Missy Chase Lapine's Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

Aidan loves these and I'm a fan too. The recipe is from The Sneaky Chef, a cookbook dedicated to sneaking fruits, vegetables and whole grains into your child's favorite foods. Basically, she makes purees, juices and flour blends that can be added to everyday foods like mac n cheese and muffins so that your little ones are getting the nutrients they need without the food fight. I strongly recommend her book and thought I would post one recipe (which also includes recipes for her 'Orange Puree' and 'Flour Blend') that I am particularly fond of.

1 Cup Flour Blend (see below)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1/4 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup canola oil

3/4 Cup Orange Puree (see below)

3/4 Cup smooth peanut butter

8 heaping teaspoons favorite jam

(jelly doesn't work as well as jam - jelly disappears

into the muffins)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper liners (or spray muffin pan with vegetable oil spray).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the FLour Blend, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined, then whisk in the oil, Orange Puree, and peanut butter. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until flour is just moistened (don't overmix or muffins will be dense).

Scoop about two tablespoons of batter into the large muffin cups until half full. Place a heaping teaspoon of jam in the center of each muffin. Cover the jam with another 2 tablespoons or so of batter, filling the cups just over the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

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Flour Blend Recipe

1/3 Cup unsweetened wheat germ

1/3 Cup whole wheat flour

1/3 Cup unbleached all-purpose white flour

Mix all ingredients together. Can be stored in the refrigerator for months.

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Orange Puree

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped

3 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced into thick chunks

3-4 Tbs water

Steam the carrots and potato for about 20 minutes (or boil for same amount of time) until vegetables are very tender. Puree cooked vegetables in food processor with 2 Tbs water. If necessary, add remaining amounts of water to make a smooth puree. This makes about 2 Cups of puree. N.B. I freeze the remainder in ice-cube trays and defrost one cube to mix with another cube of plain pureed fruit and applesauce. Aidan loves this!