Orange-Yogurt Muffins

These moist muffins are a riff on a Better Homes and Gardens  recipe for orange-yogurt muffins.  I've never had the original, but this slight adaptation is delicious.  I make muffins several times a week through the winter, and my philosophy is simple-- take a standard muffin recipe, keep most of the bones, and increase, reduce, omit, and replace ingredients to your liking. 

So, like many others, this muffin was born.  Voila!  Happy birthday, muffin!

-1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup, so if you like it sweeter, go for it, but the muffins don't need it)
-1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 or 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 cup plain yogurt (I use thinner homemade stuff)
- at least 1/2 cup condensed frozen orange juice concentrate
- 1/8 cup vegetable oil, or a smidge more
- 1 tsp. vanilla

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredents.  Make a well in the center

In another bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix well.  Add wet mixture all at once to the dry mixture and stir just until moistened.  (Batter should be lumpy.)

Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling each about 2/3 full.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes until golden.  Cool for five minutes before removing from tin.  If desired, make a glaze with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and a few teaspoons orange juice and drizzle over warm muffins.

Healthy Muffins #1 (Banana-Chocolate-Peanut Butter Muffins)

Mmm.  These were also good.  I totally threw the recipe together, so I'm glad they turned out.

 

Grease one and a half to two 12-cup muffin tins ('cause I don't remember how many muffins this made, but I usually try to make about 24) and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- 3 cups freshly ground whole wheat (obviously, you can use store-bought, and your muffins will be finer than these, because my grinder only grinds flour coarsely)

 - 1 and 1/2 tbsp. baking powder

-  1 tsp. baking soda

- 1/3 cup baking cocoa

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 2/3 cup sugar (or less, or substitute honey...whatever you want...they're muffins, remember!)

- 3 eggs, beaten

- 2/3 cup whole milk

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 1/2 cup peanut butter, softened for a bit in the microwave or on a stovetop

- 1 mashed, very ripe banana

1.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the center.

2.  In another bowl, combine beaten eggs, milk, and vanilla.  After combining peanut butter and banana, add to the egg mixture and mix well.  Dump the egg mixture all at once into the dry ingredients and mix only until moistened.  (Batter will be lumpy.)

3.  Fill muffin tins as you usually do and bake in a 350-degree oven until done.  (Again, I don't remember how long I baked them!  Some help I am, huh.)

Millie's Mystery Muffins

Four years ago, when she was a new seven-year old, Millie took these pictures of muffins she had just made.  Sigh.

 

 

I took the following two pictures four years ago because I thought her "mystery ingredients" were gross and funny.

 

Instead of jam or chocolate chips or berries, which would have been my go-to ingredients, she added as many autumn sprinkles as she could, an entire bag of stale butterscotch chips, and a bunch of  lemon extract.  Mmmmm.  How mysterious!

Here's An Idea

Surprise your children by baking a tablespoon of cherry almond jam into their morning muffins!

(I suppose another kind of jam would work equally well.)

Double Chocolate Spiced Zucchini Muffins with Cayenne A.K.A. We Love Zucchini!

So, one might think that two zucchini recipes in one day is enough. Try telling that to the zucchini plants, will ya?! Here's a recipe I created this morning. It's a twist on the traditional and decadent chocolate zucchini cake, only more muffin-like, and with the addition of cayenne, because I like the complexity it adds and the lingering hint of heat. If you don't like these things, then omit it, and the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves will step up.

We also like to call this

Dessert for Breakfast.

3 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter or canola oil
3/4 cup buttermilk (I've never in my life used real buttermilk. It's tacky, but you, too, can substitute 1 tablespoon vinegar and enough milk to equal one cup for buttermilk. Let sit for five minutes until curdled.)
1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups grated zucchini (with any excess liquid left at the bottom of bowl after grating)

3/4 cup baking cocoa
2 and 1/2 cups flour
a generous 1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
a few shakes ground cayenne, if desired, to taste
1 - 1 and 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cream together the eggs and the sugar before adding the remainder of wet ingredients. Stir in shredded zucchini. In a large bowl, sift all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients, stirring until moistened. Spoon into greased (or papered) muffin tins, and then sprinkle the tops with a layer of semisweet chocolate chips. Bake in a 350 oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (My oven runs hot, and it took about 12 minutes; bake these as long as it normally takes you to bake muffins.) Yield: About 1 and a half dozen

Eat them warm.
Eat them cold.
Eat them with your trousers rolled, Mister Prufrock.

Chocolate Chip Banana Crumb Muffins

I found this recipe for crumb-topped banana muffins on the internet when John's family was visiting. I altered them slightly (adding chocolate chips, extra banana, and a bit of oil), and they ended up being the moistest, most delicious banana muffins I've ever had. I'm not the only one who raved like a maniac over them, either, which is the assurance I needed to post the recipe. (Next time, I may try substitutingf applesauce for some of the butter/oil, but only if I'm feeling annoyingly health-conscious.)

