Last week, Dan put in a request for muffins. Specifically, he had a hankering for bran muffins. With blueberries in the fridge, we went off in search of wheat bran and a blueberry bran muffin recipe.
The recipe we found called for applesauce. We have applesauce from a granola/granola bar experiment (post coming soon! they were incredible!) but decided that banana and blueberry were a match made in heaven.
Although I'm not a fan of blueberry muffins or bran muffins, these were moist and tender--generally positive descriptors for muffins. They be divine with some shredded coconut to mask the bran flavor, and perhaps cranberries in place of blueberries..
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Blueberry Bran Muffins
makes 6 jumbo muffins
adapted from allrecipes.com
1.5c wheat bran
1c milk
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1 egg
0.67c brown sugar
0.5t vanilla extract
0.5c AP flour
0.5c whole wheat flour
1t baking soda
1.5t baking powder
0.5t salt
1c blueberries, rinsed and lightly dried (or cranberries!!)
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a muffin pan or use non-stick.
2. Mix the wheat bran and milk together; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Mix together the banana, egg, brown sugar, vanilla extract in a large bowl. Add the wheat bran and milk mixture.
4. Sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. (Sift! We didn't and our muffins had some flour lumps! These muffins are dark, so it's obviously if you've got a white clump of flour.)
5. Add the blueberries to the flour mixture, coating them with flour.
6. Add the blueberries and flour to the wet ingredients and fold to combine.
7. Divide evenly into muffin cups and bake for 25-30 minutes. The tops will spring back when lightly pressed, and a toothpick inserted into the middle will come out cleanly.
Serve warm with a big glass of water.
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Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.
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Showing posts with label muffin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label muffin. Show all posts
2.02.2012
1.09.2012
Cooking Extravaganza
With less than a week until our wedding, Dan and I expect to be severely busy for the next week or two. When my sister offered to come home and help this weekend, we knew exactly how she could help.
We've spent the past two days making sure we would have easy, healthy, dish minimizing dinners and desserts for the next two weeks.
After several days of menu planning, the weekend started with a massive grocery shopping trip on Saturday afternoon. Normally, we bike to the grocery store (we don't own a car). It was glorious not to worry about how many pounds of carrots we bought, or whether it would fit into our backpacks.
By late afternoon on Saturday, we got started. I started by roasted veggies--potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Although delicious plain, we also had thoughts of these going into a pesto pasta.
Meanwhile, Kat started on frying up frozen potstickers--her awesome idea for good, hot, savory snack foods. While they aren't the healthiest of options, I would rather grab a few potstickers for lunch than a piece of chocolate. If we'd had time, I would have loved to make them from scratch, but sometimes, life demands compromises.
Sunday, our to-do list was much longer, but with three of us in the kitchen, we accomplished a lot. Dan and I started the day by making muffins.
These are my all-time favorite muffins--slightly decadent, but full of fruit and whole grains. They take a bit of effort but the recipe could easily be doubled to make a huge batch of breakfast muffins. They freeze really well.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Cranberry-Walnut Whole Wheat Muffins
makes 12 large muffins or 18 small muffins
1 stick unsalted butter
1c packed brown sugar (do not substitute white sugar!)
2 large eggs
0.5c milk
1.5c white whole wheat flour
2t baking powder
0.25t baking soda
0.5t salt
1c chopped walnuts
2c whole fresh cranberries
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, letting it brown as much as you're comfortable with. (Butter burns quickly, so if it's your first time, turn the heat down as soon as you see brown bits.)
3. Once the butter has browned, turn the heat to medium and add the sugar, stirring vigorously for 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove the butter/sugar mixture from the heat.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. (Omit the salt if your nuts are heavily salted. Mine were unsalted.)
6. Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, stirring thoroughly and immediately to incorporate. The mixture should become more homogenous with the addition of the eggs.
7. Add the milk to the butter mixture, again stirring to incorporate.
8. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
9. Fold the walnuts and cranberries into the muffin batter.
10. Divide among muffin tins, filling to a maximum of 2/3rds full (for large muffins) or to half full for small muffins.
11. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed. For browned edges, turn the oven up to 375°F for the last 5 minutes of baking.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Meanwhile, Kat got started on a miso-ginger lentil soup. The miso adds umami, instead of adding meat, and the ginger adds some sharpness.
