Sunny Spring Muffins

Some mornings just cry out for muffins. Sun shining, blueberries on sale, lazy dogs sprawling across the blankets. James sleeping late while I pad around the house.
These tasty oversized cakes came from a recipe that was a finalist in some contest years ago, of all places, at The Pioneer Woman's website. I can't say I have ever cooked one of her recipes before but I did like the yogurt based recipe. Yogurt is a tangy tenderizer -- it works wonders for meats and keeps baked goods from being tough (don't take advantage and over beat -- for muffins it's still important to mix just until combined). I like this recipe and will probably use it again. The muffins are cakey and tender and  pleasantly sweet. But -- admiration for junior baker contest entry aside -- no where in the recipe or the post does it mention how many muffins the recipe makes. I tried for 12 and my muffins took almost double the posted time to cook -- but miraculously (thanks to an ample amount of yogurt) they were still fluffy and light. Just perfect muffins.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

A couple apples just past their prime in the fridge seemed like a good excuse for muffins.

I creamed one stick of butter with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Next I mixed in one egg, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and 1/2 cup yogurt. To the wet ingredients I added 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup white flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon ( I stirred the dry ingredients together before adding them to the mixture). When the batter was just mixed I folded in two apples, peeled and chopped. I spooned the batter into 12 greased and floured cupcake tins, sprinkled the top of each muffin with more brown sugar (abot 1/4 cup total) and baked the muffins for 10 minutes at 450º and then about 6 minutes longer at 400º.

Next time I think I might sauté the apples or even shred them to make the pieces more tender, but for a hurry up pantry-ready breakfast treat these were just right -- and pretty great with a bit of peanut butter spread on top.

Not Dinner But Still Pretty Delish

It's early strawberry season in Southern California and of course I went a little overboard at the farmer's market. Berries were starting to pile up in the fridge so I figured that was a good excuse to whip up a breakfast treat for the big man.

These are just a basic muffin recipe. I mixed the dry ingredients in a bowl (2 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 TB brown sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt) and added 2 cups f chopped strawberries. In a separate bowl I mixed 1 egg, 3/4 cup of buttermilk 2/3 cup of canola oil and 1 tsp of vanilla extract). I lightly folded the wet ingredients into the "dry", filled a 12 muffin tin and baked for about 22 minutes in a preheated 375º oven.

Perfect with morning coffee.

What James Had For Breakfast

I just couldn't keep walking by the two lonely bananas turning browner by the day on my kitchen counter. That's a baker's call to action. And so, in the tradition of my famous "fridge pie (all the leftover fruit mixed up with spices and sugar and baked in a pie crust), I whipped up these quick muffins.

Mix two mashed bananas (or more if you have them) into 1/3 cup melted butter. Stir in 3/4 cup of brown sugar (I would have used white but I didn't have any), 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 tap baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Add flour mixture to liquid ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Fold in 3-4 chopped plums (or whatever less than perfect or dried fruit you may have on hand) and about 1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds (or whatever nuts you have on hand). Pour batter into lined muffin tins (about 2/3 full -- the brown sugar makes them a little sticky so use paper liners or grease the tin well), sprinkle tops with almonds, and bake at 350º for about 25 minutes. Banana Fruit Muffins with Almonds, perfect with morning coffee.