Tag Archives: Muffin

May 11, 2015

Muffin Monday: VEGAN Fig Chocolate Muffins

By ritalovestowrite
A game of mancala and a glass of cold milk is the only thing that could possibly make these muffins any better than they already are. Just sayin'

A game of mancala and a glass of cold milk is the only thing that could possibly make these muffins any better than they already are. Just sayin’

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 1/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
  • 1 cup diced figs (or dates)
  • 1/2 cup diced peanuts
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups tomato juice or blended vegetable juice (e.g., V8)
  • Dark Chocolate Bar (I used 3 large squares of chocolate)
  • Sugar for the tops of the muffins
The chocolate kept its shape and made a nice little well of dark deliciousness. I used a bar that had 80% Cocoa so it was super dark and yummy.

The chocolate kept its shape and made a nice little well of dark deliciousness. I used a bar that had 80% Cocoa so it was super dark and yummy. You can also see bits of the fig in the pic. The muffin’s orange color comes from the Tomato Juice, which you can’t really taste at all.

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease and flour muffin cups.
2) Whisk together all the dry ingredients, including the Flour, Sugar, Salt, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cardamon, Figs and Peanuts.
3) In a blender, whisk together the Vanilla, Vegetable Oil, and Tomato juice.
4) Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients; don’t over-mix, stir just until everything is moistened.
5) Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each nearly full.
6) Sprinkle the tops with coarse white sparkling sugar, if desired. (OF COURSE it is desired!)
7) Bake the muffins for 5 minutes
8) Cut the chocolate squares into quarters so you have 12 quarters and put one quarter into each of the partially baked muffins
9) Continue baking for 18 to 20 minutes, until they’ve domed nicely and they’re lightly browned around the edges. And they pass the toothpick test.
10) Remove the muffins from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

These are super yummy. The cardamon and fig combo is out of this world. And my tasters thought they were some of the best muffins they’d ever had. They aren’t too moist so I suspect they would travel pretty well, but, frankly, they were consumed too quickly to make it to the Post Office.
Yield: 12 muffins.

full Muffin

Looking for other Vegan Muffin recipes? Just type VEGAN in the search field to the left.

Related articles
Advertisement

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Dark Chocolate, Fig, Muffin Monday, Muffins, Vegan

August 21, 2014

Muffin Thursday: Zucchini and Berries

By ritalovestowrite

IMG_0750This recipe is similar to the Zucchini Double Berry recipe I posted in July of 2013. But if you click HERE you’ll see this is quiet the different recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 Eggs
  • 2 cups Vegetable Oil
  • 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tsp Orange Extract
  • 3 cups Flour
  • 1 3/4 cups White Sugar
  • 1 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 2 cup grated Zucchini
  • 1/2 cup whole Blueberries
  • 1/2 cup mashed Blackberries
  • 1/2 cup Slivered Almonds
Batter in the extra-large muffin cups, ready to go into the oven.

Batter in the extra-large muffin cups, ready to go into the oven.

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Prep 12 extra-large muffin cups by spraying with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl beat the Eggs then add the Vegetable Oil, Vanilla and Orange Extract.
  3. In a separate bowl combine the Flour, Sugar, Salt, Baking Powder and Baking Soda.
  4. Mix the dry into the wet and stir until well incorporated.
  5. Fold in the Zucchini, Blueberries, Blackberries and Almonds.
  6. Divide evenly into the muffin cups.
  7. Bake for 40 minutes until tops of muffins are golden brown and the muffins pass the toothpick test.
Ready to eat.

Ready to eat.

My tester Bill called these “really delicious” and gave them his stamp of approval. They are sweet, as one would expect from a muffin with that much sugar and fruit. I think they will keep and travel well because they seem to be firm and not too moist.

Give them a try. I think you will be pleased.

Related articles

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Thought of the Day

May 6, 2014

Muffin Monday: Raspberry Pecan Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Note to my vegan friends… as you’ll see pretty quickly from the ingredient list… these are not vegan. So be warned.

These Raspberry Pecan muffins are good on their own. But if you are livin' large and want to ramp up the flavor volume spread a bit of goat cheese on top a hot muffin.

