Snickerdoodle Muffins

I bookmark and print out a lot of recipes almost daily. There are so many fabulous bloggers and blogs out there that have appealing dishes, that my list is ever growing. Unfortunately, it also means there are not enough hours in the day to make all of these delicious sounding and looking dishes. If there was, I'd be in serious trouble and probably would be spending more time at the gym than in the kitchen anyway. Every once in a while though, I look through my piles of papers or bookmarks to try something new. This week was the perfect opportunity to make some muffins. The kids were on spring break and had been begging me to fix some muffins for breakfast. Looking for something that could be made quickly, I remembered a recipe for Snickerdoodle Muffins which I had printed out a while back from Tasty Kitchen.

I made Snickerdoodle Cupcakes almost a year ago and the entire family loved them, but they are hardly what I call breakfast appropriate. These muffins seemed to fit the bill a little more. Now, don't get me wrong, they are still not healthy, but they are a great occasional treat. The dough comes together quickly, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla are mixed with flour, baking soda, baking powder and cream of tartar. The addition of sour cream and buttermilk are what makes these muffins light as a feather though. The dough is fairly stiff once it is all mixed together and this is were the real fun starts. You drop "blobs" of it (a 3 Tbsp. ice cream scoop works great) into a cinnamon sugar mixture and carefully roll the dough around in it to make sure it is coated on all sides before carefully placing it into a lined muffin tin. Then, another sprinkle of cinnamon sugar is applied on top before being baked.

These muffins bake up beautiful. The top starts to crackle and gets a nice little cinnamon sugar crust. The muffins itself aren't overly sweet, but have a great flavor because of their "bath" in the sugar mixture. The inside of the muffins are incredibly delicate and light, they literally melt in your mouth. Huge hit with the entire family and they are perfect with a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa, which is how my crew decided to enjoy them. This recipe got two thumbs up all the way around, or in the words of my 13 year old "Mom, these muffins are super duper delicious!"

Snickerdoodle Muffins

 ~makes 20 muffins~

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk

For the topping:
2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream and buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have smooth batter, making sure not to overmix.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Use an ice cream scooper (I used a large 3 tablespoon one) and plop a scoop of batter into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. Place the ball into the muffin liner.

When you have completed all of the muffins, sprinkle the leftover cinnamon sugar onto the tops of all of the muffins.

Bake the muffins at 350 degrees F for about 15-18 minutes or until they are golden on top and just baked through.

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Muffins

 

My teenage daughter is a self-proclaimed chocoholic. She loves any and everything chocolate, and it usually must be included in her desserts. She will eat other desserts I make as well, but the groaning and grumbling that comes along with anything that doesn't include chocolate is quite humorous. She is the total opposite of my husband who loathes everything chocolate and loves anything made with fruit. As you can see, it can get quite difficult to accommodate both of them while keeping the peace.

A couple of weeks ago when I featured the Orange Raspberry Muffins, I first got dirty looks from my daughter, then lots of begging to find a recipe for a chocolate muffin as well. She was lucky that day and I complied. The recipe comes from one of my favorite and probably most utilized cook books "Baking: From my home to yours" by Dorie Greenspan. Her instructions are always precise and result in great baked goods that are consistent every time. This is a quickly made recipe that doesn't require much more than a bowl, a measuring cup, a whisk, and a spatula.  Chocolate is melted along with butter in a double boiler, and then added to a big bowl which includes all the measured dry ingredients along with buttermilk (which ensures a tender crumb), eggs, and vanilla. More chopped chocolate is added to the mixed batter before dividing it into muffin cups for baking.

This is a terrific chocolaty recipe that satisfied my teens craving. I really enjoyed them as well since I loved the fact that they weren't overly sweet. They also freeze wonderful and still taste great, especially if being nuked in the microwave for a few seconds. They are a great muffin that could almost be classified as a cupcake, but if you stick with the former, there won't be as much guilt attached if you have them for breakfast! So, if you love chocolate, feel free to make this recipe, and remember by adding bittersweet chocolate, one might argue the "health benefits" of this delight!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Muffins

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Melt the butter and half of the chopped chocolate together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; or do this in a microwave. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients and the melted butter and chocolate over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a  rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being through - a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a think knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Adapted from: Baking: From my home to yours

Orange Raspberry Muffins

If you've been following my blog for a bit, you know how important a good breakfast is in our house. I have a few things that I make over and over like the Morning Glory Muffins, the Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie (especially in the summer), and my freezer always has Breakfast Burritos in it. For me, it is important that my family always has the opportunity to grab something on the run that is made with wholesome, fresh, and most importantly, natural ingredients.

School is starting up again, so I was busy this weekend baking a couple of different muffins for breakfast variety. I always bake my muffins and then end up freezing most them. This way, they can either be taken out the night before to thaw on the counter, or the kids can "nuke" them for a few seconds in the microwave and are good to go. Freezing them works out perfect for us since there always seems to be something available to eat, and I don't run into the problem of food spoiling or getting stale before it can be eaten up.

Both of the muffins I chose were out of Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my home to yours, and they are simply wonderful. The first one, which I'm featuring today, is an Orange Berry Muffin. Dorie's original recipe called for blueberries, but since I had just purchased fresh raspberries, I decided to go that route.

The muffin is made quickly and without dirtying a stand mixer. All you need is a couple of bowls, a whisk, and a spatula. The recipe has you using orange zest, which gets rubbed into the sugar (one of Dorie's trademark moves), along with the juice of the orange. Buttermilk, with the acidity of the orange makes these muffins very tender. A little bit of honey, and a very small amount of sugar (only 1/3 cup) make these muffins perfect for breakfast and let the fruit be the real star of this recipe.

