Cinnamon Sugar "Donut" Muffins

I try to make breakfast a couple times a week.  I have been eying this recipe on Pinterest for a while and decided to give it a try. 

It didn't take long to assemble them and then it was a short time to bake and then breakfast time.

And...

YUM.

They taste JUST like cinnamon sugar donuts.

In muffin form.

And baked.

(I calculated the calories and they were not horrible)

I made a double batch:  one mini muffin batch and one regular muffin batch.

Here is the recipe for one batch...

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

In another bowl, stir/whisk together vegetable oil, sugar, egg, and milk.

Pour the flour mixture into the oil mixture and stir just until mixed.

Coat the "cups" of the muffin tin or use muffin liners. I used liners.

Divide the batter evenly among the cups.  (I did one 24 mini muffin tin and one 12 cup regular muffin with a double batch)  I used my cookie scoop to put the mixture into the cups.  It was almost even/level with the tin.

Bake for 15-18 minutes.  (I think mine was close to 20 minutes)

Remove the muffins from the muffin tin and cool on a wire rack.

Topping recipe:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:  
Put melted butter in one bowl.  Mix cinnamon/sugar in another bowl.

Now, in the original recipe. they dipped the whole muffin in the butter and then the cinnamon sugar mix.

I only dipped the top.  (In fact, I did NOT double the topping and had JUST enough for two batches) 

Either way, my kids have raved about them.  My son came in and said, "Thanks for the donuts, Mom!" 

Enjoy!

Reba

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

You may remember that I love pumpkin.  Especially pumpkin muffins. I used to make them all of the time.  A cake mix, a bag of cinnamon chips, a can of pumpkin.

That was it.

Except those cinnamon chips...they have dyes in them.  Evil dyes (at least for one of my kids).

And the cake mix? Full of preservatives/artificials...which we also cannot have.

So my pumpkin muffin baking days came to an end.

However, I find myself STILL craving some pumpkin muffins.

So not long ago I did a recipe search.

And I happened upon this.

So a couple nights ago, I decided to just make them.  (I baked them at night since they would take a while.  I have been keeping them in the fridge, and we heat them in the microwave as needed)

And they are rather tasty.

Not as easy or as simple as the ones I used to make, but that hasn't stopped me from eating them.  I mean, these have a crumb coating. You can't go wrong with that!

Ingredients:
Filling
8 oz cream cheese block (softened)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Note-While the cream cheese definitely adds to this muffin, next time I will probably halve all of these ingredients so not have quite so much cream cheese involved.

Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar (granulated)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I didn't have any and left it out...it was fine without it)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin (I just used one regular size can)

3 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 tbsp butter (melted)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Filling-  Combine the cream cheese fillings in a bowl and beat (I used my little hand mixer) until smooth.  Place on a large sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a "log".  Place in the freezer for about an hour. 

Topping:  Just before removing the cream cheese from the freezer, put the topping ingredients in a bowl.  Use a fork to mix it.  It will form little clumps.  Resist just sitting and eating the topping...good stuff.

Muffins:  Preheat oven to 350.  Line muffin tin with liners.  This recipe easily makes 16.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices/salt) in a large bowl.  Stir together.

In another bowl, combine "wet" ingredients (pumpkin, eggs, oil, vanilla).

Make a "well" in the middle of the dry ingredients.  Pour "wet" ingredients into the hole.  Stir all ingredients together until mixed.  Do NOT over mix.

Add about 2 Tbsp of muffin batter to each muffin liner. 

Slice the cream cheese log into 16 equal size pieces.  Like I said, I think next time I will half that...it is a lot of cream cheese :).  Place a cream cheese "slice" in the middle of each muffin liner.

Top the cream cheese with remaining muffin batter.

Sprinkle the topping on top, pressing it down to ensure it sticks.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Today I was in the mood for muffins, but I wasn't sure what kind to make. I can always eat a good pumpkin muffin but I hadn't thought ahead to make cinnamon chips, so that was out.  I thought about some simple cinnamon muffins but I just made cinnamon bread earlier this week.  And we did not have enough bananas for a banana nut muffin.  What to do, what to do?  Well, I finally decided to make some that I had made a couple months ago. They were pretty well received, so why not try them again?  (For whatever reason, I never blogged about them)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.