Once the muffins were done, Dan and I split up. He worked on hard-boiling eggs, while I made no-bake granola bars.
We then started on making a big batch of chili con chorizo, while Kat marinated chicken for stirfries. To end Sunday, Kat made two huge batches of cookie dough to stash in the freezer--one chocolate chip and one chocolate cherry. We of course sampled, and both are delicious.
We still have a few fresh veggies in the fridge to use as we see fit, but we definitely have enough food to last us for most of two weeks.
How do you plan ahead for busy weeks? What's your go-to freezer meal?
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.
Like what you read? Share it on Facebook, Twitter or GoogleBuzz using the buttons below!
We've spent the past two days making sure we would have easy, healthy, dish minimizing dinners and desserts for the next two weeks.
After several days of menu planning, the weekend started with a massive grocery shopping trip on Saturday afternoon. Normally, we bike to the grocery store (we don't own a car). It was glorious not to worry about how many pounds of carrots we bought, or whether it would fit into our backpacks.
By late afternoon on Saturday, we got started. I started by roasted veggies--potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Although delicious plain, we also had thoughts of these going into a pesto pasta.
Meanwhile, Kat started on frying up frozen potstickers--her awesome idea for good, hot, savory snack foods. While they aren't the healthiest of options, I would rather grab a few potstickers for lunch than a piece of chocolate. If we'd had time, I would have loved to make them from scratch, but sometimes, life demands compromises.
Sunday, our to-do list was much longer, but with three of us in the kitchen, we accomplished a lot. Dan and I started the day by making muffins.
These are my all-time favorite muffins--slightly decadent, but full of fruit and whole grains. They take a bit of effort but the recipe could easily be doubled to make a huge batch of breakfast muffins. They freeze really well.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Cranberry-Walnut Whole Wheat Muffins
makes 12 large muffins or 18 small muffins
1 stick unsalted butter
1c packed brown sugar (do not substitute white sugar!)
2 large eggs
0.5c milk
1.5c white whole wheat flour
2t baking powder
0.25t baking soda
0.5t salt
1c chopped walnuts
2c whole fresh cranberries
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, letting it brown as much as you're comfortable with. (Butter burns quickly, so if it's your first time, turn the heat down as soon as you see brown bits.)
3. Once the butter has browned, turn the heat to medium and add the sugar, stirring vigorously for 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove the butter/sugar mixture from the heat.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. (Omit the salt if your nuts are heavily salted. Mine were unsalted.)
6. Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, stirring thoroughly and immediately to incorporate. The mixture should become more homogenous with the addition of the eggs.
7. Add the milk to the butter mixture, again stirring to incorporate.
8. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
9. Fold the walnuts and cranberries into the muffin batter.
10. Divide among muffin tins, filling to a maximum of 2/3rds full (for large muffins) or to half full for small muffins.
11. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed. For browned edges, turn the oven up to 375°F for the last 5 minutes of baking.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Meanwhile, Kat got started on a miso-ginger lentil soup. The miso adds umami, instead of adding meat, and the ginger adds some sharpness.
Once the muffins were done, Dan and I split up. He worked on hard-boiling eggs, while I made no-bake granola bars.
We then started on making a big batch of chili con chorizo, while Kat marinated chicken for stirfries. To end Sunday, Kat made two huge batches of cookie dough to stash in the freezer--one chocolate chip and one chocolate cherry. We of course sampled, and both are delicious.
We still have a few fresh veggies in the fridge to use as we see fit, but we definitely have enough food to last us for most of two weeks.
How do you plan ahead for busy weeks? What's your go-to freezer meal?
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.
Like what you read? Share it on Facebook, Twitter or GoogleBuzz using the buttons below!
6.21.2011
Home to an Empty House
Yesterday was full of travelling! We left Henley-on-Thames at 7 AM British time in order to get to the airport for our 11 AM flight. All went well with the flight and goodbyes were said to teammates in the Newark airport.
After a three hour layover, I caught a flight to Boston and then a connecting flight out to California. When we touched down at 11 PM California time, I had been travelling for 24 hours... and still had an hour to go.
Fortunately, there was a surprise waiting for me at the airport!!! Dan told me he was going to catch a flight down from Oregon on Wednesday, but he ended up booking a flight for yesterday and surprised me as I walked out of the plane. It was so nice to have him there after a really long, uncomfortable day of travelling.
