Tag Archives: Muffin

July 8, 2013

Muffin Monday: Peaches, Strawberry and Cream

By ritalovestowrite

Welcome back to Muffin Monday! I picked up some Peaches and Strawberries at an obliging farm stand for today’s recipe. Enjoy!

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 stick of BUTTER, softened
  • 1/2 cup of  SUGAR
  • 2 EGGS
  • 1 teaspoon VANILLA EXTRACT
  • 1/2 cup Creamy GOAT CHEESE

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  • 1 cup STRAWBERRIES
  • 1 1/2 cup PEACHES
  • 1 LEMON PEEL (zested)
  • 2 1/2 cups of FLOUR
  • 2 1/2 teaspoon BAKING SODA
  • Extra SUGAR for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep the  muffin cups by spraying with cooking oil.

2. Chop the Strawberries into quarter-inch pieces. Chop the Peaches into 1/2″ pieces. Zest the Lemon.

3. In a large bowl combine the softened Butter and Sugar. Add Eggs one at a time. Add Vanilla and Goat Cheese. Add the Strawberries, Peaches and Lemon Zest.

4. In a second bowl combine the Flour and Baking Powder.

5. Add the dry the ingredients to the wet and mix completely.

6. Divide the batter evenly into the 12 muffin cups. Top with a bit of extra sugar.

7. Bake for 35-40 minute until a tooth pick inserted into the center of one of the muffin comes out clean.  Let cool for 5 minute before  enjoying.

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4 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Muffins, Peach, postaday, Strawberry

July 1, 2013

Muffin Monday Double Berry Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Ohhh, I know I shouldn’t have favorites, but I DO love Muffin Mondays. We’re lucky enough to have a couple of mature blackberry bushes and a newbie blueberry bush in the yard. The berry yield for this pretties came from those obliging bushes.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cup Fresh Berries (Blackberries and Blueberries)

1 1/4 cup  Zucchini (Grated)

1/8 cup Rhubarb (Grated)

1/3 cup Sugar

I only had one stalk of rhubarb left from the other day's recipe. That came out to about a quarter cup when grated.

I only had one stalk of rhubarb left from the other day’s recipe. That came out to about a quarter cup when grated.

3 cups White Whole Wheat Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Salt

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Almond Milk

1 cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 stick  Butter melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 18 muffin cups with liners and cooking spray.

2 .In a large bowl gently mash the berries with a spoon. Add grated Zucchini, Rhubarb and 1/3 Sugar. Mix.

Mashed berries, Zucchini and rhubarb.

Mashed berries, Zucchini and rhubarb.

3. In a second bowl combine the Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt.

4. In a third bowl (do you see a pattern here?) combine the Eggs, Milk, 1 cup of Sugar, Vanilla and Butter.

5. Add the Egg/Milk mixture to the Flour and stir until combined to form the batter.

6. Fold the Berries into the batter.

7.  Divide evenly into muffin cups. BAKE for 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean.

Fresh from the oven.

Fresh from the oven muffin-y goodness.

8. Let cool 5 minutes and remove from muffin cups. Enjoy with some butter.

No taster quotes today as Maggie is at work… so you’ll have to take my word for it… these muffins are yummy, light and the perfect moisture level.  My only complaint would be the number of bowls I had to employ to make them.

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3 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Baking, Berries, Blueberry, Muffins, postaday

June 24, 2013

Muffin Monday: Blueberry Cornbread Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Happy Muffin Monday everybody! Today I’m blogging from a tiny little table at Panera Bread because my internet is still down. The bad news is our cable provider wont have any one out to look at the downed line until tomorrow (two plus days with out CABLE –oh the first world problems I have to deal with!) The good news is the merciful Maggie has let me borrow her laptop so I’m not attempting this blog post on my iPad with it wonky navigation and lack of arrow keys. (I love my iPad, but common fellas…) Enough pathetic grumbling. Lets talk muffins…

baked muffin

baked muffin

Blueberry Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1-1/2 cups Cornmeal, Fine Grind

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1 Tb Baking Powder

1 cup Blueberries

blueberries

blueberries

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1/2 cup Almond Milk

Almond MIlk

Almond MIlk

1/2 Cup Dermara Sugar

2 large Eggs, room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Prep 12 muffin cups by spraying with baking spray.

In a large bowl combine the whole wheat flour, the cornmeal, salt, baking powder and stir.

