Muffin Monday in May!

I am sitting on my bedroom floor with a mug of applesauce in hand, thankful that I have time to take a deep breath, put on my slippers, listen to some Christmas music, and prepare for a new week.  

For reasons bigger than my comprehension, April was a pretty tough month for me.  The most tangible reason for this difficulty is that as school wraps up, stress and anxiety levels are high for both students and staff.   I have a lot of kiddos who don't want to leave school for the summer and they've communicated that by being very disruptive and disrespectful.   I feel like I've dealt with more behaviors in the past month than I have all school year!  In every situation I am humbly reminded that love is a choice.   When circumstances arise that make me feel like I can withhold love from certain kids because they haven't earned it or don't deserve it, I am always reminded that we love God because He first loved us and we did nothing to earn that love.   With the awareness that time is marching forward at a rapid speed, I am praying that I will bear the fruit of the Spirit despite the ugliness that sometimes rears its head in my classroom.  Ultimately I fighting for something bigger than respect or order.   I am fighting to be the kind of teacher who represents the One Teacher who cares about these kiddos more than I ever could.  

I am also thankful that we are all given moments to make love a tangible part of our day-to-day lives.   Muffin Monday continues to be one way for me to do that amongst my coworkers.   Plus, the cool, rainy temperatures helped me stay motivated to turn my oven on for these cocoa spice muffins. 

Cocoa Spice Muffins

·         1/4 cup butter melted

·         1/4 cup cocoa

·         3/4 cup applesauce

·         1 1/4 cup flour

·         1 cup sugar

·         3/4 teaspoons baking soda

·         1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

·         1 egg

·         1/2 tsp cinnamon

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         1/2 cup chopped nuts or raisins (optional)

Thoroughly combine melted butter and cocoa.

Add applesauce.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt in mixing bowl

Blend in cocoa mixture and egg until dry ingredients are moistened.

Stir in nuts/raisins

Fill 12 greased or paper lined muffins 2/3 full with batter

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

 Glaze:

·         1 cup powdered sugar

·         1  1/2 tablespoons milk

 Blend until smooth. 

Drizzle over warm or cool muffins