My Muffin Love

So, I got away from making my weekly muffins, but I'm getting back into it again. I have to admit, when I started working outside of the home again and started thinking of my son moving away for college, I just lost interested in a lot of stuff. Anyway, I still love muffins. I love making new flavors and types. I think every home should smell like muffins. I need to have muffins around again. Muffins, Muffins, Muffins.

The nice thing about muffins is that you don't need a lot of "ingredients" to make them.

We always have bananas, ground flax, and walnuts in the freezer, so...

Banana-Flax-Walnut Whole Wheat Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c ground flax seeds
1/4 c light brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground clove
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c canola oil
1/4 c reduced fat milk
3 ripe bananas*, mashed
1/2 c walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift all dry ingredients, excluding the walnuts. Mix wet ingredients, including the bananas

Stir the liquids in the dry ingredients. Fold in the walnuts. If the batter is too dry, add more milk. Pour into 12 paper-lined muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*I use defrosted frozen bananas. Sometimes I will freeze bananas with their peels on. When I know I will be making something with bananas, I will let them sit overnight to defrost. When the bananas are frozen in the peel, they do not get freezer burned and squeeze right out of their skin.

Muffin Monday: Choco-nana Nut Muffins

Choco-nana Nut Muffins

1 cups cake flour
3/4 cup old fashion oats
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 each bananas, ripe, mashed (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup whole milk
3 tbsp canola oil
1 egg
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips


1. Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, combine cake flour, whole wheat flour, oats, wheat germ, 1/2 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; mix well.

3. In small bowl, combine bananas, milk, oil and egg; whisk until blended. Add to dry ingredients; stir about 20 strokes or just until dry ingredients are moistened. Add walnuts and chocolate chips. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups.

4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 minute; remove from pan. Cool on wire rack or serve warm.
Enjoy!!!

"Leftover" Oatmeal Raisin Spice Muffins

I recently purchased a KRUPS Rice Cooker/ Slow Cooker from Sur La Table. I tried making overnight oatmeal with my new toy. OK, 2 cups of steel cut oats turned into a massive amount of cooked oatmeal. I like oatmeal, but I can't eat it everyday. Idea...muffins made with leftover oatmeal. I made these "quickly" for my husband's birthday breakfast. We were going to the gym, so I didn't make anything heavy.

"Leftover" Oatmeal Raisin Spice Muffins MAKES 12 muffins

Ingredients
1 cup cake flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup leftover cooked oatmeal
3/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Mix all the dry ingredients together, including the raisins and spice.
In another bowl, mix together all the wet ingredients
Add to dry ingredients to wet.
Scoop batter into 12 greased muffin cups.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.
The muffins will be slightly browned.
Eat and ENJOY!
French Press coffee and a fresh baked muffin...YUM.

Mini Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkins, pumpkins, Everywhere! I love this time of year when there's a chill in the air and the pumpkins are back!!! I love pumpkin pie, but I try not to eat it until Thanksgiving, then I don't stop eating pumpkin pies until the new year. Today felt like a Mini Pumpkin Muffin day!!! YUM.

I use canned pumpkins when fresh pumpkins are not available. Baking the halved pumpkins works best for me. I've tried peeling and then cutting the pumpkins into cubes, not easy, then steaming, but the pumpkin comes out too watery. Perfect for baby food! Anyway pick a medium sized Sugar Pumpkin and pick the heaviest one. Cut in half, take all the seeds and stringy stuff out, put it cut sized down on a lightly oiled sheet pan and put in a 350 degree oven. Bake for about 1 hour or until a fork can go into the flesh easily.

mmmmm...YUM!

Mini Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups pastry flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 T wheat germ
1 cup raisins, sweetened dried cranberries, or chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
2 large eggs
15 oz. cooked and pureed sugar pumpkin
powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:
COMBINE the first 8 ingredients in large bowl.
POUR muffin mix into large bowl. Add 1/2 cup canola oil with pastry blender until mixture is fine. Add 1 cup LIBBY'S 100% PURE PUMPKIN, 1 cup milk and 2 large eggs; mix until just moistened.
SPOON into greased or paper-lined mini-muffin pans, filling 2/3 full.
BAKE in preheated 400ºF oven for 15 minutes; remove to wire racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.
Makes about 60 mini muffins.

A couple years ago, when I was the Programs Director at the Seattle Athletic Club, the staff dressed up for Halloween. Kinda hard for the trainers, but I thought wearing costumes was FUN. Here I am as the Pumpkin Witch...BOO!

Blueberry Mini Muffins

If you're ever asked to "bring something for the meeting", here's your go to recipe. Blueberry Mini Muffins. This recipe yeilds a lot, so if no one can tell you "How many people are coming?", make a batch of mini muffins.

Great with tea...