Into another bowl gently mash the blue berries add the oil, almond milk and honey. add the eggs one at a time. Stir with a fork until smooth.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir gently until all is wet.

batter

batter

Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups and bake for about 15 minutes, or until one tests done with a toothpick.

Makes 12 muffins.

Photo on 6-24-13 at 12.47 PM #2

The cornmeal gave these muffins a denser, hardier vibe. The blueberry and sugar made them just sweet enough.

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6 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Baking, Blueberry, Muffins, postaday, Thought of the Day

June 17, 2013

Muffin Monday Banana Cherry Muffins DF

By ritalovestowrite

Happy Muffin Monday everyone! Here’s a recipe for all you Dairy Free folks out there. Hope you like it! IMG_5343

Banana Cherry Muffins

INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 c Whole Wheat Flour IMG_5324 1 1/2 c Almond Meal IMG_5323 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt IMG_5325 1 teaspoon Baking Soda IMG_5326 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil IMG_5329 2 Large Eggs IMG_5280 2 tablespoons Demerara Sugar

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2 teaspoons Almond Extract IMG_5332 2 Bananas

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1 cup Cherries (diced)

The Bing cherry owes its development to the Ch...

1 Zucchini (grated) IMG_5294 Topping: 2 tablespoons Almonds (silvered) 2 tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour 2 tablespoons White Sugar 2 tablespoons melted Butter DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin cups. 2. In a large bowl place Flour, Almond Meal, Salt and Baking Soda. Mix. 3. In a medium bowl, mash the Bananas add Eggs one at a time, mixing  well with each addition. Add Olive Oil, Demerara Sugar and Almond Extract. 4. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. IMG_5333 5. Add the Cherries and Zucchini  and mix gently. 6. Divide the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups. IMG_5335 7. In a small bowl combine all the topping ingredient. Divide evenly onto the muffins. 8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. IMG_5346 Both Maggie and I thought these muffins could have used a little more sugar… so you might want to add a bit more, or serve with marmalade. They are moist — especially considering there’s no milk or butter in the recipe — and moderately fluffy. You can really taste the Banana, not so much the Cherry. Give ’em a try and let me know what you think.

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13 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Baking, Banana Cherry Muffins, Dairy Free, Muffins, postaday, Thought of the Day

June 10, 2013

Muffin Monday: Ginger Molasses Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

With a name like Ginger Molasses Muffins you’ve got to expect a powerful amount of sass in the flavor profile arena, and these muffins don’t disappoint. The only thing I found misleading is that they look incredibly chocolatey, which they are not. Still, they are so flavorful I doubt you’ll miss the chocolate.

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Ginger Molasses Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3/4 cup melted Butter
  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 2 Eggs slightly beaten

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  • 1/8 teaspoon  Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon Ground Cloves

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  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream

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  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 cup Blackstrap Molasses

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  • 1/2 cup Pecan pieces

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  • 1/2 cup Dates

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  • 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 medium Zucchinni, grated

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DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prep 18 muffin cups with a light coating of cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl add the ingredients one at time in order. Mix after each addition.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Test with the toothpick test — if a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean they are done.

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5. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.

6. Remove from muffin cups and cool an additional 5 minutes  before enjoying.

Taster Maggie S. called them the “perfect rainy day muffin” and said “these muffins are so good I ate a second one without seeking permission!”

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5 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Baking, Cooking, Ginger Molassases Muffins, Muffins, Thought of the Day

June 3, 2013

Muffin Monday: Loaded Carrot Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

 Loaded Carrot Muffins

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Makes 24 muffins (because if your going to go to the trouble of grating carrots, might as well make a lot af muffins, right?)

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups Flour

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  • 2 teaspoons  Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Salt

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  • 2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
  • 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground nutmeg

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  • 1 1/2 cups White Sugar

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  • 1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar

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  • 1 cup vegetable Oil
  • 1 cup Organic Vanilla Yogurt ( I think if you use Soy Yogurt these muffins will be Dairy Free?)

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  • 1/2 cup Orange Juice

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  • 2 teaspoons of VanillaIMG_4540
  • 3 cups Shredded Carrots

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  • 1 cup Golden Raisins

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  • 1 cup Sesame Seeds

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  • 1/2 cup Chopped Pistachios (or other nuts)

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  • 1 cup Small Flake Coconut

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Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 24 muffin cups.

