I’ve made blueberry, banana, lemon and probably many more fruit-inspired muffins in my lifetime, but never a grape muffin.
We had a great sale on grapes at our grocery store this week. In my experience usually that means that the grapes are less than tasty, but when I tried these black grapes I knew they would be a SUPER highlight for some Superfood PB&J muffins. If you missed my previous post on Superfood muffins I highly recommend that you indulge. In that post, we talked about: sweet potatoes, pomegranate, citrus, walnuts, cranberries, and dark chocolate.
I had such a great response to that post that I decided to create a second superfood muffin with a few new SUPERSTARS!
Our old friend, the sweet potato, is back in this recipe. If you have ever made muffins with applesauce instead of oil it is the same concept. However, by adding sweet potatoes instead of applesauce, you are adding 290% more potassium and over 200% of your recommended intake of Vitamin A. Potassium may naturally help with regulating blood pressure and vitamin A is good for your eyes and your immune system. Now that is what I call a SUPER food!
The new superfoods in this recipe are grapes and healthy fats.
- Nut butters have healthy fats which don’t raise your cholesterol and they also help us absorb the vitamins in our foods!
- Grapes contain antioxidants called polyphenols that help reduce inflammation in our bodies. Studies have also found that people who eat a diet high in blue/purple fruits and vegetables eat fewer added sugars, which is definitely true in this recipe.
When I pulled these muffins out of the oven they oozed with grape goodness, and I wondered why I hadn’t been making grape muffins forever! Be ready to serve these warm to your PB&J loving kids. Your family will love these, but I think my favorite thing about this recipe is how little sugar it needed. I added just a hint to bring out the natural sweetness of the grapes, juice, and sweet potatoes (less than a teaspoon of sugar per muffin, compared to 7 teaspoons in a typical muffin).
SUPERFOOD PB&J Muffins
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cups Welch’s 100% White Grape Juice
- 2 – 4oz jars of pureed sweet potato (I use baby food, but you could also make your own)
- 2 cups flour
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup of black grapes
- 2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter or your favorite nut butter
- 1/4 cup powdered peanut butter (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray or line the bottom of 12 medium muffin cups.
3. In a large bowl beat egg; stir in juice, sweet potatoes and grapes.
4. In a medium bowl combine, flour, sugar and baking powder and powdered peanut butter if using. Mix into wet ingredients just until moistened.
5. Scoop a small spoonful of batter with at least one grape into the bottom of each cup (should fill no more than a 1/4 of the muffin cup)
6. Warm nut butter in a microwave safe dish for 30 seconds or until thin and easy to spread.
7. Drop a small dollop of nut butter into each muffin cup. Then top with remaining batter until each of the muffin cups are about 3/4 full.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. While still warm spread a thin layer remaining nut butter on each muffin for an extra peanut buttery delight.