Bernie the Bug and Banana Muffins Make an Appearance

I haven't talked too very much about my job here on my blog. Mostly because no one wants to hear a rendition of the "Johnny Test" theme song, tips on how to break up a wrestling match between two brothers, or stories of the mornings spent cleaning up cat puke, making pb and j sandwiches, washing another family's dinner dishes from the previous night and coercing the world's most argumentative 7 year old into the shower. (and that's a good morning...)
Somedays I really really can't wait til I can stop being a nanny. It is a very hard job. Other days when a 5 year old comes up to me, wraps herself around my ankles and says "We're playing the hugging game and I'm gonna win. I'm gonna hug you to death." Well...let's just say being a nanny ain't so bad.
You learn a few lessons when you are a nanny. One of the earliest lessons learned: Kids can be frightened into anything by the most ridiculous things. Unreasonably so. I still remember the time the boys told me that Bigfoot was in fact real and I should lock the doors to make sure one didn't break in while they were sleeping.

Oy vey.
This past Friday, Fish walked in the house, threw his backpack on the floor and announced that he learned all about Bernie the Bug at school. Further conversation and with the help of a badly drawn coloring page attached to a Destist Office business card informed me that Bernie the Bug was a tiny monster with sharp teeth, suction cups for toes and fingers, and a faucet like nose. He lived in your mouth, took in sugar with his hideous monster mouth, turned it into acid that then squirted from his nose and rotted away at your teeth. (There's a lot of teeth going on here.) Bernie the Bug then used his suction cup extremities to stick himself inside the teeth and kill the "brains" (I'm guessing this is 7 year old speak for "root", I'm not really sure. At this point I was flabbergasted. What kind of dentist tells kid things like that??) For the next two hours Fish would eat nothing. Not. A. Thing. Bernie the Bug was lurking behind every after school snack with evil intentions. And when he saw Princess Kitty later, the first thing he told her was that Bernie the Bug was out to get them and their teeth.  Try as I might, I could not convince them that Bernie the Bug was just a fictional character invented by dentists everywhere. Nothing I said could penetrate their frightened little minds. Bernie the Bug is now just as real and scary as Bigfoot.

So thinking about my little wards and their new fear of sugary treats, I set off to make not cupcakes, not cookies, not a creme brulee, but a good old "healthy" baked good: a muffin.
Banana Walnut White Chocolate Muffins.

Okay, so that word up there "heatlhy"? You can ignore that if you want. These do have white chocolate chips in them I guess. But to me, they are healthy. Because I thought a good hour about putting frosting on them and because I didn't: healthy. Take it or leave it folks.

Excited to eat Muffffiinnnns!

Also, I had two muffins to photograph here. Within the aforementioned hour my family somehow disposed of the ten other muffins. They are so light and fluffy, it was impossible to only eat one. Usually I can take photos the morning after I bake something. I realized 45 minutes after pulling them from the oven that this wasn't going to be the case. I needed to get pictures tonight. They wouldn't not last. I was right. As soon as I took the pictures me and my brother ate them. There's one thing for sure: we might be scared of Bernie the Bug, but calories? Nope. We are fearless.

Banana Walnut White Chocolate Muffins
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick of softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 mashed overripe bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, about three to five minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs, beating after adding each. Scrape down the bowl and beat again. Add in the sour cream and bananas, mixing until well combined. Last, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the nuts and white chocolate. Scoop into muffin tins and bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The Blanketed Banana Muffin Stealing Boy.  

Eat as soon as they are cool enough for you to not burn yourself when trying to take the wrapper off. Because they are that awesome. And you are that awesome, which means you deserve to eat a (kinda) healthy muffin that tastes like heaven.