clementine spice muffins

I am in the middle of a beach trip with my girlfriends.  It is glorious.  We’re in this gorgeous house with a to-die-for kitchen… but when you’re vacationing you don’t really use a kitchen, right?   Wrong.  This house happens to have a lot of staples, and given what we brought with us, I searched the internet and found a recipe for which we only had to buy two spices.  I feel extra impressive right now. *grin*

Clementine Spice Muffins (adapted from this recipe)

INGREDIENTS

Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

6-8 clementine oranges, peeled and separated into segments

Topping

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all muffin ingredients except clementine segments.  Once mixture is blended well, fold in clementines.  

Spoon carefully into foil muffin liners or greased muffin tin. Fill each muffin liner about 3/4 full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and set.

Remove from pan while still hot.  To top, dip crown of each muffin in melted butter, then dip into cinnamon sugar mixture. Yields 13-16 muffins.

The original recipe called for canned mandarin oranges, and I think that recipe may result in muffins with a more uniform appearance.  That said, these are delicious right out of the oven, and because the clementine segments hold together, each bite is a surprise of texture and flavor.  If I make the recipe again, I’ll use more cinnamon and a tad more sugar, but as is it was declared an unqualified success.

Recommended for: a fruity breakfast morsel, delectable nibbles for afternoon tea, and a treat to share with friends for any time.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking!

cocoa almond meal banana muffins

You know how you have that one friend who is always sending you yummy-looking recipes, but then she makes it herself and substitutes out stuff like butter? Then when you make your own recipes with butter (because dear Lord, why wouldn’t you?!) you feel guilty and unhealthy? I’m the opposite of that. I take recipes that are supposed to be uber-diet-y and make them less healthy, I do not feel guilty about it, and I can make you feel guilt-free, too. Turns out you just need a dose of my supreme confidence (your way is the right way, honey).

Waaait a minute… is that a good thing?! Never mind. Behold: a recipe that is still pretty healthy but which I totally made less healthful by using REAL SUGAR. And more of it than is called for. Because I love you. And me. And my tastebuds, especially.

Cocoa Almond Meal Banana Muffins (modified from this recipe by FitnessLovingMom)

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 1/3 cup almond meal (if you can’t get your hands on almond meal, it’s just finely ground almonds – you can make it yourself in a coffee grinder or food processor)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 bananas (I used overripe bananas that I had been keeping in my fridge for banana bread)
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
non-stick cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 300˚F. Prep muffin pan by lightly spraying with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.

In medium bowl, mix almond meal with baking powder and set aside. Combine eggs, sugar, bananas and cinnamon with electric mixer for 5 minutes on medium setting. Pour in almond meal mixture slowly and stir thoroughly. Divide one third of batter and return to medium bowl – mix the cocoa powder into this portion to create the batter for the muffin cocoa center.

Fill muffin cups partway with the normal batter, then layer on a tablespoon or two of the cocoa filling. Cover cocoa filling with more normal batter, making sure not to overfill the muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with chopped almonds.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Yields 9-12 muffins.

So I’m not going to lie to you: I liked this recipe, but I did not love it. However. The roommate LOVED IT. Like, wanted-to-take-it-to-bed-at-night loved it (okay, so that was hyperbole, but whatever). And several days after the fact the muffins are still flavorful and have good texture, which is a sign of a good recipe. I dub this baking experiment a guilt-free success.

Recommended for: a tasty morning treat or dessert that is perfect to share with your health-nut friends (or your gluten-free eater), or just that time when you have a lot of overripe bananas and don’t want to make banana bread for the umpteenth time. Enjoy!

Interested in other food-related posts? Check out Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.

blueberry buttermilk muffins

Blueberries were three pints for four dollars at the grocery store the other day, so naturally I bought three pints. And then I had to figure out what to do with them. Yesterday morning I woke up with a determination to make blueberry muffins, and they turned out so well that I’m making them again this evening. Side note: buttermilk makes any batter taste AMAZING. No joke.

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins (from this recipe)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 pint fresh blueberries – rinsed and patted dry

2 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

Position rack in the middle of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray the top of a muffin pan with non-stick coating, and line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix together 1 3/4 cup of the flour and baking powder. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated. Crush 1/4 of the blueberries, and stir into the batter. Mix the rest of the whole blueberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of the flour, and fold into the batter. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops lightly with sugar.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, and tops spring back when lightly tapped. Makes 12.

Recommended for: a special weekend breakfast treat, that time when you have too many blueberries and the buttermilk is nearing its expiration date, and any time when a little extra effort for some delicious food sounds like a good idea. Great with coffee or tea for a mid-afternoon snack, too.

p.s. I AM going to buy a camera one of these days and actually take nice pictures of food. Really. Just so far I've been using my crackberry, and it's...subpar. Apologies!

how to make your life at least 12 times more awesome

In the grand scheme of things, a week and a half is nothing. But a week and a half without blogging has made me feel crazy, guilty, and pent-up by turns. I started a new job, integrated a couple of new friends into my ‘tribe,’ and doubled my commute each day. Several little things added up equal a lot less time, as it turns out. It’s a good thing I have a lazy Sunday afternoon to finally catch up and put everything back to rights. Hopefully I didn’t lose too many of you in the process!

I went back to baking hardcore when I was unemployed (for a thankfully short time!), and the results were mostly in the muffin category, although I did make a freaking delicious white chicken chili (more about that to come!). Today I am bringing you a recipe that will indeed ‘make your life at least 12 times more awesome.’ And if you lick the bowl, you can move that right up to 13 times more awesome.

Nectarine and Banana Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup vegetable oil

generous 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

pinch each of ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground ginger

½ cup sugar

½ slivered almonds (or chopped)

½ to ¾ ripe nectarine, peeled and chopped

1 ripe banana, slices

2 eggs

1/3 cup thick strained plain yogurt (a flavored version will do in a pinch)

1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C. Line a twelve-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and spices into a mixing bowl. Then add the sugar and almonds and stir together.

In a separate bowl, mash the nectarine and banana together, then stir in the eggs, oil, yogurt, and almond extract. Add the mashed fruit mixture to the flour mixture and then gently stir together until just combined. Do not overstir the batter – it is fine for it to be a little lumpy. NOTE: this recipe makes the most delicious batter I’ve tasted in a LONG time.

Divide the muffin batter evenly between the muffin cups. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until risen and golden. Remove the muffins from the oven and serve warm.

yum! (i really enjoyed these. if you couldn't already tell.)

Recommended for: a delicious morning snack, people who like to lick the mixing bowl clean, and a tasty departure from the usual banana muffin standby.

cure for stress: banana pecan muffins

Baking is my self-imposed therapy. I discovered the calming properties of this activity almost two years ago when I was figuring out whether or not to quit grad school. Rough time. But then I discovered that kneading a loaf of bread or mixing up a batch of cookies was a guaranteed way to calm myself down. Fast forward to this year: I was having a pretty strong summer and didn’t do too much baking (also, it was WICKED hot outside), but life has gone a bit haywire again (jobless), and I need it. Lucky for you, I share my recipes. *grin*

Banana Pecan Muffins (recipe adapted from Muffins)

INGREDIENTS

1 generous cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/3 cup golden or white sugar

1 cup chopped pecans (you can also try walnuts or hazelnuts)

2 ripe bananas

5 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375˚F/190˚C. Place 8 or 9 muffin paper liners in a muffin pan. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, add the sugar and pecans, and stir to combine.

Place the mashed bananas, milk, butter, egg and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and mix together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently stir until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the paper liners and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden. Remove from oven and pan and let cool.

Recommended for: a special treat on weekend mornings, using up those ‘just too ripe’ bananas, and for a healthy fix if you’re craving carbohydrates.