Category Archives: Muffins

Plum Poppy Seed Muffins

September 17, 2013

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My mom and sister stopped for a short visit on their cross-country road trip at the beginning of the month. (They were actually on their way from Virginia- my home- to Canada, via Chicago and Utah and Idaho. Quite the expedition. I wasn’t a bit jealous of the drive but somewhat of the destination. My mom grew up in Alberta and it’s been forever since I’ve been to visit. Her small hometown of High River- what a fitting name- was recently devastated by floods and my parents were heading to lend a hand to my family there.)

During her stay my mom generously stocked us up on groceries from Costco, to include an enormous (as is everything from said store) amount of plums. Italian prune plums exactly. They are marvelous for snacking, but we three can only eat so many so fast. Threatened by their impending expiration, I was searching for another way to use them. And then I remembered this muffin recipe from my Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. (Which I adore and cook from obsessively lately.)

These muffins are plump with plums and speckled with poppy seeds. They’re rich and moist and healthy too! I replaced the butter (browned butter would have been divine but I knew Clara and I would be eating way too many for the next few days and wanted to feel good about it) with unsweetened applesauce and cut the sugar in half. 1/4 cup brown sugar was enough (the applesauce and a dusting of turbinado on top contributed as well) for a lightly sweet muffin. And I used all whole wheat flour with no problem. Even lightened up they turned out absolutely delicious! If plums are scarce I bet you could use any available stone fruit with similar results- pears, apricots, pluots. Oh, and they freeze great. So if you have some self control and don’t devour them all immediately, you can pop them in the microwave for a warm homemade muffin anytime!

Plum Poppy Seed Muffins

INGREDIENTS

6 Tbsp. melted butter, browned and cooled (I replaced the butter with 6 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar (or honey or pure maple syrup)
up to 1/4 cup white sugar (I omitted)
3/4 cup sour cream or plain whole-milk yogurt (or even buttermilk- you want something tangy)
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose flours)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. fine grain (table) salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
2 cups pitted and diced plums (from about 3/4 lb. Italian prune plums, though any variety would do)
turbinado sugar, for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan or coat with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the egg and sugars. Stir in the butter (or applesauce) and sour cream (or yogurt). In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and poppy seeds. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined and still a bit lumpy. Fold in the plums.

3. Divide batter among the prepared muffins cups. Sprinkle with a small amount of turbinado sugar (optional). Bake for 15-18 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins.

(Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins

April 9, 2012


Oh, my my my. These are good. But my conscience won’t let me recommend them to you without a disclaimer: they are nothing but dessert! So sweet and sinful (and butter-full) that I can’t justify them as anything else. But go ahead, devour them anyway. You shouldn’t be having browned butter blueberry muffins for breakfast every day. But once can’t hurt, right?!

I had never browned butter before. And it scared me a little. I kept a close watch on the saucepan, and, after what seemed like too long, voila!, the butter turned brown! A glorious golden brown with an astonishing aroma. It gives these cupcakes muffins a distinguished taste. I’m not sure how well frozen berries would hold up in this recipe. I do have one trick to share: before adding your berries to the batter, dust them lightly with flour. This prevents them from sinking to the bottom. You will have picture perfect muffins with evenly distributed blueberries!

Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

7 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk or buttermilk (or low-fat milk works, too)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen in a pinch)

Crumb topping (makes more than you’ll need):
3 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, but into tiny cubes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the butter. Melt and cook down the butter until little brown bits appear in the pan. The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly after that. Keep a close eye. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk milk, egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add the brown butter and stir to combine.

4. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl Add milk and butter mixture all at one and stir gently to combine. Gently but thoroughly fold in the blueberries.

5. Divide the batter among muffin cups and spread evenly.

6. To make the topping combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the cups.

7. Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes then remove from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

(Adapted from Joy the Baker)

Zucchini Walnut Spice Muffins

February 28, 2012

I think my love of muffins is in my genes. One of my little sisters (I have three!) started cooking and posting recipes on her blog recently. As of when I checked today, 8 of her 40 posts (that’s 1 in 5, or 20% if you like to do math, like me) were muffin recipes. (And that doesn’t count the pumpkin bread, banana bread, etc. that could be easily mistaken for muffins in a different form.) Luckily, she too likes to eat healthy. And so most of her muffins contain whole wheat and other nutritious things. Like I said, muffins must run in the family.

It had been far too long since I spent the afternoon whisking together a bowl of muffin batter, impatiently staring through the oven door as the muffins formed their peaks under the heat, and then helped myself to two or three long before they cooled properly. And that’s how it went today. These were soft and moist, flecked with chunks of walnut and shreds of zucchini. One of my favorite healthful snacks to have on hand. (I freeze whatever I don’t devour instantly and reheat them throughout the week.)

Zucchini Walnut Spice Muffins

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour (or use all whole wheat flour)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I used 1/2 tsp. allspice + 1/4 tsp. nutmeg + 1/4 tsp. cloves)
1/2 cup brown sugar (you can add up to 1/4 cup more sugar, but I thought they were plenty sweet)
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil (I replaced with 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce)
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease or line a 12-cup muffin pan.

2. In a small bowl, whisk to combine flours, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a large bowl, whisk to combine sugar, eggs, oil (or applesauce), milk, and vanilla. Slowly stir to combine the wet and dry ingredients (don’t overmix). Fold in the zucchini and walnuts.

3. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

(Adapted from For the Love of Cooking)

Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry Muffins

November 17, 2009

Pumpkin mmmhh…! This is a Jessie recipe. Not because I invented it (I wish!), but because it uses all whole wheat, very little fat (oil), a natural sweetener (HONEY, of course!) and loads of pumpkin! These muffins are packed with the flavors of Fall- cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, walnuts, cranberries, and again, pumpkin! They have a subtle sweetness- you might want to add an extra 1/4 cup honey for a sweeter muffin. They’re hearty (just look at the size) and healthful. What a muffin should be (not a dessert).

This recipe could really yield twice as many muffins if you make them normal size. But the fact that they are overflowing/reaching sky-high makes them so much better. Keep your puny muffins to yourselves- I like ’em huge! Just to clarify, you’ll use a regular sized muffin tin. And you’ll use all the batter and fill them heaping high. They’ll hold their shape under the heat and come out beautiful. Just wait. These muffins had the best texture of any muffin I’ve ever made- soft, fluffy, fantastic!

Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 cup honey (1 cup for a sweeter muffin)
2 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (toasted for more flavor)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin (or use liners).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, oil, honey, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined (no dry clumps remain). Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.

3. Evenly divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups (they will be extremely full). Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack. Best enjoyed warm. Freeze leftovers and reheat later.

Makes 12 tall muffins.

(Adapted from Pinch My Salt)