Berry Muffins

A long-time favorite in our house, this recipe comes from my Mom.

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups fruit

Topping
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixing bowl cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, milk and vanilla: mix well. Stir in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in fruit. Fill greased or paper-lined muffins cups two-thirds full. Combine sugar and nutmeg, sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yields about 2 plus dozen.

The recipe was for frozen blueberries; we almost always use red raspberries.

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffins

We ended up with a three pound tub of sour cream (seriously, it was enormous!!) after I hosted my co-workers for a potluck Mexican fiesta. We used two cups in the topping for a peanut butter cup cheesecake for our babysitter for her 16th birthday and still had a lot left so I googled sour cream muffin and came across this great recipe.We had just tried a new muffin recipe earlier that week (one that was meant to be the "best ever") so this one is a good contrast to that one. T took one bite and said, "Amazing!" 

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Muffins
Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup sour cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line one cupcake pan with liners, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In another large bowl, combine the egg, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla extract, mixing well.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
6. Gently add in the chocolate chips until thoroughly combined.
7. Evenly divide the batter among the prepared cupcake liners (I use a large ice cream scoop for this) so that the liners are about 3/4-full.
8. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 14-18 minutes.

(from Taste of Home via The Curvy Carrot) 

Raspberry Peach Oatmeal Muffins

From Simple Bites.One-Bowl Oatmeal Muffins: Basic Recipe

Makes 12 medium muffins

1 cup milk*
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 large egg, at room temperature
¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, freshly ground
add-ins of your choosing (see suggestions)

One-Bowl Oatmeal Muffins: Flavor Combinations

1 cup Raspberries with ½ cup Dark Chocolate, chunked or chips

¾ cup Golden Raisins with ¾ cup grated Carrot

we used 1/2 cup raspberries and 1/2 cup diced peach

Combine milk, vinegar and oats in a large bowl and let stand one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a twelve-cup muffin tin and line with cupcake papers.

Crack the egg into the oat and milk mixture; add brown sugar and mix to combine. Stir in melted butter.

Sift remaining ingredients into the bowl: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, & spices. Gently fold into batter, taking care not to over mix.

Sprinkle add-in and flavorings of your choice and combine muffin batter gently.

Use a large ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake until light brown and tops spring back when gently touched, about 10-12 minutes. Note: Muffins will take slightly longer to bake if you are adding fresh fruit such as blueberries or rhubarb.

Remove from oven and cool in tins. To remove, run a sharp knife around the edges and pop muffins out. Enjoy!

*You may also substitute 1 cup buttermilk, and then omit the vinegar from the recipe.
 http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-make-the-best-muffins/

I used 1 cup of buttermilk rather than milk with vinegar, and cut the spices back a little. I feel like the recipe has too much butter - next time I make this I will cut it back by a quarter and see how they turn out. The finished muffin is moist and dense and not sweet. We definitely enjoyed the texture from the oatmeal.

Carrot Cake Muffins

We tested out this recipe last week - they are pretty tasty. Moist, not too sweet; full of healthy ingredients!

Carrot Cake Muffins
adapted from Britain's blog

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup raw brown (turbinado) sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup raisins tossed with 1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour, or 2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the upper third of the space. Oil or butter muffin tins.
2. Sift together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Using a whisk or a spatula, stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Do not beat; a few lumps are fine, but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the raisins or pecans and the carrots.
4. Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full). Place in the oven, and bake 25 minutes until lightly browned and well risen.

Yield: Twelve muffins, depending on the size of the muffin tins. 

These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator and for a few months in the freezer.
(Our muffin tins might be a bit smaller, the recipe made 20 muffins, and we baked them accordingly - for a much shorter time - between 15 and 20 minutes - just until they were done.)

Nutritional information per muffin (based on 12-muffin yield): 239 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 32 milligrams cholesterol; 38 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 323 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of The Very Best of Recipes for Health 

Breakfast Tailgating

FSU hosts Boston College today at noon, so we'll be out tailgating early this morning! Here's what's on the menu:

Bagels, cream cheese, coffee,
Bagel sandwiches, fruit salad, mimosas
Muffins

Ina's Bloody Marys

Ingredients
3 large stalks celery from the heart, including leaves, plus extra for serving
36 ounces tomato juice (recommended: Sacramento)
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon grated yellow onion
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
12 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), or to taste
1 1/2 cups vodka

Directions
Cut the celery in large dice, including the leaves, and puree in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until finely minced. In a large pitcher, combine the rest of the ingredients except the vodka. With the food processor running, pour 1/4 of the tomato juice mixture into the food processor through the feed tube. Then pour the contents of the food processor into the pitcher with the remaining tomato juice mixture. Add the vodka and chill. Serve in tall glasses over ice with a stick of celery.

Makes 6 drinks.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 ¼ cup milk

¾ cup chocolate chips

Directions

In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, egg and milk until smooth. I find a whisk works best.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt and baking powder) and mix well.

Dump dry ingredients into wet mixture and blend just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into muffin tins lined with muffin paper cups. Bake at 350 about 15 minutes, until top springs back when touched.

Makes 18-24 muffins.