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup broccoli, florets
1 medium zucchini
1 1/2 medium carrot
1/2 medium apple
1 medium banana
1/8 cup apple juice
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 cup yogurt, plain
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix together flours, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Soften butter. (remember, soft, but not melty)
In a smaller bowl, with your hand mixer (or your strong arms) mix the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla.
Beat well.
In a food processor, combine steamed broccoli, zucchini, apple, banana, apple juice, and applesauce.
Pulse until thoroughly mixed. (Don't make it a smoothie - just so it is all "smooth" that makes no sense until you try it)
Shred carrots. If you don’t want the shreds in your muffin, combine your carrots with the rest of the fruits and veggies in the food processor. I added my carrots to the wet mixture so they would stay in shreds, my kids are really familiar with carrots in muffins (and cake) so it was very normal to them, if your kids might be timid, go ahead and blend them.
Combine the fruit and veggies, carrots, and yogurt, into the wet ingredient mixture sugar/butter/eggs) and beat until mixed.
Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined and wet.
In a muffin tin, place muffin papers or spray with cooking spray.
Scoop the mixture into a prepared muffin pan. Fill each spot about 3/4 of the way full.
** For mini muffins: Bake in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes for mini-muffins
**For regular size muffins: Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.
Bake until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean or they bounce back when you touch them with your finger.