These Raspberry Pecan muffins are good on their own. But if you are livin’ large and want to ramp up the flavor volume spread a bit of goat cheese on top a hot muffin.

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Whole-Wheat Flour

1/3 cup sugar

4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 large Egg

3/4 Rice Milk

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon of Almond Extract

1 cup fresh Raspberries cut in half

1/2 cup Pecans

 

The batter is divided and ready to go into the oven.

The batter is divided and ready to go into the oven.

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees and prep 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl combine the Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder and Salt.

3. In a smaller bowl combine the Egg and Rice Milk.

4. Add the Egg/Milk to the dry.

5. Melt the Butter and let cool. Add the Almond Extract.

6. Add Butter / Almond Extract to batter.

7. Add the Raspberries and Pecans and mix.

8. Divide evenly into muffin cups.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until muffins pass the toothpick test.

10. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before eating.

 

 

Fresh from the oven.

Fresh from the oven.

 

You can really taste the butter in these muffins, and you wont need to give them an additional pat. However if you are looking to really boost the flavor, my tester Bill tried them with a bit goat cheese and found them super delicious.

 

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

4 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Muffin Monday, Muffins

April 16, 2014

Muffin Monday: Almond Currant (Vegan?)

By ritalovestowrite
Almond Currant muffins cooling

Almond Currant muffins cooling

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2/3 cups Sugar

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

1 1/2 cups Almond Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Slivered Almonds

3/4 cup Currants

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep 12 muffin cups with baking spray.

2. In a large bowl combine the Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, and Salt.

3. In a large measuring cup combine Vegetable Oil, Milk and Vanilla Extract.

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until well incorporated.

5. Add the Almonds and Currants.

6. Divide evenly into the muffin cups.

The Almond Currant muffins before they went into the oven.

The Almond Currant muffins before they went into the oven.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until muffins pass the tooth pick test.

8. Cool on a wire rack.

Yum. The final product.

Yum. The final product.

 

I have a friend who is trying to follow a Vegan diet, so I wanted to do a few more Vegan friendly recipes. I think this one works. I hope my Vegan readers will let me know if I missed anything!

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to put in these muffins, but I had the currants left over from some Irish Soda Bread and I thought… why not? They are really nice with the almond (which is another left over ingredient.)  Hope you like them!

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Muffin Monday, Muffins, Vegan

April 8, 2014

Muffin “Monday” — Zucchini Fig Almond

By ritalovestowrite
Zucchini Fig Almond muffins from the ritaLOVEStoWRITE test kitchen

Zucchini Fig Almond muffins from the ritaLOVEStoWRITE test kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Cardamom
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp Lemon Peal
  • 1 cup shredded Zucchini (fresh or frozen/thawed)
  • 2 tbsp Canola Oil
  • 1 Egg, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup Fat-Free Milk
  • 1/3 cup Fig
  • 1/4 cup  Almond Slivers
  • Water to smooth the tops of the muffins
A note on the Zucchini — So Sunday was a  lovely day here in Northern Maryland and I finally got out into the garden to do some rehab and bit of planting. Being an optimistic kind of human, I planted Zucchini — yes, I’m one of those people who thinks you “can NEVER have too much Zucchini.” So I started a packet of seeds, knowing full well that I’ll get Zuke in my weekly box from the farmer co-op come summer. With this in mind I went to the freezer to free it of some of last year’s crop. I let a bag thaw over night than (after cracking the ziplock seal) gave it an assist in the microwave for a minute. Then (over the sink) I pierced the bottom of the bag in several sections and squeezed the water out. I got 1 cup of compacted Zucchini.
Frozen Zucchini. On the left is an unthawed bag straight from the freezer. On the Right is a thawed bag that has been drained of excess water.

Frozen Zucchini. On the left is an unthawed bag straight from the freezer. On the Right is a thawed bag  drained of excess water.

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and Prep muffin cups with cooking spray. (I used 12 medium-sized muffin cups).

2. In a large bowl, mix the Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, Cardamom, Sugar and Lemon Peal,

3. In a medium bowl, combine the Zucchini, Lemon Zest, Canola Oil, Egg and Milk and stir well.

4. Add the wet to dry and mix until combined.

5. Chop up the Fig into small segments. Cut off the tops of the figs. Cut fig in quarters length wise, then dice.

Important Fig Cutting Diagram.

