Strawberry Muffins

April 16, 2013 by 1 Comment

For the past few weeks I’ve been on a huge muffin kick. They make a great grab and go breakfast (even if the Chocolate Chip version isn’t so healthy), an even better second breakfast, and a pretty nice snack, too!

Since April is the kick off for strawberry season in California, I decided to try my hand at creating a strawberry muffin. We were absolutely thrilled with the results, light and fluffy with a nice strawberry punch. I liked mine with just a little butter (well truthfully, the Land O’Lakes spreadable butter with canola oil) and Jesse liked his plain (though of course he said they’d be just that much better with icing, haha).

*Side note – When I took this picture I totally felt like I was in one of those commercials with just the hands spreading butter/margarine on toast/a muffin and voice overs talking about great said butter/margarine is. :)

Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 1/4 cup strawberry puree

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degree. Prepare a muffin tin by greasing the cups (or lining with liners).

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In another medium bowl (or a standing mixer with paddle attachment) beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Next, alternate adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and yogurt in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until incorporated. The batter will be pretty thick. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the strawberry puree until well combined.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Looking for more strawberry recipes?

Strawberry Sorbet
Strawberry Brownie Tarts
Strawberry Lime Cupcakes
Strawberry Vanilla Scones

Filed Under: Breakfast Treats, Muffins Tagged With: , , ,

Chocolate Chip Muffins

April 5, 2013 by 1 Comment

Since my flight from Boston got in so late last Saturday night, I wasn’t feeling up to making a big Easter brunch on Sunday. Instead we met some friends at Broken Yolk (I can’t resist the California Breakfast Burrito, drool). We expected that they would be pretty packed and were pleasantly surprised to get a table almost right away. The staff must have also been expecting long waits because they were carrying around trays of mini-chocolate chip muffins for people waiting to be seated and waiting for their food. I, of course, snagged one and for the next 2 days I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Needless to say, I recreated them at home just 2 days later.

Let’s be serious for a second. These do not make a nutritiously sound breakfast. They are glorified chocolate chip mini-cakes, with no real redeeming nutritional value. But… they make an absolutely perfect second breakfast (ya know, that meal between first breakfast and lunch) for this 5-month pregnant lady. :) And a delicious evening snack for anyone.

 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup flour plus 2 Tbsp, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degree. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/4 cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a glass measuring cup, stir together the greek yogurt and milk; set aside.

In another medium bowl (or a standing mixer with paddle attachment) beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat until combined. Next, alternate adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and wet ingredients in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, making sure there are not patches of unmixed dry ingredients. Toss the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of flour then use the spatula to mix them into the batter.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Adapted from previously posted recipe for Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Love Muffins? Me too!

Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
Blackberry and Lemon Muffins
Banana Oat Muffins

 

Filed Under: Breakfast Treats, Muffins Tagged With: , , ,

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

July 11, 2012 by 3 Comments

I’m a big fan of breakfast. I’ve even been known to be a little grumpy in the morning before I’ve eaten. Breakfast is a little trickier in China because I don’t love the milk here. It’s fine when used in baking or as an ingredient in sauce, but on it’s own and cold – there’s just something weird about it. In an effort to mix-up my morning routine I’ve been on the search for new muffin recipes.

I think I found a winner in these Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins. They are dense and light at the same time with a hint of spice from the cinnamon. I especially love the crunchy oatmeal topping, I knew I would so I automatically doubled it and I’m glad I did and I’m keeping it that way in the recipe below! Oh, and even if sounds a little weird, I really like them with a little pat of cream cheese.:)

 

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg white

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the applesauce, milk, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and egg white. Stir to combine.

In a small bowl stir the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter with a fork.

Divide the batter among the muffin liners. Top each with oatmeal topping and lightly press it down into the batter.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Adapted from Food.com

 

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Blackberry and Lemon Muffins

January 20, 2012 by 11 Comments

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I can not believe how quickly this last month has gone. I swear it was Sunday and now it’s already Friday again. In fact every night this week I would think, “I need to get a post up tomorrow.” Guess that didn’t work out so well since this is my first post this week. Oops.

The good news is that I am T-minus 21 days to China! Of course, as with every move in my life, I am full blown denial and shut down mode. Denial and shut down mode is when I reach the point of knowing that the move is right around the corner and knowing that there are a bajillion things I need to do and somehow being completely unable to complete any one task. Seriously, I require the assistance of person with the ability snap me back to reality. Lucky for me my sister will be here Saturday to [hopefully] do just that.


In the meantime I have managed to whip up some goodies to share on the blog in the coming weeks. Since it’s Friday, you know I had to share something sweet.

I have a huge soft spot in my heart for muffins. It might be because it’s kind of like eating a cupcake for breakfast. That, and it love a good breakfast on the go. Since I have zero time in my morning for “extras”, a breakfast that I can grab and eat while walking to my car is really ideal. These muffins have a fresh lemon flavor (yay for lemon trees in SoCal backyards!) with bursts of berry goodness. I chopped my blackberries up pretty finely (part of my weird cooked fruit texture aversion) but you could also leave them more chunky, if you’re into that sort of thing. Definitely don’t skimp on the lemon zest because it really brightens them up!


Blackberry and Lemon Muffins

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Grated zest of 1 small lemon, about a heaping tablespoon
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
8 Tbsp warm melted butter (1 stick)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups (about 6 oz) chopped fresh or frozen blackberries*, if frozen defrost and drain liquid

*Yes I realize blackberries are not in season. They just looked so good and I was craving them, so I bought them. You can always use frozen berries and brands like Trader Joe’s are pretty good.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 2 muffin tins with 18 liners.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. Set aside

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, butter and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix together just until evenly combined. Add the blackberries and gently fold into the batter. Careful not to over mix, that can cause tough muffins.

Divide the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for just a few minutes, until the muffins are cool enough to handle and transfer to a wire rack.

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Filed Under: Breakfast Treats, Fruit, Muffins Tagged With: , , ,