Peanut Butter Banana Muffins | Fox Den Feature

Hi friends,

Ready for another Fox Den Feature? I know I am! Today we have Lindsey from Follow the Ruels. Lindsey is one of my blogging besties and has been for quite some time now. We originally met, oh gosh, it’s been so long! But I’m pretty sure we met via the weekly Merry Monday link party that I co-host and our friendship grew from there. She was one of my amazing fellow co-hosts for Blogmas in December and we participated in a giveaway together a few months ago, so when I came up with the idea for this series she was, of course, one of the first people I asked. Overall, she’s a super wonderful human and I love her to bits. :)

Alright, that’s enough chit chat from me. Let’s meet Lindsey!

---

Inside the Fox Den: Describe your blog in 2 sentences.

Follow the Ruels: Follow the Ruels is food and lifestyle blog, but mostly the former. I love to bake and cook, so the blog is a great platform for me to share all my recipes, both healthy and indulgent. 

ITFD: When did you start blogging and what made you want to get into it?

FTR: Follow the Ruels started as a wedding blog way back when I was engaged (2012). Then my husband and I moved from Texas to North Carolina so it transitioned into a blog about my life and what I was doing. Turns out, I do a lot of cooking and baking, so the blog naturally transitioned to a food blog.

ITFD: What’s your favorite blog post / project that you’ve created?

FTR: One of the things I love to make are decorated sugar cookies. So because of that, I have several cookie decorating posts on the blog. But the royal icing post might be my favorite. Not only because I couldn’t make these cookies without it, but also because it’s probably my most popular post. 

ITFD: What’s your favorite social media channel and why?

FTR: I love Snapchat! I used to think it was just for teenagers to send pictures they didn’t want their parents to see. But now it’s my favorite way to share the behind the scenes of my recipes and what goes into blog posts. Not to mention my favorite way to keep up with some of my other favorite people.

ITFD: What is your must have blogging resource?

FTR: I am not sure if this counts as a blogging resource, but it has to be Pinterest. I find that it is the best way for me to promote my blog content and recipes. AND I get so much inspiration from other bloggers and posts on Pinterest!

ITFD: What is your biggest blogging pet peeve?

FTR: I absolutely hate it when people don’t credit pictures they use on their blog. Now that I take 99% of the photos for my blog, I understand how much work goes into them. So when people use pictures they clearly didn’t take and don’t credit them, it just bugs me. My other pet peeve is when non-food bloggers (particularly very successful fashion bloggers) post recipes on their blog which will inevitably be more popular than my recipes. This pet peeve is mostly a result of jealousy. :)\

ITFD: What’s a fun thing you do when you’re not blogging?

FTR: I work full time, so blogging is kind of the fun thing I do when I am not working. Even if I didn’t have the blog I would still bake and cook all the time. However, on those beautiful days when I wouldn’t be able to stand being cooped up inside, I love to get out and run or go paddle boarding on the river.

ITFD: How would you describe your personal aesthetic or style?

FTR: For my home, I don’t really have a set aesthetic. I like to keep things pretty simple and stick to neutrals or soft colors. For my wardrobe, I stick to relatively classic, preppy pieces, but I love pops of color and will occasionally indulge in some trendy styles.

ITFD: What’s one thing on your bucket list?

FTR: My bucket list primarily consists of all the places I would love to visit. I would love to say I have been to all 6 continents. I have a lot of work to do to get there (I can only cross off 2). I also have a cooking bucket list. For instance, I would love to learn how to make croissants, soufflés, and beef wellington. 

ITFD: If you were a box of cereal, what kind would you be and why?

FTR: I would love to tell you that I am Reeses Puffs cereal because it is freaking delicious. But if I am being honest, I am probably that box of cereal at the end of the aisle that’s in the healthy section. I am the slightly sweet but mostly practical cereal you eat when you are trying to be good.

ITFD: What is the funniest thing that’s happened to you recently?

FTR: I don’t know how funny this is, but a few weeks ago I got almost everyone in my department, including some managers to take a Spirit Animal quiz. Some people took it so seriously, they wanted to incorporate it into a team training. In case your wondering, my spirit animal is a bear.

ITFD: What are you currently jamming out to?

FTR: Um…do podcasts count? When I am at work or out on a run, I typically listen to podcasts. My favorite are any Game of Thrones podcast, How Stuff Works, and Ted Talks. When I do listen to music, it’s through Spotify. My favorite stations are the Happy Hipster and Folk Pop.

ITFD: What is your favorite store to shop for home goods?

FTR: Recently I have bought a lot of home décor and furniture from Wayfair.com. It has a large selection of things for very reasonable prices. I have gotten everything from an upholstered bed frame to a fan from there.

ITFD: What words of wisdom would you give to newbie bloggers?

FTR: Find your voice and be original. It is easy to get wrapped up in what everyone else is doing. But if you are doing what everyone else is doing, you won’t stand out. Also, invest in a good camera and photo editing software if you plan on posting a lot of images.

ITFD: What do you hope to accomplish (blog or personal wise) in the next year?

FTR: Of course I would love to see my readership grow over the next year. So far, 2016 has been really great for the blog and my readership has grown 10 fold. I would also love to start adding more video content to the blog. This will take some investment in time and money, but I think it could be great for the blog.

---

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself with a lot of left over bananas. We like to buy our bananas at Costco, which means that if my husband and I don’t eat a banana a day, we will have quite a few bananas going brown on our counter. Fortunately there are lots of great ways to use brown bananas (see this banana bread), including these peanut butter banana muffins.

Muffins might be my favorite thing to bake. Maybe because they are essentially a cupcake masquerading as healthy so no one judges you for eating cake for breakfast. But also because there are so many various flavor combinations, of which I have tried a ton (don’t believe me, head over to my blog and search “muffin”). So when I was trying to figure out the best flavor combination to go with the brown bananas sitting on my counter, I thought of my favorite way to eat bananas: with a large spoonful of peanut butter.

The muffin batter itself if flavored with peanut butter powder, peanut butter chips, and of course the bananas. I like my muffin batter on the thicker side, which actually makes for fluffy cupcakes and a nice crunchy top. After I scoop the batter into muffin tins, the muffins bake in just 20 minutes. Easy peasy!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients:

Muffin Batter:

• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup peanut butter powder
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 bananas, mashed
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 5 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Topping:

• 2 tbsp butter, chilled
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp oats
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp pb powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 1 regular muffin tin with muffin tin liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, peanut butter powder, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
3. In a small bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together milk, yogurt, egg, and mashed banana.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix until dry ingredients are just incorporated. Slowly drizzle in butter while mixing.
5. Fold the peanut butter chips into the batter. Then scoop 1/4 cup of batter into each tin using a spoon or, preferably, an ice cream scoop.
6. Mix together topping ingredients until they form a crumbly mixture. Use your fingers to break up butter pieces. Generously top muffins with topping.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

---

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin’ | Tumblr

---

A HUGE thanks to Lindsey for sharing this super delicious recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Muffins with with us all today! She’s been a fantastic guest blogger. If you have any interest in becoming a guest blogger for the Fox Den readers, you can find out more information here.

**This post may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I get a commission. My complete disclosure policy, is here.**