Microwave mug muffins! Super easy to make!

Microwave mug muffins! Super easy to make!

This recipe could be called, “Where there is a will, there is a way mug muffins” or “Necessity is the mother of invention cake.”  But those names are quite a mouthful!  Eating gluten-free and low sugar often means that good packaged foods are either hard to come by or quite expensive.  Since our daughters often can’t grab something packaged when they are looking for a snack, they made up this mug cake all on their own, and they love it!

It’s really something a child as young as 5 could make without any help (or maybe just a little guidance).  There are no eggs to crack and no oven to preheat.  Simply mix the ingredients together and pop the mug in the microwave for a minute or two.  Let it cool for a few minutes, and enjoy!   Yum!

We recommend using a porcelain mug or dish.  Porcelain tends to allow the heat to go directly to the food, whereas a stoneware mug can absorb more of the heat from the microwave (leading to longer cooking times) and become very hot to the touch.

One of our daughters likes to sweeten hers with honey, and she calls it a “honey puff,” as it puffs up nicely when it cooks.  Another daughter likes to add cocoa powder to hers for a brownie-style mug cake.

Do your children like to be creative in the kitchen?

Announcing our first ever

BAKING CONTEST! 

(Yes, there will be prizes!)

Experiment with this recipe by adding new fun flavors (like cinnamon or almond extract) or ingredients (like berries or chocolate chips), then submit your recipe and photo of your mug cake for a chance to win a fun prize!  Click here to find out more.

This mug cake recipe is really flexible.  In fact, our girls had never really measured the ingredients before, so we had to backtrack and figure out what quantities of ingredients they were actually using.  So if you think it needs a little more maple syrup for a sweeter taste, or a little less milk and a little more butter for a richer taste, go for it!

However, the key to making this work is using equal parts almond flour and light buckwheat flour.  We decided to experiment for you to see if we could just use almond flour or use a combo of almond flour and coconut flour, and rather than forming a beautiful cake, the ingredients just exploded out of the cup (yikes!), so please use equal parts light buckwheat and almond flour when you make this mug cake. 

You can find light buckwheat flour on Amazon or you can order it in bulk for a discounted price directly from Bouchard Family Farms.  If you want to read the story of how we came to know and love buckwheat, click here.  We have tried a variety of brands of almond flour, one we like is Anthony’s almond flour (but almond flour is pretty easy to find at most grocery stores too).  And now…  it’s time to make a yummy snack!

Let’s make a mug cake!

mug cake ingredients

Gather your ingredients:

  • Butter
  • Almond flour
  • LIGHT Buckwheat flour
  • Baking powder
  • Vanilla extract
  • Greek yogurt
  • Almond milk
  • Sweeter of your choice (maple syrup, honey or sweet leaf)

Optional:

  • Cocoa powder
  • Other flavorings/additional ingredients of your choice

 

 

Gather your kitchen supplies:

  • 1/2 tsp 
  • 1 Tbsp
  • 1/4 cup
  • large spoon
  • microwave safe mug, bowl, or ramekin
  • butter knife
  • stirring spoon

 

measuring spoons and mug

Get ready for a yummy treat!

butter

Step 1

Slice 1 Tbsp of butter (use the lines on the butter wrapper to help you).

butter in mug

Step 2

Place the butter in the mug.

mug in microwave

Step 3

Place the mug in the microwave until the butter is melted (about 30 seconds).

melted butter

Step 4

Take the mug with the melted butter out of the microwave and set it on the counter.

almond flour

Step 5

Measure 2 Tablespoons of almond flour.

almond flour pouring

Step 6

Pour the 2 Tablespoons of almond flour into the mug.

buckwheat

Step 7

Measure 2 Tablespoons of light buckwheat flour.

pour buckwheat

Step 8

Pour the 2 Tablespoons of light buckwheat into the mug.

baking powder

Step 9

Meaure 1/2 tsp baking powder and add it to the mug.

maple syrup

Step 10

Measure 1 Tbsp maple syrup and add it to the mug.  (Or use a sweetener of your choice, such as 1 Tbsp honey or a packet of SweetLeaf.)

vanilla

Step 11

Measure 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and add it to the mug.

