Coffeecake Muffins

These muffins have made their way into my oven a few times over the last couple months. A hit with my family and again with co-workers. Cooks Illustrated definitely got this recipe right. The delicate taste of cinnamon and pecans in the batter really makes this muffin shine. This recipe can easily be prepared in the food processor, but if a food processor is not available to you the batter can also be stirred by hand or mixed in a stand mixer. Perfect breakfast treat with a mug of hot chocolate, coffee, or even milk.

Coffeecake Muffins
as seen on Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients
1/2 cup (2 oz) pecans
1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups (10 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 oz) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces and softened
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.
2 Process nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon in food processor until nuts are the size of sesame seeds, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer mixture to medium bowl.
3. Return bowl and metal blade to food processor, add flour, granulated sugar, and salt and process until combined, about five 1-second pulses. Sprinkle butter evenly over flour mixture and process until butter is oat-sized, about eight 1-second pulses. Remove 1 cup of the flour-butter mixture and stir with fork into reserved brown sugar mixture until combined to make streusel. Set aside 3/4 cup pf streusel for muffin batter and remaining portion for topping muffins.
4. Add baking powder and baking soda to remaining flour mixture in food processor bowl and process until combined, about five 1-second pulses. Whisk together sour cream, egg, and vanilla; add to flour mixture. Process until batter is just moistened, about five 1-second pulses. Add 3/4 cup reserved streusel to flour mixture and process until just distributed throughout batter, about five 1-second pulses.
5. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with streusel, pressing lightly so that streusel sinks slightly into batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out with several crumbs clinging to it, about 18 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffin tin on wire rack for 2 minutes. Using tip of paring knife, loosen muffins gently transfer from tin to wire rack; cool for 5 minutes and serve warm.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Oat Muffins

While these muffins are a tiny bit sweet they are not your typical zucchini muffin. These muffins are more on the savory side of the world. The lack of sugar really helps the flavors of the featured ingredinets shine through. The addition of nuts would really add a nice crunch and texture to these muffins.


Quick and easy to prepare and a delight for the whole family. Try these delicious muffins today!

Whole Wheat Zucchini and Oat Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

~yields a bakers dozen (13) muffins~

Ingredients
Streusel topping
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons rolled oats
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, cold
Muffins
⅓ cups rolled oats
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
⅓ cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoons salt
1-½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups packed grated zucchini
⅔ cups buttermilk
2 whole eggs
¼ cups butter, melted

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
For the streusel: Add all dry ingredients into a small bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients; set aside.
For the muffins: Stir together all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the grated zucchini and mix until it is well coated with the dry ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and melted butter. Fold into dry ingredients stirring just until combined.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and top with struesel topping.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Banana Streusel Muffins

It has been forever since I had made banana muffins and I figured it was time to give them another go. Before I began to look around for recipes I knew exactly what I wanted. I envisioned a soft, delicate, lightly sweetened muffin with a crunchy streusel topping. I came across this recipe and it sounded like it fit the bill perfectly. I quickly mixed up a batch with a couple of bananas that had ripened beautifully and soon after had a delicious banana muffin for an afternoon snack.


This recipe is definitely my new go-to banana muffin recipe. The muffins rose up high and produced the perfect crumb. The banana flavor was so intense and and the crunchy streusel topped the muffin perfectly. This is a people pleasing recipe that you should definitely make soon.



Banana Streusel Muffins
Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

Streusel Topping
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In a small bowl, beat eggs, sour cream, butter and bananas; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.
For streusel, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; cut in butter. If using almonds stir them in at this time. Sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Have I ever mentioned that I love strawberry season? There is nothing better than a sweet dark juicy strawberry, unless you add some flour and make that strawberry just as unhealthy as can be. :) I had a bunch of strawberries in my fridge that I wanted to make something with before they went bad. Most of the muffin recipes that I came across called for sour cream or plain yogurt. I did not have either of those items in my fridge so I kept searching until I found a recipe that did not need those ingredients. I originally found this recipe on The Food Librarian, then followed its source to Joy of Baking.


I am glad that I decided to make these muffins because they were quick and easy (no mixer needed) and they tasted incredible. The strawberry pieces really burst while biting into the muffins and the cinnamon adds the perfect amount of spice. The only thing that would have made them better is some almondy streusel on top. Everything is better with almonds. :)


Strawberry Banana Muffins
Adapted from: Joy of Baking

~makes 12 regular sized muffins~

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries (cut into small pieces)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position rack in center of oven. Line the muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter or a vegetable spray. Set aside.
In a small saucepan melt the butter. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter to the brown sugar mixture and stir to combine.
In another large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour. This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.
Fill each muffin cup about two thirds full of batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Fill any unused muffin cups halfway with water to prevent warping of the pan and/or over browning of the muffins. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Breakfast Muffins

After a few weeks with no blog updates I made it a point to bake up something yummy last night when I got home from class, just so I could remind my readers that I am still here. For Christmas my sister gave me an awesome gift card to King Arthur Flour and I purchased this cookbook with it. The book is packed with hundreds of awesome sounding recipes and I can't wait to start baking my way through the book.


