Mini Muffins - Sweet and Savoury

By Clean Plate

These Mini Muffins are so quick to make and delicious.  Plus, there are infinite variations depending on the season and the tastes of the children!  Here we create two varieties, a sweet and a savoury, which pair well and look super Christmassy!

Sweet - Strawberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

 The children can help with just about every step in the process! The cheese and strawberries are easy to cut and can be done roughly so children can easily be involved in these steps! They will also love trying to mush the cheese into the flour. Spooning the mixture into the muffin is also a great way to practice their fine motor skills!

Serves 10

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup self-rising flour
2 Tbsps cream cheese
6-8 fresh strawberries
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup milk
spray oil

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200° C.
2. Mix the two types of flour in a large bowl.
3. Chop the cream cheese into small chunks and mash into the flour with a fork until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Dice the strawberries and add to the mixture.
5. Add the brown sugar and milk and mix until it forms a soft dough.
6. Lightly spray down the muffin tins with the spray oil.
7. Spoon mixture into the tins and bake for about 15 mins

Savoury- Spinach and Cheese Muffins

For the savoury version, our base is the same, but the additional ingredients differ.  As with the Strawberry Muffins above, the children can help all the way. Mashing, grating and chopping are all valuable cooking skills they can master with this recipe.  I usually ask them to use scissors with the spinach because it is easier and gives them snipping practice as well!

Serves 10 

Ingredients:
2 cups self-raising flour
2 Tbsps margarine (rather than Cream Cheese)
2 handfuls of baby spinach
1 1/2 cups grated Edam cheese
1 cup milk
4 cherry tomatoes, sliced

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200° C.
2. Mash the margarine into the flour with a fork until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Roughly cut up the spinach and add to the bowl.
4. Add the grated cheese and the milk, and mix until it forms a soft dough.
5. Lightly spray down the muffin tins with the spray oil.
6. Spoon the mixture into the tins, top with the cherry tomato slices, and bake it for about 15 mins.