Is it possible for your own baby to give you baby fever? Well, I guess that’s a rhetorical question, because the answer is yes, yes it is. My littlest has always been amazing, but he has lately gotten even better as he’s turned into a snuggler. I think the over-the-top positive reinforcement when it happened by chance made him a quick study, and now he is all smiley, snuggly nuzzles almost every time you pick him up. I’m talking head until the chin, full body drape, newborn-esque snuggles.
They just feel so good. It probably helps that he seems to have stopped growing at the moment, and is hovering at a small-for-his-age-but-perfectly-snugglable size. Although he does occasionally ruin the moment by taking a strong chomp out of my upper arm excess, giving me more motivation to pull out those weights on the regular.
Anyway, one must distract oneself from such notions at times, and the kitchen is always a convenient distraction, so we’re stuffin’ muffins! Muffins in the oven are much quicker and easier than buns in the oven, if you get my drift.
When I first got my Reese’s spread, I wanted to stuff muffins. The sugar results, however, didn’t really seem like breakfast fare, and Carl was on the fence about them. As a result, I made these cookies, and they were really a better use of the spread, so I rolled with it and stuck these muffins in the freezer to ponder. Then my kids kept asking for them, and I kept having one when they did, and before you know it, they had disappeared. Based solely on my kids’ endorsements, these deserve to be shared.
More snack than breakfast, you could just as easily stuff these with peanut butter, jelly, or chocolate spread, obviously. They pack great in a lunchbox, and are fun for little helpers to help with. I personally liked to spread the filling around with my finger when I got to it so I got some in every bite, and not too much in any one bite. Which is to say, you could just skip the filling and spread something on your regular muffin :) But finding it inside is more fun, and way easier to throw in a lunch! If you’re a filled-doughnut sort of person, you’re going to love these.
- ⅓ cup butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
- 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 teaspoons filling of your choice (Reese's spread, peanut butter, jam/jelly, Nutella)
- TOPPING
- 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line muffin pan with 8 liners or spray thoroughly with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed. Add egg, vanilla, and milk and mix well.
- In smaller bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add to butter mixture and stir just until combined - do not overmix or muffins will be tough.
- Spoon 1 generous Tablespoon of batter into each prepared muffin hole. Top with 1 teaspoon of filling in the center, then another heaping Tablespoon of batter on top. Fill the empty muffin tins halfway with water to ensure even baking.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, until tops are set and firm to the touch. Leave muffins in pan to cool while you prep the topping.
- For the topping, microwave butter in a small bowl for about 30 seconds. Stir until fully melted. In a separate small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon. When muffins are cool enough to handle, dip the top of each muffin into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Set on rack to cool completely.
- Muffins stay fresh in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Freeze for longer storage and reheat as needed (about 25-30 seconds in the microwave).
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Oh I LOVE the snuggles! My daughter was such a snuggler until she was about 6 months and was able to move around. Now when she is sick or just tired she will come to me and snuggle – I gotta take advantage of those times!
Also – these muffins have to happen for me this weekend. Look so good.
Haha, so funny! Eli started getting extra snuggly a couple of weeks ago, wanting to tuck himself up into my neck, crawling into my lap whenever he can, making me all like “GIVE ME ALL THE BABIES”. <3 Miss your babies too!
Baby fever, eh? ;)
These look so good! Love the Reese’s filling!