These muffins were hands down one of the best fruit muffins I have ever made. I loved that they were tender, and juicy, but not too sweet. In fact, they were perfect, especially when enjoyed with a cup of coffee in the morning. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I can't wait to try these muffins again with blueberries, blackberries, or even cherries.

Orange Raspberry Muffins

(adapted from Baking: From my home to yours)

(Makes about 16 muffins)

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

About 3/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons honey

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups raspberries - fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)

Decorating sugar, for topping (optional)

Preparation:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter or spray the molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance or orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that's just the way it  should be. Stir in the raspberries. Dived the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Streusel Muffins

Memorial day has come and gone and we sure had a fun weekend. It also meant we had a few house guests. And as it goes, when you are hosting, you always try to make sure everyone is as comfortable as can be. It also means providing breakfast for guests that spend the night.

Sometimes I will just set out bowls of yogurt, fruit, and granola, and let everyone fix their own yogurt parfaits. Other times I make a breakfast casserole the day prior that only needs to be warmed up that morning. This time however, I decided on Muffins. I don't know a lot of people that will turn down fresh muffins with a nice cup of coffee or a glass of milk. 

When I was searching for a dish to make I was trying to decide between a few different recipes, but I couldn't resist the picture that accompanied these Streusel muffins in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, plus, I had all the ingredients on hand. I know I sound like a broken record by now, but again, there has not been one disappointing recipe in this book so far.

The muffins have a simple sour cream vanilla flavor that gets enhanced by adding a generous amount of cinnamon streusel on top. Think coffee cake meets muffin. The dough is made quickly, as is the streusel topping. Adding the streusel though without making a mess, is a bit of a challenge. Once baked, you make a simple confectioner's sugar and milk frosting, which then gets drizzled over the top to complete the muffin.

These muffins were the perfect wake up call, and our guests left the breakfast table happy and satisfied. I hope you'll give these muffins a try, I'm sure you will enjoy them for a breakfast or brunch treat as well!

Streusel Muffins

~makes 24~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sour cream

Streusel Topping (recipe follows)

Milk Glaze (recipe follows)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in vanilla by hand. Add flour mixture and sour cream; stir until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups. Sprinkle half the streusel topping over muffins, gently pressing it into the batter. Sprinkle evenly with remaining topping. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing muffins.

To finish, place muffins on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; drizzle evenly with milk glaze. Glazed muffins can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Streusel Topping

(makes enough for 24 muffins)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the butter using a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two table knives until combined but still crumbly.

Milk Glaze

(makes enough for 24 muffins)

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons milk

Whisk together ingredients  until smooth. Use immediately.

Adapted from: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes 

Morning Glory Muffins

With school almost out for the summer and plenty of end of school year testing going on for all three of my children it is more important than ever to me that they leave the house having had a healthy breakfast that will have them all functioning well.

I've had this recipe for Morning Glory Muffins in my to-do list file for quite a while, and thought this was the perfect opportunity to go ahead and make them. They are bursting with good for you ingredients and are a great "on the go" breakfast.

The batter comes together very quickly, no mixer required. All you need is a couple of bowls, a wooden spoon and a whisk. While they are great right out of the oven they actually taste even better after sitting over night at room temperature. These muffins are low in calories (about 200 per muffin), low in fat (about 5 g), have a good amount of fiber (about 2.5 g) and are high in Vitamin A because of the carrots.* They are a wonderful start to the day.

My kids loved these and I felt good, knowing I sent them on their way with such a healthy breakfast in their tummy. Give them a try, they keep for a couple days well covered on the counter, or freeze them and take them out as needed.

*All nutritional information is only approximately.

Morning Glory Muffins

~makes 18 muffins~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 large egg

2 egg whites

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups carrots, shredded or grated

2 medium apples, shredded or grated

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

3 tablespoons wheat germ

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla.

In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in carrots, apples, and raisins. Stir in apple sauce mixture until just moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.

In  a small bowl, combine walnuts, wheat germ, and brown sugar; sprinkle over the muffin tops.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.

Adapted from: All Recipes

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

For our first BWD: Baking with Dorie Challenge, my baking partner Grapefruit from Needful Things and I, decided on Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins on Page 10 and 11 in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my home to yours .

The muffins have an incredible subtle lemon flavor throughout that isn't overpowering, while the poppy seeds add a great contrast and a nice little crunch. Also with the addition of sour cream to the batter it makes the crumb of the muffin very light and moist. The glaze which consist of lemon juice and powdered sugar provides an additional dimension and a little bit of a jolt.

The muffin dough doesn't require an electric mixer, it is all stirred together by hand. The batter starts with one of Dorie's typical elements of rubbing sugar and lemon zest together until well combined and fragrant. You then whisk in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

In another bowl you mix melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract and sour cream which then gets added to the dry ingredients. After all ingredients are well incorporated (without over mixing) you add the poppy seeds.

The batter is then put into paper cup lined muffin tins and baked.

After the muffins are cooled, add the glaze to finish the muffins.

The muffins were incredible. They are not too sweet which makes them perfect for breakfast. I also love anything lemon so that was another big plus. I had fun baking these muffins along with Grapefruit, so please go on over to Needful Things and check out her take on them.

For our next BWD in two weeks (the 15th of March) we have decided on making Split Level Pudding on Page 384 and 385, so if you like what you see and want to join the fun with us next time, just shoot Grapefruit or me an email.