Pumpkin-Apple Muffins

My dear friend and co-chef Kelly was so kind as to search out some delicious recipes for me to try a couple weeks ago. She sent me several options from main courses to treats. Of all of them, this one stuck out to me the most; right away I knew I wanted to try it.

To my delight these muffins turned out just as I had hoped, better really. Much to my pleasure the enjoyment started with mixing the ingredients. No, I didn't have images in my mind of pumpkin fairies sprouting from the can of pumpkin filling (although that would have made for some great pictures), but the smell of the spices mixed together instantly made me feel fallish. It was intoxicating.

Applesauce-Oatmeal Muffins

I enjoy a good bread or bread variation, which is why I enjoyed these muffins so much. They aren't your typical overly sweet, oily muffin, because in fact these muffins are sweetened only with applesauce (I used sweetened applesauce in mine) and fruit. And while they are quite soft, they have a great texture because of the amount of oatmeal and fruit in them. Plus, being an Eat Clean recipe they are quite healthy (although I admit I did alter the recipe slightly and smear mine with butter). 

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

I love blueberries. I think they are delicious. I love them fresh, in oatmeal, in fruit salads, in crisps, on ice cream, in fruit smoothies, and of course, in muffins. But here is the thing about muffins, I often think they are too oily, especially store bought muffins. So imagine my happiness when I found this recipe from Tosca Reno, the Eat-Clean Diet lady. While I didn't follow every ingredient in the recipe, I did substitute the egg with a flax seed/water mixture (the picture above left is ground flax seed, which I regularly add to my oatmeal, yogurt, etc) and use Greek yogurt - which is yummy. These muffins weren't as sweet as I maybe would have liked them, but I think using coconut oil instead of olive oil (which is what I used) would add a great flavor. I might also add about 1/4 cup of sugar if I wanted them to be a bit sweeter, but I don't know if I defiantly would, because as you can see from the picture above, the dough is thick, and closer to a biscuit dough than your average muffin batter. So whether or not to make them sweeter would be a personal choice. Either way, I enjoyed these fresh out of the oven with a bit of melted butter and I really appreciated that they were not oily like many muffins I have tried in my life.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Do you have some fusty, black banana's laying on your counter, but you don't want to throw them out and waste them? Here is the answer. These muffins are wonderful and a change from banana bread. And, they are made from whole wheat, so they are even healthier! These muffins are not as sweet as banana bread and they will freeze well, so you can make a batch or two and freeze the rest for later. If you don't want to add the chocolate chips you can substitute them for walnuts, or just leave them out all together.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe by King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking (awesome book, I highly recommend it)
Pictures by Caroline
Yield: 12 muffins

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium-to-large bananas)
¼ cup honey
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat (I used half white and half whole wheat)
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin cups, and grease the muffin cups with nonstick vegetable oil spray.
2. Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups; they’ll be nearly full. Bake the muffins until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and after a couple of minutes transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

Classic Blueberry Muffins

I love a warm blueberry muffin. However, I am a bit picky about my muffins. Although I think the huge, dense, overly sweet muffins you can buy at the store are a great treat and all, I really prefer a homemade muffin, that isn't so dense or sweet. These muffins are just right, especially fresh out of the oven. They make a great weekend breakfast accompanied with some fresh fruit or juice.

Classic Blueberry Muffins
Recipe from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

Pictures by Caroline
Yields 12 muffins

8 tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups fresh or dried blueberries (or you could use cranberries, raspberries, or a combination of berries)
2 tsp sugar or cinnamon-sugar, for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together until light the butter, sugar, and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the baking powder, then add the flour alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition. Mash ½ cup of the blueberries and add them to the batter. Stir in the vanilla at the end, along with the whole berries. (note: I used frozen berries; they worked really well.)
3. Mound the batter into 12 lightly greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling each completely to the top (actually, over the top; the batter is thick enough that it’ll hold its shape). Sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon-sugar it desired.
4. Bake the muffins for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center or one comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan to cool completely on a rack, or gently flip them sideways in the pan. (Muffins left in the pan will stream, creating a tough crust.)