2. Combine the Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Salt, White Sugar and Brown Sugar in a large bowl.

3. In another bowl combine the Oil, Orange Juice, Yogurt and Vanilla.

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

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5. Add the remaining ingredients all at once folding gently into the batter. 

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6. Distribute the batter evenly into the 24 muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

7. Let cool 5 minutes in pan, then cool another 5 minutes on a rack or plate before eating. Enjoy.

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I raided the cabinet to come up with this recipe. I didn’t have enough nuts so I added the sesame seeds. The source recipe called for pineapple — which I didn’t have, so I put in the raisins and the OJ to off set the texture and moisture of the pineapple. I also cut way back on the amount of sugar the source recipe called for. And I tossed in the coconut at the last-minute to give the  muffins  a little extra flavor and fiber. Then I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I’m glad to say they came out really well (even if the final photos didn’t… sorry). The coconut flavor really married with the carrot and raisin nicely. And, happily, the texture of  the  coconut flakes, which I know bothers some people, wasn’t a problem at all.

Muffin taster Pianogirl rated these muffins as “absolutely delicious!” She’s a fan of both coconut and pistachios, so these were right up her alley. She plans on “having one of them for breakfast, with a side dish of fresh pineapple and avocado.” — Sounds like a good plan Pianogirl!

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7 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Baking, Muffins, postaday, Thought of the Day

May 27, 2013

Muffin Monday Dried Plum, Date, Citrus Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Ahhh the perks of writing a muffin blog! pianogirl88, one of my followers, recently was kind enough to give me a cookbook called A Reader’s Cookbook by Judith Choate. Today’s recipe was inspired by the Cranberry Nut Bread recipe found in the book. As usual, I changed things up considerably. No longer do the muffins have cranberries or nuts.

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Dried Plum, Date, Citrus Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of dried chopped Dates
  • 1 cup of water
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  • 1/2 cup chopped Died Plums
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  • 2 cups of Flour
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  • 1 cup of regular Sugar
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  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Salt
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  • 1/4 cup of butter, melted
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  • 1 egg
    Egg
  • 3/4 cup Orange Juice
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Directions:

1. Combine the chopped Dates and the hot water and let sit for 5 minutes.

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2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Combine the Flour, Sugar, Baking Power, Baking Soda, Salt, Lemon Peel in a large bowl.

4. Add the melted butter to the dry mixture and combine until you have a crumbly mixture.

5. Combine the Egg and the Orange Juice in a liquid measuring cup (stir until Egg is well broken and incorporated into the Orange Juice.)

6. Add Wet  to the dry and mix until smooth.

7. Add the chopped dry plums.

8. DRAIN the dates and add to the batter.

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9. Prep muffin cups by spraying lightly with cooking spray.

10. Fill muffin cups , distributing eveningly.

These are my awesome new silicone muffin cups.

These are my awesome new silicone muffin cups.

11. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Test with the toothpick test.

12. Cool for 5 minutes before releasing from muffin cups and enjoying.

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Recipe tasters agree, these muffins are a hit. Maggie S. liked “the kick of sweetness the dried plums brought to the muffin”, while Andrew S. commented that “The muffin had a great consistency–soft and crumbly without entering the realm of the glorified cupcakes that are common these days, and always maintaining structural integrity.  The plums were gooey even after the muffin had cooled down, and it had an excellent level of sweetness overall…”

8 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Baking, Muffins, postaday, Thought of the Day

May 20, 2013

Muffin Monday: Rhubarb Delight Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Rhubarb Delight Muffins

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Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C. Brown Sugar

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  • 3/4 C. Demerara Sugar  (You could just use 1 1/4 Brown Sugar if you don’t have the Demerara Sugar)

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  • 1/2 C. Vegetable oil

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  • 1 Egg

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  • 2 1/2 C. Flour

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  • 2 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt

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  • 1 C. Milk

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  • 2 tsp. Vanilla

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  • 1 1/2 C. Rhubarb (finely diced)

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Topping Mixture:

  • 1/4 c White Chocolate Chips
  • 1/2 Almonds
  • 1/2 C. Sugar
  • 2 T. Butter

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Procedure:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Put muffin pants into the muffin tin and spray lightly.

2. Mix the first four ingredients together (the Sugars, Oil and Egg)

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3. Add Flour,Baking Soda and Salt  all at once.

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4. Combine Milk and Vanilla in a measuring cup.