I have to say they were even more well-received this time (I think my boys missed out on them last time I made them).  I had to hurriedly pack one up to save for me to eat another day. I was afraid there would be nothing left but crumbs.

Even better, they are easy.  I almost always have these ingredients on hand.  And it took me about 15 minutes to prepare, then about 20 to bake.

And they are pretty filling.

The peanut butter/chocolate chip combo is very tasty but it is not overwhelming. As much as I like peanut butter/chocolate chip candy bars, I don't want a candy bar for breakfast.  Well, this is a much more subtle combination of the two flavors in a very filling form. 

The one thing it isn't:  low calorie.  That is why I ate one and hid another for another day. :)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup brown sugar

6 Tbsp butter, melted (I used unsalted)

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used real semi-sweet)

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Line muffin tin with paper liners.  We had regular size muffins, but I think next time I will make minis.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar together in a bowl.

In a another (large) bowl, mix the butter, peanut butter, eggs, and milk.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.

Stir until combined.   Add in the chocolate chips and stir a bit more.

Spoon (I used my cookie dough scoop because the dough is pretty thick) into the muffin tins, filling to the top.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 375.

Let sit for 5 minutes before eating.

Enjoy!

Reba

Banana Nut Muffins

 I have mentioned that we have been "cleaning" up the way we eat.  A little more organic, less preservatives.  And in doing that, a lot of "mixes" are out.

So yesterday I glanced in our fruit bowl and noticed that we had a couple of bananas that were nearing the end of their life.

I hated to see bananas go to waste (though I NEVER eat them by themselves), so I decided we really needed some banana bread or muffins.  I decided muffins would be a good (and easy) way to go.  Even better, I had already planned a "breakfast for dinner" kind of night so this would be a perfect addition.

I immediately googled and fell upon a recipe that is supposed to be very kid-friendly.  Perfect for me. :)

I didn't really have any kids around at the time so I just made the recipe myself.

And they were yummy.

I don't think I have ever made homemade banana bread before.

Now that I have, I don't think I will ever be able to go back to a mix again.

And honestly, it didn't take me but a few more minutes than a mix would...and these were so much better.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted (I used unsalted)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Nuts (to taste...I used about half a cup of chopped pecans)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray muffin pan OR use fun muffin/cupcake liners. That is the way I went.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together bananas, sugar, egg, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and nuts.  I just hand mixed.  I also made sure not to overmix after reading comments by others on the original recipe's site.

Fold in the flour mixture.

Again, don't overmix (but make sure ALL of the flour is mixed in).

Scoop into muffin tins (I used my cookie dough scooper).

Bake for 10-15 minutes for mini muffins and 25-30 minutes for regular size muffins (mine made 12 regular size muffins).

Enjoy!

Reba

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Lauren was in a cooking mood this morning. She likes pumpkin muffins and always eats them but she gets tired of them I think. Plus she has a major sweet tooth. She has been wanting to make chocolate chip muffins for quite a while; she had some at my parents' house one time. Today I found the recipe (no easy task) and found almost all of the ingredients. The only one we didn't have...mini chocolate chips. We did have some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and then some regular size semi-sweet chocolate chips. We decided to use those.

Technically, Lauren made these. I was just there to answer questions, help a little with the stirring, and double check her measurements. Very kid friendly recipe courtesy of my mom.

Here it is...

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I only had a canola oil blend...it worked fine)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place liners in 12 medium muffin cups. We decided to do mini muffins, so we did that instead.

Beat egg. Stir in milk and oil.

Mix in remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Stir until the flour is moistened. The batter will be lumpy and fairly thick.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin cups 2/3 cups full. In our case, we used my favorite cookie scooper tool and dropped the dough in the mini-cups, one "scoop" a cup.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until gold brown.

Yum.

Maybe not the healthiest but I suppose there are a lot less healthy things I could make!

Reba

Pumpkin Muffins

The picture doesn't do it justice. Just trust me on this.

I was trying to decide what my first recipe should be. The one I am probably asked about more than any other is the pumpkin muffin recipe. I got this from a co-worker who got it from a classroom parent who shared it (and some muffins) with her. Since my first bite, I was hooked. I LOVE these muffins. We eat them at least every other week, if not more often. I try to always have the ingredients (3...just 3 ingredient!) on hand for when that mood strikes. The older two will eat them when I make them and like them fine. But it is my younger two who actually beg me to make them and then will eat them until there are none left. I am sure they are healthy, right? Pumpkin is good for you...

Here is the recipe.

Did I mention there are three ingredients?

The ingredients are one can of pumpkin, one box of a spice cake mix, and one bag of cinnamon chips.

I pick up one or two cans of pumpkin any time I see it at the store. Did you know that last year there was a pumpkin shortage? It was scary. I thought we might be without pumpkin muffins for a few weeks. I was even willing to try to learn how to can pumpkin myself, grow them in the backyard if necessary. Thankfully a few friends found cans for me, and then we had a really good crop last year. So now I have a shelf of pumpkin. Just in case. And I have a renewed interest in farming and agriculture current events so it won't be a surprise to me next time.

The spice cake mix? I just buy the generic version. I mean, store brand. It doesn't really matter. The key is you are just using the mix itself. You aren't adding the cake ingredients (like eggs or oil). Just that powdery mix.

And finally the cinnamon chips. They are the toughest to find depending on where you live. I am VERY thankful that my favorite grocery store Harp's sells them. (To be upfront, my daddy works for that store :) If you don't have a Harp's in the area, go to the Hershey's website and look up hard to find products. Look for cinnamon chips. I know you can order them on Amazon and some other websites too. I have had friends substitute chocolate chips, but really the cinnamon chips make the muffin to me...

Final note: I don't always use a whole bag of cinnamon chips. I have used half the bag and sometimes even a little less than that. My kids don't seem to notice a difference. So that is one way to get more bang for your buck. Stretch out the chips.

So what do you do now?

Go ahead and turn the oven on to 350.

Dump all three ingredients in a bowl. Then start mixing. This is the tough part. It is not easy to mix. It is very dry at first. Honestly, I "smear" the pumpkin with a spatula until the cake mix gets moist with it. Once that happens, it gets much easier though it is very thick.

Next, spray either a regular muffin tin (or mini muffin tin) or line with muffin/cupcake liners. I use the liners. It is SO much easier to clean up afterward and they don't really stick that much. I won't even tell you how many muffin/cupcake liners I have on hand. Just know that if you are ever in a bind, I have plenty to share in about any pattern or holiday theme you are looking for. They are just fun to buy and they are great little gifts (like in my stocking).

Then I use the cookie scooper (see picture below). I used to try a spoon but then it would stick and I would be frustrated. The scooper works MUCH better for me now. :) I just put scoops into the tin until about even with the pan. For mini muffins, one scoop works. For regular muffins, usually it takes about two. I will tell you that this makes a lot. I can easily get 18 regular muffins or one large pan of mini muffins plus 6 regular. If you ever want an easy teacher gift, get up early one morning and make these...they will feed many.

After you have finished filling the tins, stick the muffin pan(s) in the oven. After about 30 minutes check on them. If they look pretty set, then take them out. Give them just a couple minutes to cool off, then enjoy. Oh, and they taste just as good re-heated in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.

You can always add extra ingredients (nuts, raisins, dates, etc) and some friends have even added a topping (like a glaze). But I am a simple girl. 3 ingredients. No more, no less. :)

Here is a shortened version of the recipe without all of my ad lib...

Ingredients:
1 can pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix
1 bag cinnamon chips

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour ingredients into a bowl and stir until moist.
3. Line or grease or spray muffin pans (the size of your choice).
4. Scoop or spoon "batter" into the tins until flush with the pan.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

More soon,
Reba