Important Fig Cutting Diagram.

6. Add the Fig and Almonds to the batter

7. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups. With a wet spoon smooth out the muffins.

IMG_7502

8. Bake for 20 minutes or until muffins pass the toothpick test.

These babies would pass any test.

These babies would pass any test. Bring it on tooth pick.

9. Cool on a wire rack.

These came out perfectly. Dense, but not gummy. Crunchy at the top. Just sweet enough, but not overly so.  I think they’ll keep and travel well because they weren’t moist. But they weren’t so dry that you’d need to add butter or apple sauce to enjoy them. Yum.

While last week’s Strawberry Peach Minis were a bit on the dessert-y side,  these darlings fit nicely into the breakfast category. Taster Kathy agrees. She thought the muffins were healthy and hearty and really liked the fig and almond addition to the zucchini. She added that they were “Just delicious.”

 

 

Beauty shot.

Beauty shot.

 

 

MORE MUFFIN FUN:

Muffin Monday: S’mores & Mandarin Orange Choc. Chip

Special Snow Day: Nutella Zucchini

Muffin Monday Top Blog Honor

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Baking, Muffin Monday, Muffins, postaday

March 25, 2014

Muffin Monday: Stawberry Almond Banana Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Running a little late in posting my Muffin “Monday” blog. I picked up some voice students and wanted to share the muffin lovin’ with some friends at the studio. Here goes…

 

Fresh from the oven.

Fresh from the oven.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1¼ c. Whole Wheat Flour
  • ½ c. + 2 tbsp. Sugar
  • 1 large Egg
  • 2 large Bananas mashed
  • ¼ c. (4 tbsp.) Butter melted
  • ¼ c. Buttermilk
  • ½ tsp. Baking Soda
  • ½ tsp. Salt
  • ½ tsp. Almond Extract
  • 3/4 c. diced Strawberries
  • 1/2 c. sliced Almonds

DIRECTIONS:

  1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prep muffin cups spray.
  2. In a large size bowl, combine together Flour, Baking Soda, and Salt.
  3. In a medium bowl mix together Sugar and Butter. Add Egg.
  4. Mash Bananas on a plate using a fork. Add Bananas to the Butter-Sugar mixture.
  5. Beat until smooth.
  6. Add the Buttermilk and Almond Extract.
  7. Add the diced Strawberries.

    Looks like soup, doesn't it?

    Looks like soup, doesn’t it?

  8. Add the wet to dry and mix until well incorporated.
  9. Fold in Almond slices.
  10. Divide evenly into muffin cups.

    Ready to bake.

    Ready to bake.

  11. Bake for approximately 23-26 minutes, until muffins are golden brown and pass the toothpick test.
  12. Let cool for 10 minutes, then transfer muffins onto wire rack to cool completely.
ymmmm.

ymmmm.

I was worried that these would be too moist. (The batter was very moist.) But they turned out great. I think letting them finish on a rack (verses in the baking cups) helped, so definitely do that.

Kathy, one of my new testers, really loved these. I believe her reaction was “amazing.” I’ll take that. 🙂 Bill really liked them too. So I guess this recipe will go in the cook book.

 

Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Rita

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Muffin Monday, Muffins, Strawberry, Thought of the Day

March 11, 2014

Muffin Tuesday: Cherry Peach

By ritalovestowrite

Yeah… I’m running late. I blame Day Light Savings Time. 🙂 So with apologies for my tardiness I bring you the delightful…

Cherry Peach Muffins

IMG_7267

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 cup Oat Meal  (uncooked)
  • 1/4 cup Oat Bran
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 cup Skim Milk
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/4 cup Oil
  • 1/2 cup dried Cranberries (I used Craisns Pomegranates)
  • 1 cup thawed Frozen Cherries
  • 1 cup drained and chopped canned Peaches
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Sugar to garnish

IMG_7249

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prep 15 muffin cups by spraying with baking spray.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well mixed.

3. In a smaller bowl beat the Milk, Eggs and Oil.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until incorporated.

5. Gently fold in the Cranberries, Cherries and Peaches.

IMG_7250

6. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.

