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Yesterday I was in the mood for baking. So I searched for a recipe. Nothing in our recipe books really caught my eye, so I searched google. I found a recipe on this website http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Cream-Cheese-Muffins/Detail.aspx  that sounded really good. I changed the recipe a little, as usual. The muffins turned out super yummy. The many textures and tastes blend together in a symphony of flavor.

If you make these don’t make the same mistake I did. I made them into 12 muffins that overflowed the pan! They still turned out really well but the pan was a mess after. It would probably be better to use 24 medium sized muffin tins. Or if you want huge muffins maybe try making 6 in a 6 muffin tin.

Here is the recipe.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Use 24 medium sized muffin tins

Filling

4-5 oz cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp brown sugar

Topping

3 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp white sugar

¾ tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp margarine

Muffin Batter

1 ½ – 2 cups pumpkin pieces

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup brown sugar (not packed)

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

A couple shakes salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/3 cup olive oil

½ – 2/3 cup skim milk

1-2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp rum extract (or real rum)

¼- ½ cup pecan pieces

To Make the Filling

Combine all the ingredients listed under filling in a medium sized bowl. Beat with an electric mixture until a smooth mixture is formed. Set aside.

To Make the Topping

Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. (It may be easier to cut in the margarine or use a pastry blender). Set aside.

To Make the Batter

In a large bowl combine the flours, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, mix well. Then add the pecan pieces and mix well. Set aside. In a blender add: the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, olive oil, milk, vanilla extract, and rum extract. Blend until smooth. Now combine the blender mixture with the flour mixture. Stir until smooth. Fill muffin tins ¼-½ full of muffin batter. Then spoon some filling into each muffin tin. Now add another layer of muffin batter. Add the topping. Bake until slightly browned and a tooth pick comes out clean. Enjoy.

-The prettiest muffins I have ever seen-

-The most delicious muffins I have ever tasted-

Yesterday I was in the baking mood. I felt like making muffins, so I paged through a muffin cookbook. I found one that interested me. I was a little skeptical of it since it was a recipe for beet chocolate muffins.

I am not a fan of beets cooked or fresh. However I had never had them in muffin form. My dad loves beets and grows tons of them in his garden. Consequently we ended up with a large amount of beets in our freezer. My parents boil the beets, cut them into small pieces and put them into sandwich size zip lock bags and then place the bags in the freezer.

For this recipe I just used one sandwich sized zip lock bag of beets. I think it works out to about 1 ½ – 2 cups of beet cut into small pieces.

Here is the recipe. I morphed the original version which came from Company’s Coming; Mostly Muffins recipe book by Jean Pare (Page 52). Here is my version.

Chocolate Beet Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup coco

½ tsp salt

¼ cup medium unsweetened coconut

½-¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

¼ cup olive oil

1-2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp rum extract (or real rum)

¾-1 cup skim milk

Beets about 1 ½- 2 cups fresh or frozen cut up beets

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins (12 muffin tin)

In a large bowl place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and coco. Blend well. Now add the chocolate chips and coconut to the flour mixture. Mix well.

In a blender place the beets (if you are using frozen beets microwave them for 2 minutes first) eggs, brown sugar, milk, vanilla extract, rum extract, and olive oil. Blend until smooth. Now add the beet mixture to the flour mixture. Blend until a smooth batter is formed. If it the batter looks too dry add a little more milk. The dough should look like this.

Now spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake in your preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes (or until the muffins go from a fuchsia color to a deep red/brown color). Serve warm or cool (both temperature are super yummy). Enjoy.

In our deep freeze we have an abundance of pears. This is because we have two fairly large sized pear trees in the yard. The past fall was a particularly good year for our trees so, we ended up with a huge amount of pears. We have about 30 frozen zip lock bags full in the freezer.

Tonight I decided to experiment with making some pear muffins. This is the recipe I came up with (I think it’s fairly low fat and sugar). The muffins are moist (but not super moist), and have a lovely texture. The pecans make them extra flavorful. Enjoy

Pear Pecan Muffins

Makes 12 medium sized (large) muffins

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup brown sugar (not packed)

2 tsp baking powder

A few shakes of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 cup skim milk (with 2 tsp white vinegar)

2 large eggs

2 tbsp olive oil

About 1 ½ cups chopped pealed and cored pears

2 tsp vanilla extract

¼-½ cup pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl place the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Mix well. Add the pecan pieces and stir. In a blender, add the brown sugar, pears, skim milk (that is mixed with the vinegar) eggs, olive oil, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth.

Now add the blender mixture to the dry mixture in the bowl. Mix until smooth. Spoon into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 30-40 minutes (until golden and a toothpick comes out clean).

Today I made my one of my ultimate favorite varieties of muffin: Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins. This is one of my favorite recipes because it combines three of my favorite ingredients: banana, chocolate, and peanut butter, into a lovely muffin. The original recipe comes from Company’s Coming: Mostly Muffins, by Jean Pare (Page 21). Here is the recipe (with my modifications).

 Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins

1 cup all purpose white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup Lightly packed brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 large egg

3 medium ripe-overripe bananas (pealed)

2/3 cup peanut butter (I used smooth)

2/3 cup skim milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp Olive oil

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the chocolate chips and stir well. Add all the remaining ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add the blender mixture to the bowl and stir until completely combined. Spoon batter into prep reared muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden, and a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy.

Tonight I’m working another night shift. Since I am working nights, I got my usual craving/desire to bake some muffins. I found a recipe in: Company’s Coming Mostly Muffins by Jean Pare, that looked interesting. It is a carrot muffin recipe (on page 43). However the original recipe has no spices, or flavorings in it other then vanilla. Consequently, I changed things up a bit. This is what I came up with. Enjoy.

Carrot Cream Muffins

4 oz cream cheese

¼ cup sour cream

4 tsp granulated sugar

¼ cup finely chopped walnuts

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup lightly packed/loose brown sugar

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 large eggs

2-3 carrots pealed and cut into small pieces

Sour milk (1 cup skim milk mixed with 1 tsp white vinegar)

3-4 tbsp orange juice

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well.

In a large bowl combine the: flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well.

In a blender, add the brown sugar, vanilla, sour milk, carrot, orange juice, olive oil and eggs. Blend until smooth.

Add the blender mixture into the dry mixture and stir well.

Spoon into muffin tins.

Add the cream cheese mixture on top (make a well first so that it bakes into the top of the muffin)

Bake until a tooth pick comes out clean when pricked (about 30 minutes).

Enjoy.

I was in the mood for baking tonight so, I decided to make some muffins. Here is my Mom’s original pumpkin muffin recipe with my own twists. They turned out super yummy.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 ½ cup all purpose white flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tbsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼-½ cup sliced blanched almonds

2 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

½ cup (or more if needed) sour milk (skim milk plus 1 tsp white vinegar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 cups frozen or canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare muffin tins (if needed). Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine all moist ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add moist mixture to dry mix and mix until completely combined. Spoon into muffin tins. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean when poked.

Enjoy.

Below are a couple images of the muffins.

Last night I worked a night shift. It seems quite often when I work nights I always feel like baking in the evening before work. So that is what I did last evening. I made some muffins. The original recipe is in Company’s Coming Mostly Muffins by Jean Pare (page 15). However my recipe bears little resemblance.

Chocolate Chip Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12 Large medium sized muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups all purpose white flour

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 eggs

¼ cup margarine melted

1 ½ cups skim milk

About 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

½ semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees C.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Add blueberries and chocolate ship and mix well. Combine the egg, milk, and margarine in a smaller bowl. Mix well. Add liquid mixture to dry mixture. Mix until a muffin batter forms. Place in prepared muffin tins. Bake until muffins are slightly golden on top and a tooth pick comes out clean. Enjoy.

The other day I was in a grocery store in the baking looking to buy some nuts. I found the hazel nuts and decided to get some. However after checking the expiry date I noticed that all the packages on the shelf were just slightly past their best before date. I decided to get three bags. I asked at customer service if since they were expired nuts I could get some kind of discount on them. The customer service lady made a phone call, and then said yes, 50% off all the expired ones. This delighted me. It was a little risky because I know nuts can go rancid. However once home, it was discovered that they were still good.

Since we have so many hazel nuts in the house, I decided to make some muffins with them. Here is the recipe I came up with. Enjoy.

Banana Chocolate Chip Hazelnut (Filbert) Muffins

Makes 12 very large (medium muffins)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose (white four)

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ cup skim milk

2 tsp white vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp rum (or rum extract)

1 cup lightly packed-loose brown sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup flaked/finely chopped hazelnuts (filberts)

½-¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

About 1.5 cups of frozen or fresh banana pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees C. Prepare muffin tins. In a large bowl combine flours, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well. Add the hazelnuts and chocolate chips and mix well. Set aside. In a blender add the banana, egg, milk, vinegar, oil, vanilla extract, and rum. Blend until smooth. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture, and mix until completely combined. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake for about until slightly golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean. (About 20-35 minutes).

Last night I was in the muffin mood, so I made a batch of muffins. Here is the recipe. It makes about 22 small muffins. It could probably make 12 large sized ones.

Pear Walnut Muffins

1 ¾ cup all purpose white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

A few shakes of salt

½ cup walnut chopped

1/3 cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs

1 ½-2 cups pealed chopped up pear

¾ cup skim milk

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp rum

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the walnuts and mix well. In a blender blend together all the moist ingredients (including the pears). Add the blended mixture to the dry mixture, and mix well. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees F until slightly golden (or a tooth pick comes out clean).

Enjoy

Today I was in the mood for baking, so I decided to bake some cappuccino muffins ( I had been craving them). I created my own recipe. Here it is…

Cappuccino Coconut Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup sugar

2 ½ tsp baking powder

3 tsp instant coffee powder

A few shakes of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 cup milk

1 tsp Kahlua

½ cup margarine melted

1 egg beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Add all the wet ingredients. Mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Place in 12 medium sized muffin tins. Bake for about 15 minutes (or until a tooth pick comes out clean).

Enjoy.

Below is an image of the muffins.