Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...Recipes?

Part of the empty nest thingy is figuring out how not to cook every meal to serve 8-12. Yes, we're only a family of six, but I've had three men eating here for awhile now plus leftovers once in a while are helpful.  This being the case, I realized last week that I had a good amount of homemade granola bars leftover from when the boys were still home. Now, I could have frozen them or given them away or eaten all of them, but there comes a time to figure out something else. And so was born the Granola Bar Muffin recipe. Quick and easy plus not requiring any fancy ingredients, these moist breakfast gems have been not only delicious but a great way to reduce extra food, reuse an ingredient in a new way and recycle a recipe tweaking it enough to make something new! 

                          

               ,                           Good mornings come with muffins and meows!

GRANOLA BAR MUFFINS

Ingredients

For the muffins:
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granola bars*, crumbled up 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the topping:
• 1 & 1/3 cups granola bars*, crumbled up
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Instructions

To make the muffins:

Preheat oven to 375°. Line 12 standard-sized muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, crumbled granola bars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

In a separate bowl, mix sugar, yogurt, butter, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Add flour mixture, and mix just until blended.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.

To make the topping:

Combine crumbled granola bars, brown sugar, and butter until combined and crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over muffin batter in pan.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until muffins are set and edges are browned.

Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then, remove from pans to cool completely. Makes about 12 regular size muffins. 

*i used homemade granola bars, but I think any kind would work. Experiment with different kinds & let me know your favorite!