5. Add Milk to the batter and stir until completely mixed.

6. Fold in the diced Rhubarb.

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7. Divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups. (This recipe made 12 large muffins.) Set aside and make the Topping.

8. In the measuring cup you used for the milk and vanilla melt the butter.

9. Grind the Almonds in a blender or nut mill.

10. Combine the Nuts, Sugar and ground Almonds together in the measuring cup. Add the White Chocolate Chips.

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11. Spoon the topping onto the muffins, dividing evenly.

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This is what one of the muffins looks like pre-baked

12. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Using the toothpick test to determine if they are done.

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13. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring muffins to a cool surface. Let cool for an additional 5 to 10 minutes before you enjoy.

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Sorry these muffins aren’t very healthy. I’m going to try to make them again with out so much sugar. But every spring the god’s give us rhubarb and you’ve got to do something with it, right?  Your house will smell amazing while these little darlings are baking. And the will power you show by not munching on them the second they come out of the oven will off set the will power you don’t show by  indulging in their sweet wonderfulness (maybe twice.)

These are simply fantastic muffins and would make a great dessert.

They are awesome on their own, but if you want the ultimate treat you could add one to a bowl of black cherry ice cream and just go straight to heaven.

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Serving suggestion.

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2 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Food, Muffins, postaday, Recipe, Rhubarb, Thought of the Day

May 13, 2013

Muffin Monday: Bread Pudding Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Bread Pudding Muffins

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Chopped Dry Dates
  • 1 cup Water

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  • 1/2 cup Slivered Almonds

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  • 6 cups Bread Cubes (you can use any kind of “bread” you have around the kitchen, including cake or muffins that are past their prime.)

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  •  2 Eggs

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  •  2/3 cup Dry Milk
  • 1 cup Warm Water
  • 1/4 cup Butter

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  • 1/4 c Demerara Sugar (or Brown Sugar)

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  • 1/4 c Maple Syrup

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  • 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
  •  1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
  •  1/2 teaspoon Salt

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You’ll need a 12 count muffin tin and a roasting pan that is about the same size.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly butter the bottoms and sides of the muffin cups in the muffin tin.

2. Combine the Dates and the warm water and set aside for 5 minutes.

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3. Grind the Almond Slivers in a blender, food processor or nut mill until you get an almond meal.

4. Shred the bread into 1/4″ chunks. You don’t want the bread cubes to be too big.

5. In a 2 cup liquid measuring container add 1 cup of warm water to 2/3 cups of dry milk. Stir until the dry milk is liquified. Drain the juice from the dates into the milk. Top off with additional water (so you have 2 cups of liquid) and stir.

6. Transfer the milk mixture to a large bowl.

7. Put the butter in the measuring cup and melt the butter in the microwave.

8. Add the butter into the milk mixture.

9. Add the sugar, maple syrup to the liquid.

10. Crack the eggs one at time into the measuring cup and beat slightly then add to the liquid.

11. Add the softened dates, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and ground almonds to the liquid and mix thoroughly.

12. Slowly incorporate the bread cubes until they are completely saturated.

13. Prepare a water bath for the muffin tin. To do this place a couple of cups of water in the roasting pan and test by putting the muffin tin inside. When the water comes about 2/3rd’s the way up the sides of the muffin cups you have enough water in the pan. The muffin tin should sit on top of the roasting pan, so there is water at the bottom and sides of the muffin cups.

14. Fill the muffin cups with the bread pudding mixture. Using a spoon press down on the mixture to compress it into the muffin cups. (I had more than enough for 12 muffins.)

15. Carefully put the muffin pan into the water bath and place both into the center of your hot oven.

16. Bake for 25 minutes. The Bread Pudding Muffins will start to pull away from the sides of the pan when ready.

17. VERY CAREFULLY remove both pans from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Remove the Muffin Tin from the water bath and let rest another 5 minutes.

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18. Place a tray over the muffin tin and invert to release the muffins. If they stick run a knife around the edge of the muffin cups and try again.

19. Let cool an additional 5 to 10 minutes before enjoying. These are moist and dense so refrigerate any leftover Bread Pudding Muffins. (Reheat for 30 seconds in the microwave to rewarm when you’re ready to eat them.)

These are great for breakfast instead of french toast of pancakes or as a dessert. You can serve plain or with a touch of whipped cream or a splash of maple syrup.

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8 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Baking, Muffins, postaday, Thought of the Day