These muffins called for very common ingredients that every pantry should have stock of and were quick and painless to mix together. My husband and I both agree that these muffins are rich, chocolaty and delicious. I will definitely be making these again.


Chocolate Breakfast Muffins
Source: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook, page 66

Ingredients
2/3 cup (2 ounces) cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons vinegar
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) butter or margarine, melted

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup or medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend. There's no need to beat these muffins; just make sure everything is well combined.

Scoop the batter into 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Bake the muffins for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean (watch them closely, as they'll burn around the edges if they bake too long). Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan, allowing them to cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.

Boredom Baking

School is out for two more weeks, the holidays are over and I am left sitting here wondering what to do with my days. At first I thought about making some ice cream but I had no half and half or heavy cream and was already at the store this morning and did not feel like going back out. Then I remembered that I had lots of blueberries in the freezer. I decided some blueberry muffins would be the perfect thing to bake. I was already on the Williams-Sonoma website browsing around so I just decided to check out their muffin recipes while I was there.


I managed to pick a recipe that was designed for kids to make so I can assure you it was pretty darn easy. The minimal ingredients and steps in this recipe help give the muffins a delicious flavor. I think I will freeze these for quick breakfasts when I head back to work and school in two weeks.


Big Blueberry Muffins
Source: Williams-Sonoma The Kid's Cookbook, by Abigail Johnson Dodge

- Makes 12 muffins -

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 3 equal pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried

Directions
1. Be sure an adult is nearby to help.
2. Put the butter pieces in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a pot holder, remove the pan from the heat and set the butter aside to cool.
3. Preheat an oven to 375°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix with a table fork.
5. In a small mixing bowl, combine the milk, egg and vanilla. Using the same fork, beat until well blended.
6. Add the milk mixture, melted butter and blueberries to the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir gently until the ingredients are just blended.
7. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into the muffin cups. Sprinkle the 2 teaspoons sugar evenly over the tops.
8. Bake the muffins until they are golden and have risen nicely, 18 to 20 minutes. To test, insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
9. Using oven mitts, remove the muffin pan from the oven and place it on a wire cooling rack. Let the muffins cool for at least 15 minutes before removing them from the pan. Gently turn the pan over, letting the muffins fall out onto the rack.

Happy Veterans Day

Once I was reminded by my mother that today was Veterans day I decided that I would celebrate by baking some muffins and delivering them to the Veteran in my life, my dad. I knew immediately what recipe I was going to make. I had made these for my dad a couple years ago and he really enjoyed them so I thought it would be the perfect treat to surprise him with.


Like I previously said, I had made these muffins a couple of years ago and they were a hit with everyone who tried them. When adding in all the spices I thought that it might be a little to much but the chocolate definitely mellows out all the spices and there is a great mix of flavors. Have I ever mentioned that I love the flavors of white chocolate and pumpkin together? Well if I have not I surely meant to. :) I hope you enjoy the muffins and homemade card Dad!


Happy Veterans day to all of those men and women that have served or are serving our country. I am forever thankful to all of you.


Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Muffins
Source: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients
1/2 cup of walnuts
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
4 oz unsalted butter, melted
6 oz white chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, mix together the eggs, pumpkin, and unsalted butter. Add in the chocolate chips and nuts.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix.
5. Scoop batter into greased or paper cup lined muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed and springy to the touch. Cool then remove from cups.

Sinful Cinnamon Muffins

I got the sudden urge to bake this morning. A big fluffy cinnamon muffin sounded excellent. I went searching for recipes and came up with this one on the King Arthur flour website. This particular recipe takes a little longer to prep since it requires a topping and a filling but it was definitely worth it in the end.


These muffins did not get as puffy and dome shaped on top as I would have liked them to but that's ok, the taste definitely made up for it. It was a nice moist basic muffin with the perfect kick of cinnamon flavor. The oats and nuts definitely helped in making the muffin complete. I did leave out the cinnamon/butterscotch chips since I did not have any.

I delivered half of the muffins to my sister so I would not be forced to eat them all. I hope you enjoy them Cassi. Share the wealth, don't eat them all.


Simply Sinful Cinnamon Muffins
Source: King Arthur Flour

Yield: 12 muffins

Topping Ingredients
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup diced pecans
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons soft butter

Filling Ingredients
1/2 cup Baker's Cinnamon Filling mix*
3 to 4 tablespoons water

*Or substitute 3 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon for the Baker's Cinnamon Filling mix and water.

Batter Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons Signature Secrets(r) Culinary Thickener or cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup cinnamon chips or butterscotch chips

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers, or grease it lightly.
2. Prepare the topping by mixing the ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside. Prepare the filling by mixing the Baker's Cinnamon Filling with enough water to make filling with a soft, pudding-like consistency. Set it aside.
3. To make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, milk, and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the liquid, stirring just until combined.
4. Divide half the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Dollop 2 teaspoons cinnamon filling onto each muffin, then top with the remaining batter. Sprinkle with topping, pressing it in lightly.
5. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5 minutes before transferring them from the pan to a rack to cool.

Blissful Blueberry Muffins

I bought a pound of blueberries at the store on Friday so I could make some blueberry muffins. Little did I know that my husband would eat the entire pack of blueberries before I got to them. I bought some more yesterday at the store and then realized that I had some fresh, frozen huckleberries in the freezer that I needed to use up. I used the huckleberries leaving the fresh berries for my husband to eat, or perhaps to make into a pie later in the week. :)

When looking for a recipe for the muffins I went straight to my Baking Illustrated cookbook because I had remembered seeing a cinnamon sugar dipped muffin recipe in there that sounded divine. Boy am I glad I checked that book because these muffins were fabulous, so moist and flavorful. The cinnamon and sugar on top of the muffin really makes it stand out. I can't keep myself (or my husband) out of them. :)

Cinnamon-Sugar-Dipped Blueberry Muffins
Source: Baking Illustrated, 2004 page 46-47

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4 (10 ounces) cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries, preferably wild
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard 12 cup muffin tin and set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Whisk the egg in second medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add the sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 2 or 3 steps, whisking to combine after each addition. Add sour cream in 2 additions, whisking just to combine.
3. Add the berries to the dry ingredients and gently toss just to combine. Add the sour cream mixture and fold with rubber spatula until the batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed, 25 to 30 seconds (small spots of flour may remain and the batter will be thick). Do not overmix.
4. Use a large spoon sprayed with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking, divide the batter among the greased muffin cups. Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Invert the muffins onto a wire rack, stand the muffins upright, and cool 5 minutes.
5. While muffins are cooling, mix sugar and ground cinnamon in small bowl and melt butter in small saucepan. After the baked muffins have cooled five minutes, working one at a time, dip the top of each muffin in melted butter and then cinnamon-sugar. (I was to scared to turn my precious little muffins upside down so I set them all close together on a cooling rack with a towel underneath and brushed on the butter using a pastry brush and then sprinkled on the cinnamon/sugar mixture. I also found that I only needed 1/2 of the butter and 1/2 of the cinnamon/sugar mixture that the recipe called for.) Set muffins upright on wire rack; serve.

Tools of the Trade

Joelen over at Joelen's Culinary Adventures is hosting the second round of her new blogging event, Tasty Tools. I felt horrible that I did not get an entry out for the first one so I was determined to submit an entry to this one. As soon as I heard that this months tasty tool was scoops I knew what I wanted to make. Something using my mini muffin pan and my small scoop.

Today I had a random urge to make muffins,but I was craving savory ones not typical sweet ones. I found a basic muffin recipe that I could put my own spin on and went with it. Once I mixed up the batter I separated half of it into another bowl and decided to make one bowl cheddar dill and the other Parmesan rosemary.


Be sure to check out Joelen's blog on Monday May 5th for the round up of all the great recipes to bring your scoops out of retirement.

Muffins
(Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, New Cook Book, Limited Breast Cancer Edition)

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups AP flour
1/3 cup sugar (If making savory flavored muffins reduce to 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil

Directions
1. Grease twelve 2 1/2" muffin cups or line with paper baking cups; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
3. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
4. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.

Sizing up Muffins
Muffin cups come in all shapes and sized, from bite size minis to standard 2 1/2" cups to jumbo muffins. You'll need to adjust the baking time according to the pan you choose. Mini muffins will bake about about 8 minutes less than standard-size muffins. And for jumbo muffins, lower the oven temperature to 350 and bake about 30 minutes.


My Variations
Cheddar Dill Muffins
Prepare as above, except reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup and fold in 1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill and 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded.

Parmesan Rosemary Muffins
Prepare muffin recipe as above, except reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup and fold in 1 teaspoon rosemary (I used a pampered chef rosemary herb seasoning blend) and 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Banana Goodness

I must confess...
The only reason why I buy bananas is to let them get overripe so I can make banana bread. :)

Sorry this is not the best picture in the world. I have learned that it is much easier to take close-up photos during the day when there is natural light. So, this is all you get for now since I decided to make this bread at 9:30 at night.

And thank you Theresa (my mother in law) for sharing this wonderful recipe with me!!

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
3 bananas, smashed
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc)

Directions:
- Combine all ingredients except for nuts, using a mixer.
- Add nuts and mix by hand
- Grease bread pan
- Cook for 50 minutes at 350 degrees
- Check with toothpick for doneness (may need to cook longer, possibly 15 more minutes)

This recipe can also be turned into muffins. Simply scoop the batter into 12 muffin cups. Cook at the same temperature but reduce bake time to 25 minutes.