Peanut butter muffins are single-serving sized baked goods that are similar to cakes, though not generally as sweet or as buttery. The main flavor in these muffins is peanut butter, which is a type of paste made from peanuts. Other foods that are commonly eaten with peanut butter, such as chocolate and bananas, may also be used in peanut butter muffins. These muffins are fairly sweet and are frequently eaten for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert.
There are many different recipes that can be followed to make peanut butter muffins, though there are some common ingredients that most recipes share. All muffins require the use of flour as a base. A binder, such as egg or oil is also needed. Depending on how sweet the cook wants the muffins to be, sugar may also be added. So that they do not become too dry, a liquid such as milk, juice, or water also needs to be mixed into the batter.
The most important ingredient in peanut butter muffins is, of course, peanut butter. This type of butter is made from ground-up peanuts, a legume native to Central and South America. These legumes are ground into a creamy paste and mixed with salt and sometimes sugar to make peanut butter. There is a large amount of oil in peanuts so it is not necessary to add oil to peanut butter for it to maintain its texture.
The wet and dry ingredients in peanut butter muffins are mixed together separately. The flour, sugar, baking powder, and any other optional dry ingredients, such as cocoa powder, must be combined thoroughly before the wet ingredients are mixed in. Once all the ingredients are combined, the batter can be poured into a special baking dish called a muffin tray. These trays have small circular depressions so that the muffins bake into small cakes that can fit in a person's hand.
There are a number of optional ingredients that can also be added to peanut butter muffins. Bananas can be mashed and then mixed into the batter. Chocolate chips or cocoa powder can also be added to make peanut butter chocolate muffins. It is also possible to add fillings, such as jam, creamed peanut butter, or frostings to these types of muffins in order to make them sweeter. With these additional ingredients, peanut butter muffins can make good desserts or sweet snacks.