It's always nice to have a man who still think you're beautiful even with bloodshot eyes and feet so swollen they look like stuffed sausages.
We arrived home to an essentially empty fridge as my parents have been off travelling Europe as well, so we had to make do with what we had. We were both too tired to do much more than munch on the two leftover apples last night, but breakfast this morning was a different story.
The only usable ingredients in the fridge were eggs, cheese and carrots (nearing their departure date). I considered omelets but the eggs were old enough that they were really better suited to baking, so I made carrot muffins.
I based the recipe off of my favorite muffin recipe, but with a lot of substitutions due to lack of ingredients. The fact that these turned out pretty well just speaks to the awesomeness of that recipe.
These are incredibly moist and very subtly sweet, with a tender crumb. The carrot flavor is very pronounced but not overwhelming. If you like raisins, a handful would definitely make these a lot sweeter. (I would recommend golden raisins.) Personally, I prefer savory breakfasts, so this was perfect.
After I'd already eaten two of them, I found almond butter in the fridge. A slather of almond butter would have rounded these out perfectly, making an incredibly nutritious breakfast.
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Not-Too-Sweet Carrot Muffins
makes 12 muffins
After a three hour layover, I caught a flight to Boston and then a connecting flight out to California. When we touched down at 11 PM California time, I had been travelling for 24 hours... and still had an hour to go.
Fortunately, there was a surprise waiting for me at the airport!!! Dan told me he was going to catch a flight down from Oregon on Wednesday, but he ended up booking a flight for yesterday and surprised me as I walked out of the plane. It was so nice to have him there after a really long, uncomfortable day of travelling.
It's always nice to have a man who still think you're beautiful even with bloodshot eyes and feet so swollen they look like stuffed sausages.
We arrived home to an essentially empty fridge as my parents have been off travelling Europe as well, so we had to make do with what we had. We were both too tired to do much more than munch on the two leftover apples last night, but breakfast this morning was a different story.
The only usable ingredients in the fridge were eggs, cheese and carrots (nearing their departure date). I considered omelets but the eggs were old enough that they were really better suited to baking, so I made carrot muffins.
I based the recipe off of my favorite muffin recipe, but with a lot of substitutions due to lack of ingredients. The fact that these turned out pretty well just speaks to the awesomeness of that recipe.
These are incredibly moist and very subtly sweet, with a tender crumb. The carrot flavor is very pronounced but not overwhelming. If you like raisins, a handful would definitely make these a lot sweeter. (I would recommend golden raisins.) Personally, I prefer savory breakfasts, so this was perfect.
After I'd already eaten two of them, I found almond butter in the fridge. A slather of almond butter would have rounded these out perfectly, making an incredibly nutritious breakfast.
----- ----- -----
Not-Too-Sweet Carrot Muffins
makes 12 muffins
3.30.2011
Pumpkin Muffins Take 5: Almost Perfect
I made these by adapting a banana bread recipe, and substituting pumpkin for banana. They ended up a bit too wet the first time I made them, so I increased the rest of the ingredients and used a second egg in place of more milk. I liked the banana bread recipe because it used so much banana, but still used a bit of butter to give it just enough fat and richness.
Post about banana bread is coming soon (it's the best I've ever tasted!) but for now, you'll have to live with pumpkin muffins. How awful.
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Pumpkin Muffins Take 5
makes 18 large muffins
3.25.2011
Absolutely DELICIOUS Muffins
I can't believe it's taken me so long to post about these muffins. I have made them at least 15 times, and they've been delicious almost every time. (I tried a strawberry/balsamic version.. not delicious.) The problem with these muffins is that they always disappear too quickly for me to get a picture of them! Usually they're gone about 2 hours after we make them--my dormmates often find themselves drawn to the kitchen by the scent of these baking and how can I possibly deny them delicious muffins??
I made a similar muffin with cranberries a while back, but I've updated and perfected the recipe a bit, so I'd like to share it with you in its new improved form. I had applesauce on hand the first time I made this, so it was convenient to use. Most people don't keep homemade applesauce stocked, though. I decided to substitute the applesauce with milk, and I adjusted the balance of baking soda and baking powder to compensate for the change in acidity. It turned out quite well.
I also decided to sacrifice the one-bowl appeal and use a pot for these as well. Although back in the dorm I'll probably go for the one-bowl method, if you have access to a heavy-bottomed pan and a stovetop, the rich, complex flavors from the browned butter really fill out the muffin.
