TWD- Great Grains Muffins

I think Julie put it best on the P&Q when she said, "After months of sugar overload, this might be just what I need." Seriously. The holidays are over. But somehow, desserts just keep popping up. 

These muffins, with cornmeal, oatmeal and whole wheat flour aren't exactly healthy. They still have plenty of sugar and butter. The recipe calls for dried fruit, but you know what I think about that. I did have the urge to put chocolate chips in them, but I'm proud to say I resisted (ok, I am kinda regretting it). They tasted like cornbread to us, very dense and moist.

They are quick to put together, if not all that exciting. Happy Tummy will have the recipe. And check out other TWD'ers here.

TWD- Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

Poppy seeds always remind me of that "Seinfeld" episode where Elaine fails a drug test because she eats a poppy seed muffin. I always wondered if that would really happen. Because I would be in trouble. I love poppy seeds. Poppy seed bread, poppy seed salad dressings... yum.

I made Almond Poppy Seed muffins for this week's TWD because we love (especially my husband) almond poppy seed instead of lemon. I omitted the lemon and zest and added one and a half teaspoons of almond extract.

The texture seemed off on mine- they were a little less fluffy and almost more biscuit-y. I would definitely make these again, but decrease the baking time a little. Head here for the recipe!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Ok, so I've had a few overripe bananas in our house. I blame my husband who will only eat bananas if they're just so- which leaves about a 2 day window that he'll eat them. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com- I'm pretty much loving the recipe spinner on the iPhone app!

This recipe is quick- I halved it and made a couple changes. The muffins are moist and really yummy. One of my new faves!

Chocolate Banana Bread adapted from allrecipes.com

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup white sugar 2 eggs 3 bananas, mashed 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup lite sour cream 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two standard size muffin tins.
	In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.
	Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

TWD- Double Apple Bundt Cake

I'm starting to get appled out. Between this week's TWD, last week's Cake Slice Baker's, and the Apple-Apple Bread pudding I made last weekend (which I should've photographed and psoted), I'm ready to move on to pumpkin.
I halved this recipe and made muffins because I still don't have a bundt pan. The recipe is super easy and comes together quickly. It is a great Fall recipe- the flavors are warm and spicy. I used Gala apples (that's pretty much the only kind we eat), and the flavor came through nicely.

Yes, I broke out the Halloween stuff last week. Thanks to my cute sister-in-law for the Halloween plate! Lynne has the recipe!

TWD- Coffee Break Muffins and Party Cake!

Well, after a few birthdays, a week in Italy, a week recovering and getting kids in pre-school, I'm back to TWD! This week's recipe was for Coffee Break Muffins. We don't drink coffee, so I substituted cocoa powder for the espresso powder, and whole milk for the coffee. I also omitted the nutmeg. These muffins are SO good. They don't require a stand mixer- just a large bowl and a glass measuring cup. They come together in about 5 minutes and take about 18 to bake. I halved the recipe and wished I made the whole thing!

My kids loved them, too. I'm a big fan of chocolate and cinnamon together. They're moist and not too sweet- perfect for a fall breakfast!

Chocoholic Anonymous has the recipe (and a great blog)!

And I made a party cake for a 13th birthday!

TWD- Chocolate Ginger Muffins

While I was in college and for a couple years after while I was working, I lived at home with my parents. Often on Saturdays, my mom and older brother and I would meet up for lunch, a lot of times at a nearby soup-and-salad buffet (all-you-can-eat is less evil when it's salad, right?). The restaurant had this gingerbread sheet cake that I loved. Granted, it was probably made from a mix, but it was moist, only slightly spicy and always warm like it was straight from the oven. Paired with non-fat vanilla frozen yogurt and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, it was my favorite treat.

When I saw Sherry Trifle's TWD pick this week, I was excited. The picture in the book looked similar to my beloved treat, with chocolate chunks and chocolate frosting (which makes everything even better). I loaned my 9" square baking dish out and haven't gotten it back yet, so I halved the recipe and made muffins.

I'm embarassed to admit that I had to leave out the fresh ginger. I bought a small piece at the store last weekend, but it must've been too small because after reminding the bagger to put it in my grocery bags, I think I must've accidentally thrown it away with the bags because it was no where to be found. I increased the amount of ground ginger to compensate. I used dark chocolate chunks in the muffins and for the frosting.While I did think these were tasty, they needed the frosting. I tried a piece plain and it was way too spicy for me. I liked how the chocolate mellows the spice out; it's a good combination. I may have overbaked them a little. As she says in the recipe, Dorie recommends trimming the crunchy portions. Since I had muffins, if I trimmed the crunchy portions, I would've been left with muffin holes. But they were still good, I would make them again. Head to Sherry Trifle for the recipe!

TWD- Sweet Corn Muffins

Well, like the TWDers, once I saw this week's pick of Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins, I thought to make chili. But alas, it was 85 degrees here yesterday, and my husband offered to grill chicken instead, so we had sweet corn muffins instead of pepper. Chosen by Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake, one of my favorite blogs, these muffins are WONDERFUL!! I halved the recipe and (accidentally) added more sugar than Dorie suggests in the sidebar. I was afraid they were going to be too sweet (is tha possible?), but they were just fine. Buttery, not too grainy- these are a definite go-to the next time I make chili! My husband thought they were pretty close to our favorite cornbread at Bandera. We might try baking it in a skillet to see if we get similar results. This sweet version would also be wonderful with butter for breakfast!

Check out Rebecca's blog for the recipe!

Sorry for the bad picture. Out kitchen is dark at night.

TWD- Pumpkin Muffins

Ok, so I did make Pumpkin Muffins last week (admittedly, before I saw what this week's TWD recipe was), but I was still excited to try this recipe, which was chosen by Kelly. The muffins are moist and tender, with chewy golden raisins.
The recipe makes a lot of batter- I filled the muffin tins about 2/3 full, with still a lot of batter left. So I kept on filling until most of the batter was gone- the cups were almost 100% full. The recipe calls for sunflower seeds as the topping, but I crumbled TJ's Cinnamon Alphabet Cookies on top. The muffins baked up beautifully- with tall (but not overflowing) tops and the cookie crumbs got toasty and golden. Good thing I was paying attention (kids were napping)- mine were done in 18 minutes instead of the 25 stated in the recipe. Maybe I should've taken them out a minute earlier, too- they were the tiniest bit dry.
The muffins aren't as sweet as mine, which was good, but I think I prefer mine (and mine are healthier, too).Yes, I know that's a V, not a U, but I couldn't find a U. And RVCA does it, so why can't I?

Check out Kelly's blog for the recipe!

Pumpkin Muffins

Ok, with my husband out of town and because my kids go to bed at 7, I have a lot of free time in the evenings. I did go to the library today so I could read, but really, baking is SO much more fun! I've been wanting to make some muffins for the kids for breakfast and snacks and since my husband doesn't like pumpkin, I thought this is the perfect time for pumpkin muffins (although, when I asked my 2 year old what we should make with pumpkin, she said, "pumpkin cupcakes!!!" This is close, right?). I looked through some other muffin recipes I like and did some adjusting. This is what I came up with:These are SO good. If it's possible for a pumpkin muffin to taste like pumpkin pie, I swear these do. I even burned my arm taking them out of the oven, but it was SO worth it (should I be concerned that the burn mark has kinda bubbled up? Gross!)
Pumpkin Muffins
makes 18 regular-sized muffins
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup light sour cream
1/4 c skim milk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine brown sugar, canned pumpkin, sour cream, milk, canola oil, and eggs, stirring well with a whisk. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
Spoon batter into 18 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 13 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.

Blueberry Muffins

I bought blueberries for my daughters a couple weeks ago and they LOVED them. I'm talking, scarfing them down by the handful; the container I bought, hoping it would last a couple days, lasted exactly 10 minutes. So I bought some more again last week (TWO containers this time), happy that I'd found something healthy they liked. But when my husband gave the berries to them for breakfast a few days ago, nothing! The baby spit them out and Beansy said, "What's this? I don't like these!" So I decided to disguise them in blueberry muffins. I had this BH&G recipe on hand so I decided to try it. The fresh blueberries were really great, but I'm not so sure about the recipe. The texture was moist and and had a firm crumb, but I like my muffins sweeter; these were a little bland. I think increasing the sugar to 1 cup, or adding a crumb topping would make these a lot better:

Blueberry Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs
3/4 cup milk (don't use skim)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
Coarse sugar (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin pan cups. Set aside.
2. Stir together flour, the 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of dry mixture; set aside.
3. Combine eggs, milk, and butter; add all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in blueberries.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each almost full. If desired, sprinkle tops with coarse sugar. Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes or until golden. Cool in muffin cups on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups. Makes 12.

My helper: