Banana Muffins

These muffins are not only good but also guilt free with less than 1 gram of fat per muffin. Even though they are on the healthy side I still didn't want 22 muffins in the house, so I sent a dozen of them to work with Dan were they gobbled them up. These have a great flavor when following my additions and pretty dense.

Banana Muffins:

Source: Joy of Baking

My changes are in bold.

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added an additional ½ tsp)
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas, mashed well, I used 4 medium bananas
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I added an additional ½ tsp.)

Optional: 1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts (optional). Set aside.

3. In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas (I mashed mine in my kitchen aid), eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.

4. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.)

5. Use a cookie scoop to evenly distribute the batter into the lined muffin pan.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the muffins from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. These muffins can be frozen.

Yield: 1 - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf or 22 muffins

Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins

These muffins were delicious, and did not last long in my house. I took a few to school to give to a classmate and she said they were excellent. These came together quickly, and would freeze well if I had any leftover. Dan worked from home the day that I made these, so I'm sure that was part of the reason that they went so quickly. Or its because I have a weakness for baked goods, something that I should work harder at overcoming.

Source: http://lizscookingblog.blogspot.com/
Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats (I use oatmeal)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Grease and flour a muffin pan, or use paper liners.

3.In a small bowl, combine oats and buttermilk, and let stand 5 minutes.

4.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
5.In a large bowl, beat together the egg, oil, brown sugar and vanilla.

6. Blend in the oat mixture. 7. Stir in the flour mixture, just until moistened.

8. Fold in strawberries.

9. Fill muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yield: 16 muffins

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

While looking through food pictures to see what else I needed to blog I came across these cinnamon apple muffins that I made back in October for a staff meeting. These muffins are delicious and they freeze very well in an airtight zip lock bag. To defrost, I microwave for about 1 minute with a glass of water to add moisture. Note: These muffins are very dense.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins:

adapted from Penzeys.com

Muffins:
4 cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I used 4 Gala apples)

4 large eggs, beaten

1 cup applesauce (or canola oil) – (I used applesauce)

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. pure almond extract

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

Topping:
3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

6 tsp. butter, room temp.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly grease two muffin pans and set aside (my batch made 30 muffins).
Peel, core and slice the apples.

Cut into good-sized chunks, about 1 inch in size.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Add the applesauce or oil and beat until combined.
Add the vanilla and almond extracts, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Beat until thoroughly mixed.
Next, add the flour and sugar and mix on low just to blend.

Then turn the mixer to high and beat until mixture is smooth.
Fold in the chopped apples, mixing by hand so the apples do not get too broken up.

Divide the mixture between the two muffin pans.

It is easiest to spoon the batter into the pans.
To prepare the topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Cut the butter into the mixture with a fork until all ingredients are moist and crumbly.
If you don’t mind a little mess, it is faster to use your hands.

Sprinkle equal amounts of topping on each muffin.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes on the center rack of the oven.

The muffins should feel fairly firm when touched in the middle, or bake an extra 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pans.

Blueberry Muffins

While looking through food pictures to see what else I needed to blog I came across these blueberry muffins that I made back in October for a staff meeting. These muffins are delicious and they freeze very well in an airtight zip lock bag. I had one around Christmas time and they still taste great. To defrost, I microwave for about 1 minute with a glass of water to add moisture.

Blueberry Muffins:
Alton Brown

Ingredients:
25 ounces cake flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 Heavy pinches salt
2 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups yogurt (I used plain, and blueberry)
3 cups fresh blueberries
Vegetable spray, for the muffin tins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients reserving 2 tablespoons of the dry ingredients and toss with the blueberries. Stir mixture for a count of 10. Add 2 cups blueberries to mixture and stir 3 more times. Reserve the 1 cup of blueberries.
Using a #20 ice cream scoop, add the mixture to greased muffin pans. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of berries on top of muffins and press down lightly. Place into the oven and increase the temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 16 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven and turn out, upside down on tea towel to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in airtight container for 2 to 3 days.