almond milk

Step 12

Measure 1/4 cup almond milk and add it to the mug.

almond milk

Step 13

Pour the milk into the mug.

greek yogurt

Step 14

Measure 1/4 cup Greek yogurt.

greek yogurt

Step 15

Add the yogurt to the mug.

stir mug cake

Step 16

Stir everything together until well combined.  Make sure your mug is no more than 3/4 full – if necessary, transfer to a larger container.

cocoa powder

Optional

Add flavoring of your choice (we used 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder for the mug cake pictured here) then stir again until well combined.

mug in microwave

Step 17

Place the mug in the microwave.  Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes.

mug cake

Step 18

Check to see that the mug cake is nicely cooked (you might want to stick a spoon into it to see that it is well cooked to the bottom, if necessary, cook slightly longer).

microwave mug muffin

Step 19

Remove the mug from the microwave, being careful as it may be hot to the touch (use a potholder if needed).  Wait a few minutes for the mug cake to cool (it might be quite hot!).  Then enjoy!

Do you and your budding baker like to read too?  We invite you to check out these fun books with a baking theme:

We love the Sophie Mouse series!  These are great as family read alouds with preschool and elementary age children, or for elementary age children to read on their own.  We thought you and your budding bakers might especially enjoy this one:  The Great Bake Off!  Really, though, the whole Sophie Mouse series seems to mention scrumptious baking, as Sophie’s mom has a bakery.  The illustrations are adorable, and the stories are so sweet!

Another fun book we think you might enjoy is Tomie de Paola’s Pascual and the Kitchen Angels.  We just happened to spot this one at the library the other day.  This story can be a good reminder that our guardian angels are always there to help us in the kitchen… whether we are a busy mama trying to get dinner on the table, or a budding baker trying to figure out a recipe for the first time.  Such a sweet story to enjoy together!

Do you have time for a coloring page?  Click on the image to download this free pdf.  Our 10 year old loves to make coloring pages for her siblings, and now she makes them to share with you too!  Thank you for coming to sparklesandsprinkles.blog today!

mug cake coloring page
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Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Saint Patrick’s Prayer Shamrock Garland or Wreath

Saint Patrick’s Prayer Shamrock Garland or Wreath

I love the Saint Patrick’s prayer.  It is such a beautiful reminder of how God’s love surrounds us!

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

To make this shamrock garland or wreath, you can cut out shamrock shapes and copy lines of the prayer onto each one.  If you would like a printable version, please visit our Etsy shop.   (Your purchase helps us to cover blogging expenses so that we can continue to bring you more fun craft and baking ideas.  Thank you!)

shamrock cutouts

Cut out shamrock shapes with a verse from the Saint Patrick’s Prayer on each one.  (Our printable on Etsy has lines from the prayer on each shamrock, plus a page of blank shamrocks if you want to include some blank shamrocks or write your own words.  The shamrocks are a pdf of a hand watercolored shamrock.)

string of shamrocks

We find chunky yarn or 1/4 inch wide ribbon works well for the garland.  It fits well through a standard hole punch hole, and allows the shamrock pieces to stay in place in the way you would like them to be spread.  

shamrock wreath

You can create a circle out of pieces of cardstock or cardboard or a paper plate, then glue on shamrock shapes for a pretty indoor wreath.

window shamrock garland

Garlands can be a nice way to decorate a window, a mantel or any wall space in your home.  This garlands brings a bit of greenery to our windows, where the trees are still bare at this time of year.

diy shamrock garland

Of course, our favorite part is making it our very own, with decorations done by the children.  We find this can be a fun time to talk about the beauty of the prayer.  We hope you and your family can enjoy making a Saint Patrick’s Prayer Shamrock Garland or Wreath to decorate your home this season!  Enjoy!

Are you looking for more Saint Patrick’s Day fun?  I love the way the CCC cartoon version of Saint Patrick’s life imagines how Saint Patrick first composed this prayer.  It shows him as a newly captured slave tending the sheep.  Imagine how lonely and scary that would feel!  He shows his trust in God, etches a cross in a tree, and calmly says this prayer.

If you are looking for a fun activity for your family this Saint Patrick’s Day, you may want to check out this beautiful movie.

P.S.  If you have a formed.org account, this movie is available for free.  Many churches have an account for everyone in their parish to access Formed for free, but you can also get an individual subscription (the last we checked, there was a free trial option too).

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

DIY Pom poms (plus Youtube tutorial)

DIY Pom poms (plus Youtube tutorial)

It’s so easy to make a pom pom!  Just grab a fork, a ball of yarn, and some scissors and come watch our Youtube tutorial.

large and small fork pom pom

We find that a regular dinner fork is good for making pom poms from thin yarn, while a serving fork works well for chunky yarn.

yarn and fork pom pom

They can also be fun to play with for little children – throwing them in the air or rolling them (or blowing them with a straw) on the ground.  Paper towel tubes (or tubes made out of rolled up paper) can be taped in different ways to the wall and pom poms can be dropped through them.  It can be harder than you think to get them to land in the bowls!

doll hat pom pom

Pom poms can be used to top off a knit hat (click here to learn how to make an adorable doll hat!).  We used the 24 peg loom in the Boye Loom Set to make this doll hat.

pom pom critter

Our girls like to make little pom pom critters too.

Check out our Youtube tutorial to learn how to make these easy pom poms, using just a fork and some yarn.

Looking for more ways to use your pom poms?  Check out The Creative Hour blog with so many fun pom poms ideas!

What are some ways you might use pom poms?  We would love to hear from you! 

You can submit a comment in the comment form at the bottom of this page. 

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Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Good measure…

Good measure…

We made some measuring cup and spoon printables we were planning to post sometime, and the Gospel reading this Sunday made us think this would be a great week to give them to you!

Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you. 

Luke 6:38

 
We did some hands-on measuring equivalents this week too by pouring lentils from one measuring cup to another.  It is a relatively low mess way to talk about how two quarters make a half, and two halves make a whole, etc.  Our girls really enjoyed it and quickly brought out play kitchen cups and bowls to keep on playing with the lentils.  And our sweet toddler made sure that a good measure was poured into our laps… and even onto the floor! 
 
Hope this week you have time to reflect on God’s abundant gifts in your life!
writing practice
measuring lentils
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Special Time Planner Craft

Special Time Planner Craft

In our family, we love to do special one-on-one times where one child gets to spend time just with Mommy or just with Daddy.

When we first heard about special time, we were advised that we should put it on the calendar.  This way not only the time itself would be a happy one, but also joy could be added to our children’s days in being able to look forward to the special times.

le petit prince
In the classic book, The Little Prince, as the fox and the little prince are becoming friends, the fox explains to the little prince that it makes him happy to know when the little prince will be able to come back to spend time with him: “…if you come at four in the afternoon, I’ll begin to be happy by three.  The closer it gets to four, the happier I’ll feel.”

Since looking forward to special time adds to the joy in our lives, we have some ideas for you to plan special times.

Our printable monthly or yearly planner (subscribe for the pdf link) also includes some images to help you to brainstorm special time ideas.  Of course you can draw your own pictures or just write words as well.

yearly special time planner

If the idea of “planning” stresses you out (like it does for me!), we also have a more free flowing special time “planner” with a printable and craft version.  For the free flowing flower petal and wooded path “planners,” you just brainstorm ideas that you would like to do, but don’t necessarily add a date, time or order to them.  The next time there is room in your schedule for special time, it will be easy to pick something to do from your planner.

To make your own special time planner craft, simply cut out something with a simple design (we made a flower for one and wooded path scene for another) and write the special things you are looking forward to on the cutout shapes.  You can write “Mommy and me” or “Daddy and me” and the child’s name somewhere on the planner too.  (These planners could also be used for children to plan special times with grandparents or aunts and uncles.)  Then glue on the cutout shapes and put your planner craft in a place where it can remind you and your child of your upcoming special times.  Making this craft can be a great special time in itself.

flower planner
tree planner
tree planner

Please subscribe to get a link for these free pdf printables:

special time yearly planner
flower planner printable
tree planner printable

We would love to share our free printables with you to help you plan your special times!  Please fill out the subscribe form to immediately receive a link for the free pdf downloads of all of our printable special time planners. 

Note: when you print the flower petal page or the wooded path page, please select the “landscape” orientation.