Coffee Cake Muffins

Hi everybody-

These are pretty darn yummy. I don't often have sour cream on hand, but I happened to so I seized the opportunity to bake these. I love having them in muffin/cupcake form instead of a whole cake because it's easier to portion out and control what you're eating (especially if you live alone!)- that in mind, use whatever pan/pans are suitable for your occasion. Let me just show you-

Here are all of your ingredients- not complicated at all!

Mix together your topping ingredients- butter, sugar, nuts.

Here's your topping all made- set aside until you're done with the batter.

Mix sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla.

Add in your dry ingredients, mix well.

And add in the sour cream alternately, mixing well.

Your finished batter and topping- simple!

Here's the muffins half-done - half of the batter is in the bottom of the papers, and then I put half of the topping on.

And here are the muffins with the rest of the batter and topping done and ready for the oven!

 

Coffee Cake Muffins
-3 tablespoons butter, softened/melted
-1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choice (I used walnuts)
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-3/4 cup white sugar
-1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil
-1/4 cup applesauce
-3 eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 cups flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 cup sour cream
Mix butter, nuts, and brown sugar together. Set aside.
Beat the white sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
Add in 1/2 of the dry ingredients, mix well. Add 1/2 of the sour cream, mix well. Then mix in the second halves of each.
Layer 1/2 the batter, then 1/2 the topping, then the other 1/2 batter, then the last 1/2 of topping in whatever kind of greased (or paper lined) pan you are using (I made muffins- works great!).
Bake at 350 F for 18-20 minutes for muffins, about 50 minutes for a bundt pan.

Your finished coffee cafe muffins- delish, and an easy snack to take anywhere!

Savor it!
love, rue

Zucchini Muffins/Bread

Hey everyone!

Today is a super simple recipe for delish Zucchini bread or muffins. These are easy to make and great to have on hand for a healthy and filling snack. You can hardly tell the zucchini is there at all! Let's get going.

Add your first six ingredients to a mixing bowl.

And mix well.

Add in all of the dry ingredients.

And mix well!

I made mine into muffins- it helps to grease the papers if you are using them.

Zucchini Muffins/Bread
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup milk
-1/2 cup oil (I substitute applesauce for half)
-1 cup sugar (I use 2/3 cup to make them healthier)
-2 cups shredded zucchini
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-3 cups flour
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoons cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
-1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Mix eggs, milk, oil, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla well in a mixing bowl. Add in the dry ingredients and stir well. Stir in walnuts if you are using them.
Put batter into greased muffin tins or two loaf pans (or a combo thereof!).
Bake at 350 F for 18-22 minutes for muffins, 40-50 minutes for loaves- test with a toothpick, when it comes out clean, they are done.

Here are the finished muffins- just lightly browned and perfect!

Savor it!
love, rue

Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Muffins

Hi again!

So, this isn't my recipe. My mom pointed me in the direction of the link below, and I made the muffins and they were fantastic- no tweaking required. As you can see below, I took a lazy shortcut and put my cream cheese filling on top of the cupcakes instead of inside- still delish! Bottom line, these are fabulous, and you should totally give them a try- they've already been tested in two countries! (My mom lives in MX and has made these a few times- including for a neighborhood gathering of Mexicans and Gringos alike in order to meet the new mayor and cut the ribbon on the opening (or really the finishing!) of the new street they put in where my mom lives- the muffins seemed to be a hit!)

Here's the link to the original recipe/idea: King Arthur Flour Inside-Out Carrot Cake Muffins

notes for what I did:
-I put my cream cheese filling on top- this worked fine but if I do it this way again I will probably beat an egg into the cream cheese mixture so that it sinks into the cupcake better.
-I used at least 1.5 times as much carrots as the recipe called for.
-I was able to make more than 13 muffins- just adjust your cooking time for different amounts or sizes of muffins
-I did not read carefully enough and I did not grease my muffin cups- don't make the same mistake as me- yummy but hard to get the paper off!
-I added in about a cup of chopped walnuts at the end.
-I did not sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar, though I am sure that would be great- or even regular sugar would work, to give a little crust of sweetness

Mix together the wet ingredients, then add in all the dry ones and whisk well.

Once all is uniform, add in your grated carrot(s).

Then I added in some walnuts- not called for in the recipe but I love walnuts so there you go!

Here's the whipped up cream-cheese mixture (that I would add an egg to in some situations- makes it more cheesecakey then cream cheese icing-y)

Here are my muffins before the oven, not all are topped yet.

My muffins out of the oven- mine were more sort of self-icing carrot muffins, but making it into a filling would be equally great- that's what I'll do next time!

