The Pantry-Clearing Muffins For Infants You May Just NEED To Make
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: your child is hungry; there’s nothing to eat in your house. You stopped serving him/her pouches or purees; there are still a gazillion left in your kitchen. Your child wants a ‘treat’; you want them to eat something–anything–of substance.
You know what you do? You make muffins. And not just any muffins: you make empty-your-pantry muffins. And, sure, there are lots of cool muffin ideas out there–we have one, too!--but these thrill two birds with one moan: they’re nutritious and utilize/get rid of whatever food is lying around. Effort required: minimal. And you can’t mess these up. Save this one for when you’re really really really out of ideas or effort.
(Note: this will make 24 mini muffins or 8-10 regular sized muffins.)
- 1 cup Oat Flour (see Note on turning rolled or overnight oats into flour)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1 large Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Applesauce (or two pouches/jars)
- 3 tbsp Oil (neutral oil preferred; olive oil just fine)
- Hemp Powder (optional; add for added protein)
- Heat oven to 350. Coat muffin tin wells with cooking spray.
Add oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and a couple dashes of salt to a small bowl; sift until well mixed.
- Mix all the wet ingredients–the egg, sour cream, pouches/purees/applesauce, the oil, and a splash of vanilla extract–in a bowl until blended.
- Pour flour mixture into wet ingredients bowl and mix until blended. If using hemp powder, pour a chunk into batter and mix in; if not, and the batter feels a bit loose or liquidy, add a bit more oat flour to thicken.
- Pour into muffin trays, leaving the top 1/4th of each tin open so that the muffins can rise during cooking
- Bake for 15 minutes; remove and test doneness by sticking a knife into a muffin–if none of the insides stick to the knife when removed, it’s fully cooked.
Assuming you made mini-versions, these are small and squishy enough for any child over one to handle and chew at his/her own discretion. Unless you are particularly generous with your pouch or applesauce, the muffin will not be overly sweet; feel free to add a dollop of honey or agave to the top at your discretion.
You can replace the sour cream with yogurt or soft cheese (i.e., ricotta, mascarpone); you can use pumpkin puree–or, really, any puree–instead of applesauce or pouch stuff. Can’t wait 15 minutes for the muffins to cook? Make pancakes out of the batter instead!
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
