Muffin men

Back at the beginning of June I made some mini muffins on a whim, so that I'd have something easy and portable for Nico to eat at my desk at work each morning before summer camp started. It turns out my kids really like mini muffins. Like, really like them. They've eaten so many that I seriously considered ordering a bulk case of muffin papers from a restaurant supply company. At first I made box mixes from the store, but then I started feeling kind of guilty about it. I tried the basic plain muffin recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook with chocolate chips thrown in, but they were awful - the texture was all wrong. I'm not sure if I lost count and added and extra scoop of flour, or what. Has anyone ever used that recipe and liked it? I haven't made another attempt since I was so annoyed by the wasted supplies and work that first time.

When I can get nice zucchini, I use the Better Homes & Gardens zucchini bread recipe and add chocolate chips - the boys have no idea they're semi-healthy. I've been buying this "simple mornings" mix that claims to have no artificial ingredients for a blueberry option, though I'd still like to come up with a version I can make myself. And last night I made banana muffins from this recipe and holy cats, the house smelled AMAZING. I could easily eat the entire batch myself if I let myself get started. It's really good as bread and even better as mini muffins, it turns out. (I add a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon to the recipe since cinnamon makes everything better. Oh, and I bake all the minis for 15 minutes or so, regardless of what the recipe claims to be the correct bake time.)

I have a really good pumpkin bread recipe for when zucchini season ends, but if the children keep eating muffins like they're eating them now (four per kid, every morning), I'd love to have some more semi-healthy options. So, hit me with your favorite muffin or quick bread recipes, pretty please! Two muffin-loving small boys thank you.

Turns out if you leave two small children alone with a bowl of mini muffins, they will eat all the mini muffins.