Savor it!

love, rue

Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins

Hi there!
     We're working on being healthier in my house, and here's a fantastic muffin recipe that we've come up with made with whole wheat flour and no added fat or sugar (except if you add a few chocolate chips!)- and they're delicious! These banana muffins are super tasty and you could put in any add-ins that you like- I went with a few chocolate chips and some chopped walnuts in these, but you could use butterscotch chips, coconut, other nuts, whatever you like!

Here's the batter, all mixed up.

Here are the muffins in the oven (I forgot a picture before I put them in!)

And here they are just out the oven.

Here's the recipe as annotated and modified out of our Fannie Farmer Cookbook, from which we got the base of the recipe.

Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins
-4 bananas
-3 eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 cups white whole wheat flour
-1/3 cup cocoa
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 cup chopped nuts
-1/2 cup chocolate chips (or whatever you like!)
Mash the bananas well, then mix in the eggs and vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients and stir well. Add the nuts and chips and stir a final time.
Fill greased muffin tins 2/3-3/4 of the way full, then bake for 15-18 minutes at 350 F.

All finished and so delicious! Give these a shot!

Savor it!
love, rue

Healthy (but delicious!) Banana Bread

I love this banana bread. I love it. I modified one of my favorite recipes to be a lot healthier, and it's just fabulous, you can't even tell the difference! I'll just get on to sharing it with you.

Here are the ingredients, I just left out the vanilla that I added!

Here's the batter all mixed up- I did use walnuts.

Healthy Banana Bread
-1/4 cup veggie oil
-3/4 cup applesauce
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-4 eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-4-5 bananas
-2 cups white flour
-1 cup white whole wheat flour
-1 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon nutmeg
-walnuts, optional
Mix together the veggie oil and applesauce, then add the sugar in. Beat in the eggs, then smoosh in the bananas with a potato masher or similar implement. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Put the batter into greased muffin tins, loaf pans, whatever you like.
Bake at 350 F until golden brown and a toothpick (or knife) inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Here's the banana bread in the oven- I used loaf pans and got three.

And the finished banana bread! It is so delicious we've just been gobbling it up!

Also feel free to add in anything you like- I like walnuts, but you could use different nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips if you're feeling naught, etc. Have fun with it!

Savor it!
love, rue

English Muffins (guest post by Nora/Mom!)

Hello! Today's post is a guest post from my Mom who made some delicious looking english muffins recently! I say they look delicious because I'm not at home right now and didn't get to have any, but I have on her word that they're great- they look all craggy and holey for all your butter (or topping of your choice) to go in. Take it away Mom!
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I hadn't made English Muffins in a long time. I started to see recipes that included a little baking soda, and since I'm all about more bubbles, spaces and holes in my bread, I decided this needed investigation. I ended up using the following recipe from thefreshloaf.com which is actually a recipe for crumpets (research showed that crumpets are just english muffins that are not toasted on the top). The recipe recommended making the dough just a bit stiffer for muffins.

I put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and used 1/3 C dry milk instead of the cup of milk (do not use the soda and water yet). Then I added 1/1/2 C of warm water and beat it for 5 min in the kitchen aid. It was a very stretchy, wet batter.



I found the batter was ready in less than 2 hours, so I went ahead and used it. This is when you dissolve the soda in water and beat it into the dough. Then let it set  30 min while you prepare your baking method. I decided to use the pancake grill because it would have room for 8 at a time. I made rings from folded over strips of foil. (of course everybody says to use tuna cans… but when was the last time you had 4 or 6 cans of tuna for dinner?). Grease the rings very well and set them on the greased hot surface. Flop about 1/4 cup dough into each ring, spreading if necessary. Mine was wet enough that it flowed to the edges.




Next time I'll try using a pan on the stove because the pancake grill heated very evenly but it was awfully slow. After about 8 minutes I was able to flip them, and gave them about 5 min more on the second side.



I've read others experiences, and next time I will finish these in a 350 oven for maybe 8 minutes, as my muffins were slightly too wet in the middle.

