April 2021 – The Listening Ladybug

When I thought about blogging this week I couldn’t bring myself to write about school. I’m on Spring Break and in total chill mode. Baking is something I love to do when I am stressed or when I am not hustling, doing all of my typical routines.

I woke up feeling like I needed something healthy(ish) and baked. Sometimes I wonder if it is a bit weird that I crave and find comfort in muffins, bread and pastries, but I clearly get over negative thoughts of eating carbs. If you follow my blog, you know that this love of eating what I want is a challenge at times because I need to eat gluten free.

Rachel Ray pan is perfect for making 1/2 muffins….and brownies…and cornbread….!

Scrolling Pinterest for GF recipes is fine, but often they overwhelm me, so I often still look at regular recipes and modify. This is something I also do when teaching. Always looking to see how I can modify resources for unique lessons…so I guess it is the perfect carryover to cooking and baking.

Here comes a delicious modification. I very much enjoy Fruity Pebbles. They are fruity, colorful and natural gluten free. Check, check, check! I put my fingers to the screen and started to search Pinterest for a recipe that called for Fruity Pebbles.

I mixed by hand. I figured I burn some pre-muffin calories.

I found one that was simple and fast, for a quick morning treat. My coffee was calling, so I worked quickly and was very pleased with the results.

I am in love with using these bowls with a handle. These I found on Amazon.

I modified this recipe to suit my needs. I decided to take the butter out because I just wanted to take out the fat. Also, I didn’t want to wait for room temperature butter, so I used applesauce. My mini me is lactose intolerant, so I used her lactose free milk. You could probably use what ever milk you prefer. Also, if you want the butter…do it! Add it in.

The last modification was the flour. I choose a GF friendly flour I like. I am sure you can use regular flour or a GF flour that works for you. I think one of the things I love about baking is the freedom to tweak things for personal taste, so if you make this recipe for yourself….tweak away!

Fruity Pebbles Breakfast Muffins

2 cups flour of your choice
1 cup milk of your choice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup Fruity Pebbles
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 400°

Mix together the flour, sugar and baking soda.

Add the applesauce and milk.

Mix the wet and dry completely. Make sure the batter is lump free.

Fold in the Fruity Pebbles.

Spoon into muffin pans. You can use paper liners or just spray your pans with a your favorite nonstick spray.

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

Bake for 10-13 minutes. Times may vary based on the size of you muffins.

***I use these 1/2 muffin pans (Rachel Ray), so I yielded about 18 muffins.

Cool muffins on a wire rack. Place a pan under if you intend to glaze.

Now, the recipe I found stopped here. And if you stop here as well, I am sure you will find these muffins a colorful and happy edition to your morning coffee, tea or juice, but if you wanna live large add some GLAZE!