Do you ever find a recipe online, and just know it’s going to be a keeper?!

This happened to me several years ago, when I stumbled upon Cookie & Kate’s website.

I really love to bake, but I also am aware of how much sugar my kids eat (aren’t we all!). To be honest, sometimes it is overwhelming. Sugar is all around us, and even with more awareness now, it still seems to be…everywhere. All the time.

I am thankful there are so many recipes and creators that provide alternatives! At the same time, I think sugar / baked goods are such a massive part of hosting, and hospitality, that sometimes I really miss the old days, when you could just make a batch of cookies for your friends and just not worry about it. 🙂

With that said–I always try to strike a balance. I want my kids to be healthy, and learn good eating habits, but I also love to bake for friends who come over.

Our Favorite Muffin Recipe

Years ago, I was googling “healthy muffin recipe” and came across this one on Cookie & Kate’s website. The original calls for blueberry muffins, which is what I made, first.

In the notes, it mentions other things you can use besides blueberries. It also mentions a few variations, so we have played around with these for the past few years. It was a great lesson in chemistry for my kids, because different ingredients definitely change the texture and appearance of the muffins!

Our final favorite muffin was made with the following variations:

• Diced strawberries, instead of blueberries
• Coconut oil, instead of olive oil
• Maple syrup, instead of honey
• Full fat Greek yogurt (richer flavor)
• Skip the extra sugar sprinkling on top

This is our go-to muffin recipe. I usually triple the recipe, keep some, and freeze some! One of the best mom hacks I heard, years ago in a mom’s group, was about batching your meals and baked goods. I can’t even tell you how great it is to have friends coming over, and not have to start a snack from scratch! Just grab those muffins from the freezer, warm them up, and voila–instant homemade snacks.

To take it a step further–another friend shared with me once, that she freezes her cookie dough like that, too! She portions it out into balls, sticks them into a freezer bag, and has them ready to bake at a moment’s notice. Genius.

Read Alouds & Snacks

One of the best ways to enjoy a snack, is while you’re listening to a good book! You may have seen that I recently launched my first book study on Etsy, on the book Let’s Go Home, by Cynthia Rylant.

My teammate Amy, who is the designer and artist behind the book study, created a special page within the book study, just for this muffin recipe! There is a specialty recipe card, that your kiddos can use to either copy out the Cookie & Kate recipe, or jot down your own family recipe(s).

In the book Let’s Go Home, the food is definitely a highlight! This story is about recognizing all of the best parts of your home. There are gorgeous illustrations with lots of detail, beautiful prose to describe various rooms of a home, and just beautiful content overall.

Library Gems Collection Book Studies

If you’d like to learn more about the Library Gems Collection book studies, these three posts are helpful!

• From Allegory to Meager Story: The Breakdown of Children’s Literature
• An Introduction to Library Gems
• A Sneak Peek into Book Study #1: Let’s Go Home

Here is a little video peek at some of the pages:

I hope you enjoy the muffin recipe, and can read it with a favorite book of your own!

Happy munching (and reading!)

With love,

Cait