01-11-2012

What muffins should I make tomorrow?

I’m taking a break today from baking and wanted to know what kind of muffin you’d like me to bake next? Something savory or something heart healthy? I’d love to have an actual muffin name so just write in your favorite muffin.

I have tried & true berry muffin recipes but thought ya’ll might want something different than the norm.

Happy Baking,

Jess

01-10-2012

Banana Bread Muffins

I have never been so thrilled or excited to see and taste these muffins. I am not a big lover of banana bread because normally, in my opinion – and its all about me, they are way overpowered with bananas. But these have a hint of banana and also have coconut, applesauce, and molasses for depth of flavor. The coconut makes it sweet and provides an interesting texture, but again, not so much to make it all about one flavor. These simply are scrumptious!

Yum!

Banana Bread Muffins
Yields 24 muffins 

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup quick-1 minute oatmeal
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
2 to 2.5 medium bananas
1 brown egg, lightly beaten, preferably from a local farm
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated cane sugar, preferably organic
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/8 cup molasses

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners.

Mash bananas in small bowl, stirring in vanilla, then set aside. In a food processor chop pecans and set aside.  Next, chop oats in processor and then combine, in a large bowl, with flour, baking soda, and salt.

Melt butter in a separate bowl and then stir in sugar until it has completely dissolved.

Next, mix in the applesauce, molasses, beaten egg, and coconut; stirring well.

Thought this picture was neat

Make a well in the bottom of the dry mixture and stir in butter mixture until almost combined but not completely.

Here is what the 'well' should look like before mixing in liquid ingredients

Then mix in the banana mixture and pecans, being careful to not over stir. Fill muffin cups with 1 1/2 to 2 tbsps of batter.

How full my muffin liners were

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, turning pan halfway through.

Enjoy!

Jessica

01-09-2012

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Welcome to Muffin Week!!! I have lots of tasty muffins in store for you this week and today’s muffins include one of my favorite ingredients – poppy seed. You’ll find that I went a tad (okay, maybe more than a tad) overboard on the poppy seed, so feel free to use less. I just love their crunch!

I cannot explain how many times I’ve tried creating a lemon poppyseed muffin but I could never figure out the right proportion of ingredients. It is normally too greasy or too spongy and no matter how much I altered butter/oil/milk/egg I could never get them right. Well this one worked perfect! I found a recipe for a poundcake muffin and decided to use half the yogurt, added in milk, and a lot more poppy seed.

So without further adieu….

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Adapted from Joy of Baking
Yields 12 – 15 muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3+ tbsp poppyseeds
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 ounces plain yogurt
4 ounces whole milk
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 large brown egg, preferably from a farm, lightly beaten
grated lemon zest from 1 large lemon
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, poppy seeds, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, mix together the yogurt, milk, lemon zest, and vanilla extract.

Using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Mix in the egg, beating well to ensure it is mixed thoroughly. Now, beat in the liquid milk mixture, scraping down the sides as needed.

Next, make a well in the bottom of your dry mixture bowl. (I forgot to take a picture of this step, but basically you just want there to be an empty spot in the bottom middle of your dry mixture.) Pour the liquid into this well and stir until just combined. BE CAREFUL – the more you stir, the less your muffins will rise and be airy. So do not overmix/overstir, etc.

Fill muffin tins approximately 1/2 to 2/3  full and bake for 15-18 minutes in preheated oven. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

There are lots of tried & true ways to make your muffins turn out just right – where they look great and taste even better. Click here to view Joy of Baking’s helpful hints for making muffins.

And I’d love to know…What is your favorite type of muffin?

Jess