The 400°F I used originally seemed a bit too high for these muffins. They tended to get very crisp outsides, before the muffin was fully set. I've dropped the temperature and increased baking time. If you're in a hurry, they'll still turn out at 400°F.
Finally, in addition to generalizing the fillings, I've also included an alternative for the milk—thoroughly mashed bananas. Use this whenever you have banana as filling!
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Whole Wheat Muffin Base
makes 12 large muffins
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Saucepan + butter stirrer
Stovetop, oven
Muffin tin + liners
Ingredients
0.75c unsalted butter
1c packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
0.5c milk (***or well-mashed banana, see notes)
1.5c white whole wheat flour
1.75t baking powder
0.25t baking soda
1c chopped nuts
2c filling*** (really, you can add up to 4c)
 |
| Cranberry walnut version |
 |
| Apple rosemary version |
The 400°F I used originally seemed a bit too high for these muffins. They tended to get very crisp outsides, before the muffin was fully set. I've dropped the temperature and increased baking time. If you're in a hurry, they'll still turn out at 400°F.
Finally, in addition to generalizing the fillings, I've also included an alternative for the milk—thoroughly mashed bananas. Use this whenever you have banana as filling!
-----
Whole Wheat Muffin Base
makes 12 large muffins
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Saucepan + butter stirrer
Stovetop, oven
Muffin tin + liners
Ingredients
0.75c unsalted butter
1c packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
0.5c milk (***or well-mashed banana, see notes)
1.5c white whole wheat flour
1.75t baking powder
0.25t baking soda
1c chopped nuts
2c filling*** (really, you can add up to 4c)
12.27.2010
Pumpkin Muffins Take 4: Epic Fail
Apparently the great pumpkin shortage of 2009 has continued to impact this years availability. After an epic journey to acquire pumpkin, we only found pumpkin pie mix and sweet potato puree. I decided to try the pumpkin pie mix, and adjust my recipe accordingly.
-----
Epic Fail Pumpkin Muffins (Take 4)
makes 24 muffins
Ingredients
1 28 oz. can of pumpkin pie mix
6 eggs
0.25c milk
2.25c whole wheat flour
2.25c white flour
5t baking powder
1t baking soda
2T cinnamon
2t nutmeg
1t ginger
0.5t cloves
Directions
1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
2. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F
-----
The muffins were chewy, instead of crumbly, like the cranberry walnut muffins. I think that was partly because I used King Arthur AP flour, which has more gluten, and therefore gives the muffins closer to a bread texture. They were lighter than the last round, and I think next time I'll switch to all whole wheat.
The pumpkin pie mix had sugar in it, so I left out the sugar. Next time, I think I would add some additional brown sugar to make these a bit sweeter.
The spices I used were a little bit old (staying at somebody else's house... should have bought fresh spices), so they ended up making the muffins taste dry. The spices kind of sucked the moisture off your tongue.. unpleasant.
The extra baking soda and baking powder definitely helped the muffins get lighter, but I think next time I'll try a little bit less of each. I may also use a little bit less flour and leave out the milk. I couldn't taste the pumpkin as much as I would have liked.
----- ----- -----
Just tuning in? Check out the rest of the pumpkin muffin saga, including more recent recipes!
-----
Epic Fail Pumpkin Muffins (Take 4)
makes 24 muffins
Ingredients
1 28 oz. can of pumpkin pie mix
6 eggs
0.25c milk
2.25c whole wheat flour
2.25c white flour
5t baking powder
1t baking soda
2T cinnamon
2t nutmeg
1t ginger
0.5t cloves
Directions
1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
2. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°F
-----
The muffins were chewy, instead of crumbly, like the cranberry walnut muffins. I think that was partly because I used King Arthur AP flour, which has more gluten, and therefore gives the muffins closer to a bread texture. They were lighter than the last round, and I think next time I'll switch to all whole wheat.
The pumpkin pie mix had sugar in it, so I left out the sugar. Next time, I think I would add some additional brown sugar to make these a bit sweeter.
The spices I used were a little bit old (staying at somebody else's house... should have bought fresh spices), so they ended up making the muffins taste dry. The spices kind of sucked the moisture off your tongue.. unpleasant.