As with all banana recipes, the darker the bananas you use, the more delicious and pronounced their flavor will be in the recipe.

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 overly ripe bananas, mashed (I used nearly four)
  
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted (I also added 2 or three tablespoons of canola oil)
• 1 cup chocolate chips
  
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers. (***My batter ended up making about 14 muffins.)
   
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter, oil, and chocolate chips. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

* I also added a touch of cinnamon to the muffin batter.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Thank you again, Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, for helping us pad our bellies. You should add "Better Bellies" to your title. This is a muffin recipe that's fast and easy and nice to pull out on mornings when oatmeal, eggs, or cold cereal just doesn't cut it.



They're topped with a cinnamon-sugar crumb topping and have a streusel layer of the same in the middle of each muffin.



What? You want the recipe? Alright, here it is.

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
3 tbsp. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 and 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (1/2 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar and enough milk to make 1/2 cup; let sit for about five minutes before adding to other ingredients)

Grease 12 muffin cups; set aside

For the topping, stir together the 3 tbsp. flour, brown sugar, and the 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in the 2 tablespoons butter or margarine till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in walnuts and pecans; set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl stir together the 1 and 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and the 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the 1/4 cup butter or margarine till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another mixing bowl, combine the egg and buttermilk or sour milk. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy).

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 1/3 full. Top with half of the topping, the remaining batter, and the remaining topping. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or till golden. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from muffin cups and serve warm.

* I always double the streusel mixture, and I usually only make 9 muffins out of the batter instead of 12.
**We almost never have pecans or walnuts in the house unless it's near Christmas, so I omitted those.

Blueberry Oat Muffins, Slightly Overbaked

These are yummy with a great texture; just don't overbake them, alright?
Someone gave me this recipe at a wedding shower almost seven years ago now, and I finally made them. Hurrah for me! Maybe it won't take you nearly so long.

1 and 1/4 cup flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 egg whites
1/2 water or milk
1/3 cup oil
1 cup blueberries (I used closer to two cups)

Topping
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg whites, water, and oil. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the blueberries. (If using frozen, do not thaw before adding.) Fill paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean of batter.

Caramel Peach Muffins

For those of you who prefer the texture of biscuits to the more common, light sponginess of muffins, this recipe might be your ticket. When I was young, my mom would make them as a very rare and special breakfast feast, and, with a jolt, I remembered their goodness this past Father's Day morning and immediately opened one of the dwindling jars of last summer's peaches. Oh, were they good. Eight tablespoons of butter for 12 muffins will do that...

The "muffin" portion is more like a biscuit, almost identical to those used for strawberry shortbread. The caramel topping and the peaches make the biscuit sweet and rich enough for a dessert-like breakfast without being cloyingly so.

One helpful word of warning: these are overturned onto a plate immediately after baking, in a similar fashion to pecan sticky buns, so the muffin tin should be well-greased before being filled and then soaked soon after the muffins are removed for easier cleanup.

8 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
at least 1 cup cooked, canned, sliced peaches (I probably use closer to 2 cups)
1 and 1/2 cups flour
2 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup milk

In a small bowl in the microwave, or a small saucepan on the stovetop, melt 4 tablespoons butter with the brown sugar. Divide evenly among 12 sections of a well-greased muffin tin. Cover with sliced, drained peaches. (The recipe actually calls for only 3/4 cup peaches, but I use enough slices to cover the muffin, usually 2 or 3 slices per muffin depression, and I slice them fairly thick, because I like a lot of peach in my muffin.)

Sift dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the remaining 4 tablespoons cold butter and mix well until crumbs form evenly (about the size of peas or smaller). Make a small well in the center, add the milk, and stir only until moistened. Drop by teaspoonfuls on top of the sliced peaches.

Bake in a 425 degree oven until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Immediately overturn out of pan onto baking sheet or plate and let cool slightly. (If all of the caramel topping and peaches don't easily come out, simply place the peaches on top of the overturned muffin and spoon the caramel over top. I didn't grease my muffin tin well enough and did just that, with no harm done!)

Sugar-topped Blueberry Muffins

We broke into our first quart of summer-frozen blueberries on Saturday morning to make these yummy muffins for the second time ever. This recipe makes a very rich, indulgent muffin with a scrumptious sugar topping that I'm always tempted to eat off of everyone else's muffins... (I usually make Mopsy's recipe of blueberry muffins, which makes a light, springy muffin with even more blueberries; the next time I make them, I'll post the recipe for a change of taste and texture.)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
In a large bowl, cut butter into sugar.

2 eggs
Beat until light and fluffy, then fold into butter/sugar mixture.

In a bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir in 1 tsp. vanilla. Mash 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or thawed) and add to the dough. Fold in 2 additional cups unmashed blueberries and spoon batter into muffin tins.

Mix together 4 tablespoons sugar with 1 tablespoon vanilla and crumble on the top of muffins. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

Makes 12 unhealthy, real-good muffins.