I hope everyone had a wonderful summer weekend. I’m still pregnant…and happy about it too! My OB was out of town over the weekend, so we told Lucy to wait until she returned. And she did. Now we’ll see if she’ll listen to me again. I’d love for her to be born over Father’s Day weekend.
My motivation to work in the kitchen is diminishing. I still feel good, but the thought of turning on my oven or stove when our house is already nearing 80 degrees is less than appealing. Yesterday afternoon, I knew I’d feel better if I baked something…but it took a lot of convincing to actually get out my bowls and pans.
If I’ve missed anything during my pregnancy, I’ve missed coffee. As a graduate student and a writer, I drank at least two cups of strong, black coffee every day. One of my best friends (the lovely Mallory) opened a coffee shop (Vintage Heart) in East Austin, and I spent my mornings there, working and drinking. But when I got pregnant in October, I developed the strongest aversion to most everything I loved. I couldn’t even smell coffee without feeling sick. This lasted about 12 weeks…I thought it would never end.
When I moved back to Colorado, my stomach finally settled. My OB told me I could drink coffee occasionally, but that it was best to avoid caffeine as a general principle. Since hearing that advice, I’ve had a few cups of good coffee…and while I loved the taste and the slight jolt of energy, Lucy reminded me that caffeine indeed crosses the placenta. She moved and kicked and shifted her body. And so for her sake, I don’t take more than a sip. Or I make a batch of these coffee banana muffins.
This is a classic banana muffin recipe made more complex with the addition of strongly brewed coffee. If you don’t like the flavor of coffee, leave it out, but I think you’ll find it adds a layer of complexity often lacking in most banana muffin recipes.
Oh yes, I usually post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If you don’t see a post from me on one of those days…you can assume our baby has made (or is making) her arrival! I’ll be sure to update my facebook page with baby pics as soon as everything settles 🙂
Banana Coffee Muffins
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 TBSP strong, brewed coffee
1 teaspoon finely ground coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12 tin muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter.
With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, coffee, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped nuts (optional). Divide muffin batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Cool on rack before removing from pan.
Eeeeeeeee baby countdown! I’m so excited for you 😀
And yum, looove these muffins.
This is SO exciting Monet! I can’t wait for everyone to meet little Lucy! Take care of yourself these last few days. Sending good thoughts and love to your family!
These muffins sound fantastic by the way!!!
It would be so amazing if Lucy was born on Father’s Day weekend. What better gift could there be?
These muffins sound great. I was planning on making muffins tonight to get me through the school week, and these would be perfect.
I can’t wait to meet Lucy! I thought there might be a baby post today but I’m happy to hear it isn’t so with your OB being gone over the weekend. I just had my usual 2 cups of black, strong coffee. That will be tough when I start a family not having it. These muffins sound delicious! We’ll see if Lucy listens to her mother and waits until Father’s Day weekend.
We are trying with T. to make little Mary but I did not think about “consequences”. You see I love my cup of coffee in the morning and I cannot imagine not having it. Maybe this muffins will help me to survive when it finelly happen 🙂
I am glad that Lucy is a good girl and listen to you. It would be a grat present for daddy 🙂
Yum! I often combine bananas with peanut butter and/or chocolate, but forget about coffee. These sound like a great flavor combination.
I’d love to hear how you weaned off caffeine for pregnancy, and I’m wondering if the weaning wasn’t even an issue since the smell of coffee was such a turn-off.
Yay muffins! Banana and coffee has definitely made an appearance in baked good at our house before. So satisfying, and not too sweet. 🙂
Such an exciting time for you and your hubby! Banana coffee muffins sound like something wonderful to have with your morning tea! Yum!
Monet–I am keeping you in my thoughts and totally love these muffins, btw!
Monet,
I really want to make these muffins soon. I am intrigued by the banana coffee combo. I can’t wait until Lucy makes her appearance. Remember, babies come on their own time:)
These are lovely!!!!
Cool- I’d never thought to use regular ground coffee in a baked good. And I bought some chocolate chips would be great in these!
I *love* banana and coffee together! Breakfast by the handful. 😉 Can’t wait to meet your lovely little one! (But of course, I can wait until Father’s Day.) *grin*
I cannot wait to hear your joyous news! Take good care, my sweet friend. xo
These sound just lovely. I didn’t care for coffee at the beginning of my pregnancy either. I thought it smelled like fish through most of my morning sickness (which lasted until week 17).
Gorgeous muffins.
I am really excited for you both and cannot wait to hear the great news!
Cheers,
Rosa
OH I am so so excited for you my dear friend!
These muffins are incredibly delicious 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I don’t drink coffee but I love coffee cakes and muffins! These look so delicious!
Oh man coffee is definitely what I’ll miss the most when I’m pregnant! I’ll just have to eat a lot of coffee-infused treats to get my fix! Fingers crossed that Lucy listens to you guys!
Ditching the coffee is the hardest part! I actually still drank a cup a day, but now with baby here and me breastfeeding I’m just drinking one cup of decaf. Maybe I’ll eat 12 of these muffins to get my boost!
What an exciting time!!! I’m so excited for this new journey for you!
I can’t imagine feeling sick smelling coffee, it’s my favorite scent in the world! Even though I don’t drink it, heh. How odd is that? These muffins look wonderful, Monet. So excited for little Lucy to make her debut this month! xox
So excited for you guys! Final countdown now 🙂 I can see why you wouldn’t want to turn on the oven right now, although I’m glad you were able to feel better with these creative muffins.
Enjoy your week, Monet! 🙂
Oh my goodness gracious! My fruit and coffee all wrapped up in one for the morning!? You are a genius!
Hi Monet,
Your muffins sounds good, I would not skip on the coffee, I love coffee too!
This is exciting, waiting for news of the big day! could not wait to see baby Lucy!
Take care!
I never had coffee and banana in a muffin…and it sure sound and look great Monet…I would love to have these muffins for breakfast.
I look forward to the news Monet…
You totally need to take a break, my friend! Well, you’ll probably need to take one after Lucy is here. So, maybe just keep going for as long as you can 🙂
Been thinking about you!
Banana and coffee together? Great idea!
I do think there’s something to that caffeine crossing the placenta thing.
When pregnant with me, my mom stopped drinking caffeine entirely. She never went back to it, and I grew up in a caffeine free household. As a result, I am INCREDIBLY sensitive to caffeine. To the point where if I have a cup of coffee after 2pm, I’m up ALL night.
Since I hate that feeling, I rarely drink caffeine. And so giving it up during pregnancy seemed like a no-brainer. And not a difficulty.
And now, I think I’ve passed on my sensitivity to my son. If I have any caffeine, he’s up all night too! And that’s just what’s passed on through breastmilk! So the moral of this story? It’s probably good that you’re having coffee every now and again so she doesn’t end up like me!
Eeeeppps! So excited about Lucy’s arrival anytime now!! Yay!!
This muffins are what I would crave for breakfast. With coffee. Yum!
I think of you every day and hope sweet Lucy’s birthday is peaceful, calm and loving. It will be the best day of your life.
I really like your muffins. I could live without coffee although I love a cup of the good stuff.