7. Sprinkle on the Garnish Sugar.

IMG_7253

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins pass the Toothpick Test.

9. Let cool for 5 minutes before enjoying.

IMG_7254

My tasters for this week were Bill and Andrew. (Thanks guys, I know it’s a burden). Bill really liked these muffins and said they were especially good warm and right out of the oven. Andrew enjoyed the combination of fruit inside and the crunchy top.  I love the combo of Cherry and Peach.

I will say these are best consumed with in a day or two of baking, when the tops are still at their crunchy perfection. After that they get a bit moist (despite my adding — as noted — a 1/2 cup of flour to the source recipe.) So I would not recommend these as a “travel” muffin. Put them in the fridge if you aren’t going to finish them off after two days. I think they’ll freeze well too, when you are ready to eat ’em pop them back in the oven for 10 minutes.

IMG_7265

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Muffin Monday, Muffins

January 8, 2014

Muffin Tuesday : Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

It has been a few weeks since I put out a muffin recipe, so even though I missed Monday (because we were still in the 12 Days of Christmas STORIES project) I thought I’d make up for it today. I had some blueberries and couldn’t decide whether to  make Citrus Blueberry or Pumpkin Blueberry with my new muffin cups. We were having a friend over for dinner so I decided to make a batch of both and have a taste test. Here’s the Pumpkin Blueberry recipe…

IMG_6835

Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups of White Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda

2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground Ginger

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 cup Agave Nectar

2 Large Eggs

1 cup Pumpkin Puree (I used can today)

1/2 cup fresh Blueberries

IMG_6826

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prep 6 extra-large muffin cups with baking spray (probably would make 12 small regular muffins.

2. In a large bowl combine the Flour, Salt, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Ginger.

3. In a second bowl combine the Agave Nectar, Eggs and Pumpkin Puree.

4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry.

5. Fold in the Blueberries.

6. Divide the batter evenly into the baking cups.

7. Bake for 15 minutes until the muffins pass the toothpick test.

IMG_6827

I wont keep you in suspense… The Pumpkin Blueberry muffins won hands down. Although at first the combination seems a bit odd it really worked. Plus the batter rose nicely and gave the muffins a lovely texture.  I liked that I could make them with out butter (I could have used grape seed oil instead of the olive oil, but the OO was cheaper and didn’t affect the taste.) I also liked that I was able to use Agave Nectar instead of sugar.

I’ll post the recipe for the Citrus Blueberry tomorrow when I’m more awake. I might even remember to take the “glory shot” (you know the one with the muffin on a pretty plate).

Cheers, Rita

Thanks to Mikey for helping to taste test, for Bill who gave me the awesome new muffin cup and to Maggie and Andrew who green-lighted the Pumpkin/Blueberry and Citrus Blueberry combinations.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Muffin Monday, Muffins, postaday, Thought of the Day

November 26, 2013

Muffin Monday: Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

I love how certain foods cost next to nothing certain times of the year… That’s the case for Sweet Potatoes or Yams around Thanksgiving. So I picked up a few for today’s blog post.

Sweet Potato Muffin

Mashed Sweet Potato Muffin

Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/4 cups packed Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Cooking Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Eggs
  • 4 cups mashed Sweet Potato
  • 1 cup finely chopped Fennel
  • 2 1/2 cups Flour
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin cups with baking spray. (I did 18 muffins)

2. In a large bowl combine Brown Sugar, Cooking OIl, Vanilla Extract and Eggs.

3. Mix in the Sweet Potato and Fennel.

4. In a smaller bowl stir together the Flour, Baking Powder, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Salt.

5. Mix in the dry with the wet a little at a time until it completely combined.

6. Divide the batter evenly into  18 muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes or until the muffins pass the toothpick test.

Ready for the oven

Ready for the oven

7. Remove muffins from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

These muffins are delightfully moist, almost to the point of being creamy. Taster Bill called them “delicious and addictive.”

I think they’d be the perfect solution for left over Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes.

 

Ready to eat

Ready to eat

 

Just in time for Thanksgiving (or Thanksgiving leftovers)!

Related articles

3 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Muffin Monday, Muffins, Thought of the Day

%d bloggers like this: