Wow, are these good?
How do I know? Well, I bake muffins all the time. Usually, I set them out to cool, pack them in containers or in the freezer, and never have any myself. These though.....
Yum. The kids now have one fewer muffin to eat.
The recipe is great as is (here)- I added 1 cup chopped walnuts for protein, but left the rest alone. It makes for a lovely, neutral light muffin. For more body, earthiness and oomph, I would suggest adding 1 tsp of cinnamon to the batter, along with the dry ingredients. Maybe a little nutmeg too.
One other change... Every muffin recipe baked in my home prior to this one was put into the oven in standard metal muffin tins, lined with decorative cupcake papers. Cute, but the cheap liners allow oil to seep through, so the design is never as adorable after you bake as before. And I once had individual silicone muffin cups, but the fluting did not allow the baked goods to release cleanly.
Enter silicone muffin pans.
*Cue angels singing*
Fantastic. No need to grease the pans, the the muffins nearly jumped out of their little muffin holes when cooked.
I highly recommend them-- I have a set similar to the link above, although I bought them at a garage sale for $5. :-)
The Author....
- Blogger Jill
- I am a mom to twin boys, full-time employee of a telecommunications company and wife to a professional musician. I work, do yoga, cook and try to squeeze in DIY projects and spending time with friends.
Showing posts with label muffins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label muffins. Show all posts
Monday, September 30, 2013
Friday, August 12, 2011
Punkana Coco-Bonanza Muffins
The name just makes me want to dance. So imagine how pleased you will be when you bite into one of these delicious, chocolatey, gooey delights.
The name came from Mr. Unwired. We were at the table eating the first batch of these when I asked for a name. He led our kids on a riff of every ingredient in the muffins-- he's very creative that way. Being a middle school English teacher is such a natural fit for him.
The original recipe came from a magazine called Chop Chop. Such a cool resource for cooking with kids, healthy eating and such. I'm grateful this blog made me go back to their site, as it has grown a lot since I first subscribed to the magazine-- there's even a blog! Subscribe to Chop Chop blog... check!
I love using my stand mixer for this, but there's no reason it wouldn't work if mixed by hand. Make sure to mash the bananas thoroughly and to a liquid state to ensure a good result.
Punkana Coco-Bonanza Muffins
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 ripe banana, peeled
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside (we use a large measuring cup for easy pouring later).
3. In a mixer, combine bananas, pumpkin and sugar and mix on low until thoroughly blended. The mixture will be smooth and very liquid when done.
4. Add butter, eggs and vanilla and mix well.
5. Add 50% of the dry ingredients at a time. Mixing well but not more than needed. Fold in nuts by hand.
6. Fill paper/foil lined muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake for 35 minutes. When done, a toothpick inserted into the muffin will come out dry.
Makes 18-20 gooey, chocolately muffins. Just perfect with a glass of milk.
The name came from Mr. Unwired. We were at the table eating the first batch of these when I asked for a name. He led our kids on a riff of every ingredient in the muffins-- he's very creative that way. Being a middle school English teacher is such a natural fit for him.
The original recipe came from a magazine called Chop Chop. Such a cool resource for cooking with kids, healthy eating and such. I'm grateful this blog made me go back to their site, as it has grown a lot since I first subscribed to the magazine-- there's even a blog! Subscribe to Chop Chop blog... check!
I love using my stand mixer for this, but there's no reason it wouldn't work if mixed by hand. Make sure to mash the bananas thoroughly and to a liquid state to ensure a good result.
Punkana Coco-Bonanza Muffins
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 ripe banana, peeled
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside (we use a large measuring cup for easy pouring later).
3. In a mixer, combine bananas, pumpkin and sugar and mix on low until thoroughly blended. The mixture will be smooth and very liquid when done.
4. Add butter, eggs and vanilla and mix well.
5. Add 50% of the dry ingredients at a time. Mixing well but not more than needed. Fold in nuts by hand.
6. Fill paper/foil lined muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake for 35 minutes. When done, a toothpick inserted into the muffin will come out dry.
Makes 18-20 gooey, chocolately muffins. Just perfect with a glass of milk.
 |
| Please pass the milk. No, I don't want to share. |
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Applesauce Muffins
Mmmmm.... snack time. I had been planning on making these all week and finally got around to it this morning. And then, one of the kids wanted one. And he had to leave for camp soon. He agreed to be a few minutes late in order to wait for these to come out of the oven and cool (slightly). After scarfing it down with a mug of milk, he agreed that it was worth waiting for. As the chef, I can say that it's always nice to be appreciated, and I'm glad he hung around.
This is an adaptation of a recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book. I like that it's simple and made with ingredients that are easy to have on hand. Makes 12-15, depending on how much batter goes into each muffin cup.
Applesauce Muffins
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (optional)
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper or foil cups and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix applesauce, egg, oil, vanilla and sugar. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder and soda and spices. Add applesauce mix and stir until almost combine. Add in walnuts, and give it a few more stirs, until the ingredients are incorporated but not over-mixed.
4. Scoop muffin batter into prepared muffin pan (I use this
to scoop), top each with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar, and bake 20 minutes. The recipe is very moist, so the dry toothpick test can be tricky. If needed, take the pan out of the oven and cut into a muffin to be sure that they are cooked. As the chef, you are required to eat that 'damaged' muffin. Oh darn.
This is an adaptation of a recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book. I like that it's simple and made with ingredients that are easy to have on hand. Makes 12-15, depending on how much batter goes into each muffin cup.
Applesauce Muffins
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (optional)
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper or foil cups and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix applesauce, egg, oil, vanilla and sugar. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder and soda and spices. Add applesauce mix and stir until almost combine. Add in walnuts, and give it a few more stirs, until the ingredients are incorporated but not over-mixed.
4. Scoop muffin batter into prepared muffin pan (I use this
to scoop), top each with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar, and bake 20 minutes. The recipe is very moist, so the dry toothpick test can be tricky. If needed, take the pan out of the oven and cut into a muffin to be sure that they are cooked. As the chef, you are required to eat that 'damaged' muffin. Oh darn.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The first post - Banana Bran Muffins
This blog will cover my two lives... technology at work, and food and kids at home. Okay, maybe a bit on marriage and family too.
To start, my New Year's resolution was all about cooking. I love to cook, but don't often have the focus to pick new recipes, shop for them and then find the time to cook. Add to that the stack of recipes I've clipped and printed over the years, things I wanted to try (wow, my tastes have changed a lot through the years, but that's a post for another day). Don't get me wrong- I work from home enough to make this all possible if I focused on it.
My resolution was to try one new recipe a week. After all, my family loves to eat, and they enjoy a variety of foods. I was doing pretty well with it for a time, but I fell off the wagon. And then I got back on the wagon, but forgot to write down what I was cooking. Hence, a blog. My cookbook folders- one paper, one online- include the majority of recipes I've already cooked this year, and those will get added in as time permits. But for now, the muffin recipe I made Monday... Banana Bran Muffins.
An aside about my family... my mother has an unhealthy attachment to wheat germ. Toasted Kretchmer's Wheat Germ, to be exact. My SIL noted once that my mom could add wheat germ to just about any recipe. And Mom's a really good cook, so you'd never even notice all the vitamins coursing through her lasagne compliments of the wheat germ (okay, I made that up... I think). I've inherited that attachment to wheat germ, and much to my husband's dismay, my kids are catching on to it. They won't eat oatmeal without add a few spoonfuls of wheat germ! How does this relate to the recipe, you ask? I used toasted wheat germ instead of the wheat bran the recipe called for. It's nutty and delicious, and even more, always stocked in our fridge. I also skipped the chocolate chips (this time at least) and used a whole cup of chopped walnuts stirred into the batter. One more note- these were done baking in 25 minutes, and were moister than my usual muffins. That might be attributable to the cooking time (usually, I bake muffins for 30 minutes) or it's the moisty yummy goodness of the buttermilk and banana combo. Either way, this one's a hit.
If you don't keep buttermilk in the house, it's easy to make a substitution out of milk and vinegar. Or, buy a quart of buttermilk and store the extra in 1 cup containers in the freezer. Works great!
The recipe is here; use the changes above to have a really fabulous outcome: www.eatingwell.com/recipes/banana_bran_muffins.html
To start, my New Year's resolution was all about cooking. I love to cook, but don't often have the focus to pick new recipes, shop for them and then find the time to cook. Add to that the stack of recipes I've clipped and printed over the years, things I wanted to try (wow, my tastes have changed a lot through the years, but that's a post for another day). Don't get me wrong- I work from home enough to make this all possible if I focused on it.
My resolution was to try one new recipe a week. After all, my family loves to eat, and they enjoy a variety of foods. I was doing pretty well with it for a time, but I fell off the wagon. And then I got back on the wagon, but forgot to write down what I was cooking. Hence, a blog. My cookbook folders- one paper, one online- include the majority of recipes I've already cooked this year, and those will get added in as time permits. But for now, the muffin recipe I made Monday... Banana Bran Muffins.
An aside about my family... my mother has an unhealthy attachment to wheat germ. Toasted Kretchmer's Wheat Germ, to be exact. My SIL noted once that my mom could add wheat germ to just about any recipe. And Mom's a really good cook, so you'd never even notice all the vitamins coursing through her lasagne compliments of the wheat germ (okay, I made that up... I think). I've inherited that attachment to wheat germ, and much to my husband's dismay, my kids are catching on to it. They won't eat oatmeal without add a few spoonfuls of wheat germ! How does this relate to the recipe, you ask? I used toasted wheat germ instead of the wheat bran the recipe called for. It's nutty and delicious, and even more, always stocked in our fridge. I also skipped the chocolate chips (this time at least) and used a whole cup of chopped walnuts stirred into the batter. One more note- these were done baking in 25 minutes, and were moister than my usual muffins. That might be attributable to the cooking time (usually, I bake muffins for 30 minutes) or it's the moisty yummy goodness of the buttermilk and banana combo. Either way, this one's a hit.
If you don't keep buttermilk in the house, it's easy to make a substitution out of milk and vinegar. Or, buy a quart of buttermilk and store the extra in 1 cup containers in the freezer. Works great!
The recipe is here; use the changes above to have a really fabulous outcome: www.eatingwell.com/recipes/banana_bran_muffins.html
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