The extra baking soda and baking powder definitely helped the muffins get lighter, but I think next time I'll try a little bit less of each. I may also use a little bit less flour and leave out the milk. I couldn't taste the pumpkin as much as I would have liked.
----- ----- -----
Just tuning in? Check out the rest of the pumpkin muffin saga, including more recent recipes!
12.20.2010
a holiday baking extravaganza
I went home for the holidays and suddenly had easy access to an oven and lots of ingredients, as well as several extra mouths. So I went a little crazy, and made two types of muffins and gluten free cookies, all in two days.
We got a giant squash from the grocery store, so I roasted it and substituted it for pumpkin in my pumpkin muffins (with various other modifications). They weren't very good, so I'll refrain from sharing the recipe. Turns out, pumpkin recipes don't get ALL of their flavor from the spices. My dad likes them, though, and snacks on them after he works out.
 |
| the giant (super cheap) squash |
12.06.2010
Pumpkin Muffins: Take Three
A few weeks ago, I did a comparison of my original pumpkin muffin recipe and a new, low fat version. The low fat version blew the original recipe out of the water.. so much so that even if you were trying to gain weight, I'd recommend putting butter on the low fat version instead of eating the original.
The new recipe still wasn't perfect, though. It wasn't as tender as I'd like them, and still needed a little bit more oomph. In this iteration on the recipe, I've fixed the tenderness. I still need something to make the flavor out of this world amazing, but I think I trip to get more spices will help. (Right now I've only got cinnamon and nutmeg; I think I need some ginger.)
The changes: I replaced the white sugar with brown sugar; I added back in one more whole egg, replacing two egg whites; I used milk instead of carrots; and I decreased the baking time.
What I'd do next time: Use milk and carrots, but increase the amount of flour by .25 cup to compensate; bake at a lower temp for longer; add ginger to the spices.
Just tuning in? Check out the rest of the pumpkin muffin saga, including more recent recipes!
-----
Pumpkin Muffins
12 muffins
11.17.2010
Pumpkin muffins: A comparison
Up until last year, I never really liked pumpkin-anything. Then, around this time of year, I made pumpkin muffins for my advising group, and my eyes were opened. Next: pumpkin pie, with graham cracker crust and lots of whipped cream.
This year, I've revamped my recipe slightly. The old recipe produced muffins whose grease soaked through the muffin liners--delicious, but also dense. The new recipe produces light, fluffy muffins, that are less greasy, but definitely not less moist. I'd say they're an overall win! (Did I mention they've got less than half the calories?)
Love pumpkin? Check out the rest of the pumpkin muffin saga, including more recent recipes!
Both recipes yield 12 muffins. Continue reading for the calorie comparison, and the winning recipe~
Ingredient: original recipe................new recipe
AP flour: 2 cups................2.25 cups
baking soda: 1t................0.75t
baking powder: 1t................0.75t
white sugar: 1 cup................1.5 cups
brown sugar: 1 cup................0 cups
eggs, whole: 4................1
eggs, white: 0................4
butter: 2 sticks................0 sticks
pumpkin: 15 oz.................15 oz.
shredded carrot: 0 cups................1 cup
salt: 1t................1t
cinnamon: 1t................1.5t
ginger: 1t................0t
nutmeg: 0.25t................1.5t
allspice: 0.25t................0t
cloves: 0t................1.5t
This year, I've revamped my recipe slightly. The old recipe produced muffins whose grease soaked through the muffin liners--delicious, but also dense. The new recipe produces light, fluffy muffins, that are less greasy, but definitely not less moist. I'd say they're an overall win! (Did I mention they've got less than half the calories?)
Love pumpkin? Check out the rest of the pumpkin muffin saga, including more recent recipes!
Both recipes yield 12 muffins. Continue reading for the calorie comparison, and the winning recipe~
Ingredient: original recipe................new recipe
AP flour: 2 cups................2.25 cups
baking soda: 1t................0.75t
baking powder: 1t................0.75t
white sugar: 1 cup................1.5 cups
brown sugar: 1 cup................0 cups
eggs, whole: 4................1
eggs, white: 0................4
butter: 2 sticks................0 sticks
pumpkin: 15 oz.................15 oz.
shredded carrot: 0 cups................1 cup
salt: 1t................1t
cinnamon: 1t................1.5t
ginger: 1t................0t
nutmeg: 0.25t................1.5t
allspice: 0.25t................0t
cloves: 0t................1.5t
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