Great with sake...I think?

Great with wine!

Blueberry Mini Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

5 eggs

1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Additional sugar, optional

Directions:

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla; mix well.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries (batter will be thick).

Fill greased or paper-lined miniature muffin cups with about a tablespoon of batter.

Sprinkle with sugar if desired.

Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Yield: 7 dozen. Have 1 have 10, they're so tiny, who will notice? Enjoy!

Oatmeal BOO-berry Muffins

I love blueberry muffins and thanks again to my Tita Lily, I have a lot of perfectly ripened, hand picked blueberries, frozen in my freezer. I have made blueberry muffins with cake flour and flax, this time I am using old fashion oats. I am still trying to stay away from too many "bad" carbs, so I am cutting the flour on this muffin and replacing with healthy oats!

Start with Old Fashion Oats

It's getting colder now and there's something about oatmeal that gives me warm fuzzies in the Fall. Halloween is coming and these little Boo-berry muffins are a great hearty treat to snack on with a hot cider! Mmmmmm...YUM!

Fresh out of the oven, mmm, smell that? YUM!

I made these muffins for my Friend Kelli. Kelli has a newborn baby girl, Quincy Grace.

Oatmeal BOO-berry Muffins
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups old fashion oats
1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup frozen blueberries

(Optional: 1 teaspoon sugar crystals)

Directions:

Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Mix in yogurt, egg, and oil; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Fold in blueberries.

Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.

(Optional: Sprinkle with sugar.)

Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool on rack.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Banana Walnut Muffins

Double Chocolate Banana Walnut Muffin
This is similar to the Chocolate Zucchini Muffin, but my son had a request for banana walnut muffins, so I decided to make it a little better...CHOCOLATE!
Double Chocolate Banana Walnut Muffin Recipe

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups white sugar

1 cup butter, melted

½ cup low fat vanilla yogurt

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup ripe banana, mashed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 T wheat germ

1 T crushed flax seeds

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Lightly grease or line two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Beat in the sugar, butter, and yogurt. Add the 1/3 cup cocoa, vanilla, bananas and stir well. Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and the other 1/3 cup cocoa. Mix until just moist. Add chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins until full. Put muffins in the oven, set timer for 20 minutes. Wait...Smell...take out of the oven.

Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Yummy!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffin

The muffins I baked yesterday were such a hit, they are almost gone. I intended to have muffins on hand so my husband and son could grab them on the way out in the morning for a quick breakfast. Well, back to the kitchen for me. Today I feel like Chocolate Zucchini Muffins.

I am combining a recipe I have for Chocolate Zucchini Bread and another recipe for spice muffins. One of the recipes come from an old cookbook that I inherited from my mother-in-law, who probably bought it from a neighborhood fundraiser. The other recipe is from one of my ever growing files that I stuff recipes in, that "I'll make someday". I guess today is the day.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffin Recipe
These muffins should be called Spicy COCO-Zucchini Muffins, Zucchini Bread’s sassy cousin!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup canola oil
½ cup yogurt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2.5 cups grated zucchini
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 T wheat germ
1 T crushed flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease or line two 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl beat the eggs. Beat in the sugar, oil, and yogurt. Add the cocoa, vanilla, zucchini and stir well.
Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom. Mix until just moist. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins filling all the way full. Put muffins in the oven, set timer for 20 minutes and increase temperature to 380 degrees F.

Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

And the cupboard was bare...Blueberry Yogurt Flax Muffins

Blueberry Yogurt Flax Muffins

No butter, no milk, no worries. I wanted to make muffins with all the blueberries my Aunt Lily was so kind to give me. I froze most of the blueberries so I would have them handy for smoothies. Another very rainy day in Seattle and a smoothie just didn't seem appealing.

Oh, how nice it would be to smell freshly baked muffins today. Blueberry muffins it is. NO, no, no...no butter. Forget it. Wait. I checked out a few recipes online like foodnetwork, cooks.com, hmmm. I also looked through a few of my old cookbooks. Well, I combined a few recipes and added a few healthy ingredients and SUCCESS! My biggest critics, husband & son, loved my blueberry muffin creation.

Blueberry Yogurt Flax Muffins

Blueberry Yogurt Flax Muffins (Recipe adapted from Alton Brown)

Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.

Combine the following, reserving 1 teaspoon flour, whisk and set aside:12 1/2 ounces cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, pinch salt, 1 T wheat germ, 1 T crushed flax seeds

In a mixing bowl, combine the following:1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 egg 1 cup "good Greek" yogurt

Toss 1 teaspoon of the flour mixture with 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries and mix into the muffin batter. Mix by hand just to combine.

Scoop batter into a lined muffin pan. Put the muffins in the oven, set timer to 20 minutes and increase the temperature to 400 degrees F.

Enjoy!!!