They were beautiful, tho, as you can see. And toasted, what a dream. Actually we used most of them as hamburger buns. Loved that because normally there is way too much bun compared to burger. This was perfect. Good luck with your own english muffins, they are going to be so much better than store bought. (They freeze well too!)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup warm (approx. 110°F) water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm (approx. 110°F) milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (for crumpets) or 2 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (for English muffins)
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup lukewarm water
INSTRUCTIONS
-Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and let sit until foamy. Add the warm milk and salt to the yeast mixture, then stir in the flour. Beat hard, using an electric mixer, for 5 minutes (this beating, as well as the addition of baking soda just before cooking, will help the finished muffin develop its holes). Cover bowl, set in a warm place, and let batter rise for 3 hours, or until it is very bubbly. Don't worry if the batter bubbles up, then falls down; if it does, just proceed to the next step.
-Dissolve the baking soda in the 1/4 cup lukewarm water, and stir it gently into the batter. Let rise again, this time for only 30 minutes.
-Heat a greased plett pan (first choice), frying pan or griddle over low heat for 10 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each ring in the plett pan, or spoon batter into circular shapes on a griddle or frying pan. Tuna cans, well-cleaned and with both ends cut off, are useful in containing the crumpet batter. Just set them on your frying surface, being sure to grease well first.
-Crumpet batter will spread easily; English muffin batter, which is thicker, needs to be nudged into a round shape with the back of a spoon or fork.
Let English muffins cook 5 to 8 minutes, or until bottoms are golden, then flip over and let the other side cook the same amount of time, removing from pan when both sides are brown.
-For crumpets, cook 8 minutes without turning; tops will be uncolored but dry, and full of holes. Place muffins on a wire rack to cool. To serve, split English muffins and toast; toast crumpets without splitting. Serve with butter and jam, or a fruit butter, such as the one that follows. Makes approximately 16 3-inch muffins.
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Thanks for the post Mom, and I hope the rest of you go out and make some english muffins!
Savor it!
love, rue

Pumpkin Muffins (or bread!)

Today I have for you a deliciously simple recipe for pumpkin muffins or bread. It's just the right time of year for a pumpkin-based recipe, and this one isn't too sweet or overpowering- just right! You just mix all the ingredients and they bake up to beautiful browned peaks- let's get to those pictures and that recipe!


Here's the batter all mixed up...



The muffins all ready to bake...



And the breads all ready for baking too!


Pumpkin Muffins/Bread
-4 eggs
-2 cups sugar
-1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
-1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I replaced 1 cup with applesauce and they turned out great!)
-3 cups flour
-2 teaspoons baking soda
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 cups walnuts, chocolate chips, etc. (optional)
Mix up the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and veggie oil/applesauce. Stir in the dry ingredients. Then stir in any add-ins that you'd like (I used walnuts).
Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes for muffins, or for 30-35 minutes for bread.
Cool for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a cooling rack.



And here are the delicious goodies all baked up and beautiful- please try, and enjoy!!

Savor it!
love, rue

Gingerbread Muffins

Here's another quick and delicious recipe- especially if you've been getting as much rain as we have! These gingerbread muffins are moist and spicy and whip up in just a few minutes.


Here are the muffins ready for the oven...


And the mini-muffins all baked up.

Gingerbread Muffins
-1/2 cup melted butter
-1/2 cup molasses
-1 cup sour milk (milk + 1T vinegar)
-1 egg
-1 cup brown sugar
-2 1/2 cups flour
-1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix the wet ingredients together, then add the dry and mix until just combined.
Fill muffin tins 3/4 full, and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes for mini-muffins, or 20 minutes for regular sized ones.



And here are the regular ones baked up- beautiful and delicious- I hope you enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Popovers

This week is a very busy one, as we approach the end of the school year, so my posts may be a bit briefer than usual over the next few weeks.

Today I'll give you a recipe for popovers, one of my favorite kinds of rolls- they puff up in the middle and are delicious with butter- give them a shot!


Popovers
-2 eggs
-1 cup milk
-1 tablespoon butter
-1 cup flour
-1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients until just combined. Pour batter into greased muffin tins, then place in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 450 F and bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 F and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown.



Popovers fresh out of the oven!


Savor it!
love, rue

Blueberry Muffins

Recently we've had a glut of beautiful looking blueberries in the store (even up here in Ohio), and I've been eating them by the handful. But, as usual, I just had to bake something with them as well. I made some very simple and plain blueberry muffins that can be altered to be pretty much any kind of muffin you like, whether it be by changing the filling, adding a topping, or making them whole wheat. So I'll tell you what I did, and what I might do differently!


Here's the batter and the blueberries- I tossed the blueberries with a little flour so they wouldn't sink in the batter so much.


And here are the muffins in my mini-muffin tin. I love mini-muffins and cakes, but I also lack a regular sized muffin tin, so that's why everything's always miniature!


Blueberry Muffins
-2 eggs
-1 cup milk
-2/3 cup white or brown sugar
-1/2 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce)
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 cups flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup blueberries (or other add-in)
Mix the wet ingredients, then add the dry and stir until just mixed (do not over stir!), then throw in your add-in, the blueberries in this case.
Bake at 400 F for about 17 minutes for regular sized muffins, and 12-15 for mini muffins.

To make these even better, I might add a little sprinkle of sugar on top to get a nice crust, or make a streusel topping! Try substituting some of the oil with applesauce to make a healthier muffin as well. Feel free to experiment- these are pretty much a blank canvas. Even think in savory muffin directions- cut down the sugar and add cheese and sausage for breakfast muffins, or something like that!



And here are the finished muffins- they were delicious so enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue