Muffins | Eat Your Heart Out

Plum Poppy Seed Muffins

November 28, 2012 by Stephie 11 Comments

It’s my birthday!

Which means I should probably be posting about cupcakes…but instead I’m posting about muffins. But really, it’s ok because these beauties are from the new Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

A few of my friends and I have been so jazzed about this cookbook coming out that we all decided to each make a recipe from the book and post about them on the same day. When Julia emailed us with a list of approved recipes, I emailed back immediately and requested these muffins. Plum poppy seed muffins?? How could I not want to make those? As soon as I left work that day, I was off to the store to buy plums and these babies were baking away in my oven before I knew it.

What makes these muffins so special? You mean aside from the fact that they consist of almost as much fruit as actual batter? (Glorious, just glorious.)

Browned butter.

Yeah. I said it. And I’ll say it again.

Browned. Butter.

And oh my does it make a difference here. It gives the muffins that certain nuttiness that you just can’t get enough of and pairs so beautifully with tart sweetness of the plums and the sweet muffin batter. It’s just downright amazing, and makes me ridiculously excited to dive into all of the other recipes in Deb‘s new cookbook. Beautifully photographed, well-written, and chock-full of recipes that you could throw together for your family or serve at a dinner party. It’s a little bit of everything…and certainly everything you could want in a cookbook (the spine is even made so that it stays open while you’re cooking!).

Make sure you take a minute to check out what the other awesome ladies have put together for this special post:

Julia of The Roasted Root: Pancetta, White Bean, and Chard Pot Pie

Abby of Seaweed and Sassafras: Apple Cider Caramels

Natalie of Perry’s Plate: S’more Layer Cake <— Visit Natalie’s post to find out how to WIN a copy of Deb’s book!!

Plum Poppy Seed Muffins

Yield: 12 standard-size muffins

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and browned and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup sour cream or full-fat plain yogurt
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 cups pitted and diced plums (from about ¾ pound)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.
Whisk the egg with both sugars in the bottom of a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then the sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and poppy seeds, then stir them into the sour cream mixture until it is just combined and still a bit lumpy. Fold in the plums.
Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Rest muffins in the pan on a cooling rack for 2 minutes, then remove them from the tin to cool them completely.

Notes

To brown the butter: In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden, and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot: You may be impatient for it to start browning, but the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast Tagged With: Baked goods, Bread, Breakfast, Muffins

Whole Wheat English Muffins

August 29, 2012 by Stephie 18 Comments

I’m obsessed.

I have a new love.

It’s this fig butter.

I know, I live a big, exciting life. You don’t have to tell me.

I want to put it on everything. The other night’s dinner consisted of a grilled cheese sandwich made with some leftover brie cheese, and you know I put some fig butter on that beauty.

So what did I do recently? I made whole wheat English muffins, so that I can toast them up and eat them with fig butter for breakfast.

I wasn’t kidding when I said I was obsessed.

Now, I had to do some research before I undertook this English muffin-making task. My research ultimately yielded the following information:

There are quite a few different English muffin recipes out there, though primarily they can fall into one of two categories: dough that you roll out, cut into rounds and then cook on the griddle; or a shaggy, wet dough (almost like thick pancake batter) that is spooned onto the griddle.

Now, from what I read, you get the best “nooks and crannies” (the ones so characteristic of and necessary to a true English muffin – according to self-proclaimed English muffin snobs) from the second kind of dough. So, of course, that is what I went with.

Now, I was going for more of a “rustic” look with my English muffins…ok. That’s not quite true. I just don’t currently own any English muffin rings, so I poured the batter directly onto the griddle instead of shaping it in rings. You could do either here. If you are interested in using the rings, Alton Brown has good English muffin recipe (I will likely try this one once I get some rings, just to see how it does) that walks you through how to use them.

The results of this particular English muffin experiment were quite good, though. Nice and golden on the outside, super soft on the inside, with a decent amount of little nooks and crannies (although, admittedly, there could probably be more). Downright awesome when toasted up and served with some fig butter…or any jam that you happen to be obsessed with at the moment.

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Yield: 12-14 muffins

Adapted from Michael Ruhlman

Ingredients

2 cups milk
2¼ teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
2 scant cups all-purpose flour
2 scant cups whole wheat flour
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
Cornmeal

Instructions

In a microwave-proof bowl or measuring cup, microwave the milk on high for about two minutes, or until the milk is warm, but not hot. Warm milk will activate your yeast, hot milk will kill it.
Sprinkle the sugar and the yeast into the milk. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, until the yeast foams. Once the yeast is foamy, whisk in the egg and melted butter.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flours and the salt. Pour in the milk and yeast mixture, stirring until combined. Dough will be wet and somewhat shaggy. Cover lightly with a clean towel and set in a warm place to rise for 1 to 1½ hours, or until dough is doubled in size. (Alternately, place in the refrigerator overnight, and remove from the fridge 1 hour before cooking.)
Once dough has risen, heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. If using an electric griddle, shoot for about 300 degrees. If you are using rings, you will need to butter them. Stir the dissolved baking powder into the batter until well combined. Dust the cooking surface with corn meal. Using a measuring cup, spoon ¼-cup portions of batter onto the griddle (either free-form or in the rings). Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until deeply golden. Flip, and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes.
Remove from the griddle onto a cooling rack. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before prying in half with a fork. Toast and serve with butter, honey or jam, or use for Eggs Benedict.
Store for up to 3 days at room temperature in a zip-top bag, or freeze for a couple of months.

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast Tagged With: Baked goods, Bread, Breakfast, Muffins, Whole wheat

Kathleen’s Banana Oatmeal Muffins

June 13, 2012 by Stephie 5 Comments

Ok, ok, I know banana muffins aren’t a very summery thing to be posting right now. They’re one of those things that you generally think about making in the fall after the farmer’s markets close down, or early in the spring before the strawberries make their first appearance.

But the other day I was really, really craving banana muffins. And guess what? I had 3 bananas hanging out in my freezer, which was the exact amount I needed to make my friend Kathleen’s favorite banana bread recipe.

Guys, these muffins came out of the oven and, before I knew what was happening, I had ~~eaten~~ inhaled three. It was at that moment that I realized I absolutely must pack up the rest to take to work, or else we would have a banana muffin binge situation on our hands. Not pretty.

These are seriously some of the the best banana muffins I have ever eaten. They are incredibly soft and (please don’t hate me) moist, and the combination of whole wheat flour and oatmeal makes them so nutty and perfect…these muffins are what I imagine would happen if an oatmeal cookie and a loaf of banana bread fell in love and made a baby.

Was that too weird? Sorry.

Furthermore, Banana-hating Boyfriend willingly ate more than one of these muffins. BAM.

A quick note about amounts here: I ended up making this into muffins instead of loaves, mostly because I knew I would never stop eating a loaf of bread but I might stand a chance at leaving muffins alone. At any rate, after nearly over-filling my muffin tin, I had more batter than I needed to make 12 standard-size muffins, so I ended up putting the rest in a little 4×4-inch casserole dish and cutting it into little bars. (Ps, you know what would be bonkers out-of-control amazing? Baking up the whole recipe in a cake or sheet pan and topping it off with some cream cheese frosting…just ponder on that for a while.) I’m guessing that you could get about 18 standard-size muffins if you don’t overfill your tins. If you would rather go the loaf route, I would opt for two 8×4-inch loaf pans, but, again, I haven’t done this myself yet, so if someone gives it a whirl, let me know how it goes.

Thanks for the recipe, Kathleen! It is definitely going to become one of my new regular recipes. =)

Kathleen’s Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Yield: Approximately 18 standard-size muffins, or two 8×4-inch loaves

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
Optional (but strongly encouraged) add-ins: ½ cup each of raisins, roughly chopped pecans, chocolate chips or any combination of the above (I used raisins and pecans)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour loaf pans or muffin tins, or use muffin liners; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugar. Add in buttermilk, eggs, and baking soda, whisking until light yellow and thoroughly combined. Follow by whisking in the mashed bananas. Stir in flour and oatmeal until just combined and fold in any add-ins.
Pour batter into prepared baking vessel and bake for 1 hour for a loaf, or 25-30 minutes for muffins. Bread/muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool slightly before removing muffins from tin; allow a loaf to cool completely before removing from the pan (unless you want a big ol’ mess on your hands…).

Filed Under: Breads Tagged With: Baked goods, Bananas, Bread, Breakfast, Muffins, Oats, Whole wheat

Tahini-Lime Muffins

April 16, 2012 by Stephie 6 Comments

I have got to stop baking.

Well, maybe not stop. Ok, let me amend that statement: I have got to slow down this baking spree I am on.

My slightly-snug jeans told me so this morning.

It probably wouldn’t hurt if I would stop getting so bored every time I go to the gym. Seriously, I get 5 minutes in to my workout and find myself itching to be doing something, anything else. And I don’t mean in a “let’s do a cardio circuit” kind of way, I mean in a “let me go home and put on my sweatpants and cook” kind of way.

Oops.

Guys, this is real life. As much as I try for balance in my life, there are times when I mentally reject everything green and instead just want nothing more than to spend some quality time with butter, flour and sugar. Sometimes I feel like a run. More often I feel like reading a book in bed.

Last week I felt like baking. But I figured that if I absolutely had to bake (and I did), I might as well throw a few good-for-you things in there. A little whole wheat flour. Some flax seeds. A wee bit of wheat germ. Coconut oil.

Folks, these muffins are weird. I’m not even going to pretend that they aren’t. But, weird as they are, they’re pretty good, too. The more I eat them (hello, snug jeans), the more they grow on me. The lime juice and zest give them a nice tangy bite. The tahini gives them a buttery richness. The coconut flavors here are subtle, just enough to balance out the other two players. Oh hey, they’re vegan, too. Bam.

For the record, I think these are best when they are slightly warm. Hello, microwave.

For the (other) record, they also freeze marvelously. Which means, if you weren’t aware, that you can avoid eating them all in one sitting. Hello, breakfast-for-days.

Tahini-Lime Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Inspired by examiner.com

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
2 tablespoons wheat germ
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup almond milk
¼ cup tahini
zest of 1 lime
¼ cup lime juice
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
⅓ cup flaked/shredded coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the first 9 ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine milk, tahini, lime zest and juice, and coconut oil. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients; stir until just combined. Fold in shredded coconut.
Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Store, in an airtight container, at room temperature for 3 days or in the freezer for up to two months.

Filed Under: Breads Tagged With: Baked goods, Breakfast, Healthy, Muffins, Vegan, Whole wheat

Monday Breakfast Series: Lemon Coconut Muffins

January 30, 2012 by Stephie 4 Comments

Up to this point, I have done a pretty good job of presenting you with healthy breakfast recipes for the Monday Breakfast Series.

I can’t really say that this is one of those healthy recipes. But have you ever just had a craving for something and you can’t shake it until you have whatever it is?

That’s kind of what happened with these muffins. I had the idea for them one day and knew I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about them until I made them. Somehow I just knew that the delicate flavors of coconut and lemon would pair perfectly in a muffin.

I’m not gonna lie…I was right.

And so, here we are. It’s Monday, it’s time for breakfast, and my offering this week is not exactly healthy but…well…sometimes you just need to indulge a little bit. Right?

And if you make these and feed the majority of them to your coworkers, then it totally justifies them and they’re not a big deal at all! Not that I would ever do anything like that… =)

Lemon Coconut Muffins

Yield: I was able to get 24 mini muffins and 6 regular-sized muffins out of this recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups flour*
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
¾ cup coconut milk (I used lite, but regular would be fine)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (coconut oil would be super appropriate here if you have it)
¾ cup lemon curd
¾ cup shredded coconut + additional for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray or line with baking cups.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut milk, eggs, oil and lemon curd until smooth. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in shredded coconut.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Top with shredded coconut. Bake for 15-18 minutes for regular-sized muffins (10-12 minutes for mini muffins), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes

*I considered using part whole wheat flour here, but I ultimately landed on using all all-purpose flour so as not to overpower the delicate flavors of the coconut milk and the lemon curd.