It’s Monday. Doesn’t a strong cup of coffee and a slice of homemade coffee cake sound utterly perfect?

I know.  I first tasted this coffee cake while picking out paint with a dear friend. It was unreal. Assuming it was fresh from a bakery I asked her which one.

“Oh, my mother-in-law made it.”

Ugh, that’s annoying. Who makes coffee cake from scratch?

Well, now I do. Because I had to have that recipe. And you know what? It was so easy. Like, beginning level baking easy. Promise.

Half stayed with us, and half went to my parents, where my mom begged for the recipe and then took it to her friend’s home, who then texted that ‘it was the best coffee cake she’s ever had and she wished she hadn’t shared it.’

Love love love how recipes travel, don’t you? I wonder who will make it next.

I love recipes that make me feel like a better mom. We all need those from time to time, right? 

This is one of those recipes.

See, it all started with these mini muffins. They have been such a hit with dear family and friends. Yippee! Nothing makes me happier. 

So then I thought… what if I could up the health factor even more? I had a plethora of zucchini (shhh!) dying to be used up. There had to be some kind of awesome muffin that could aid in that.

And there is: these zucchini banana chocolate chip muffins. The recipe also includes healthy whole wheat flour, banana, and just 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Okay, okay, there are mini chocolate chips in there, too, but you could skip those. Although I’m not quite sure why you would. All great moms include mini chocolate chips.

Poor B.

You see, lately he’s been, well, stuck at baseball fields. And generally it’s ok. He loves sports. He loves being outside. He loves baseball. But I’m talking like, thirteen hours in six days stuck. Which, in two year old world, is a lot of hours. Um, even in 33 year old world, it’s kind of a lot.

But I have to give him credit. He hangs well. Especially when there is a park and a few of his older lady friends nearby. And by older I mean five years old. But as two year olds often do, meltdowns have occurred from time to time. 

And that’s where these mini banana muffins come in. I’m not saying they will end your two year old tantrums, but they sure do help. Packed with bananas, whole wheat flour, minimal sugar, and a touch of sweetness, well, they are just the thing to get kids through that hunger until dinner is served.

Even if dinner is at 9PM. I know, I know. I’m a horrible mother. One of the negatives of having an almost 6 year gap between your kids is that late night baseball games for one equals dinner past bedtime for another.

Hey, I don’t think any permanent damage is being done. So far.

P.S. These banana muffins go everywhere with us! Breakfast on the go, park snacks, baseball snacks in and out of the dugout. My boys gobble. them. up.