Apple Nut Muffin Cake – TWD

I need an extension cord.

You see, I live in Southern Texas were we don’t have Autumn. To prove my point: just a few days ago it was 96 degrees outside. But today, right now it is 66 degrees outside. SIXTY-SIX, people. I realize it’s only 9:30am. But one takes what one can get 🙂

But instead of typing up this post, sitting indian-style on my “back porch” being enveloped in the cool morning air, I am sitting on the couch. No extension cord. I am positive that this is to be remedied.

Extension cord is going on the shopping list 🙂

This cake is a great choice for a Fall day (like today!!) so I couldn’t skip it. It is lightly sweet, filled with small bites of apple and perfectly spiced. The texture, for me, wasn’t that of a muffin but rather a soft, slightly dense cake… I guess that it what a muffin is supposed to be; but I’m not lucky enough to churn out muffins with this texuture.

I halved the recipe, omitted the nuts, ramped up the cinnamon, added nutmeg, cloves and some ginger then baked it in an 8×4″ loaf pan and glazed with a simple icing (3/4 cup confectioners sugar + small splash of heavy cream + tiny bit of vanilla, real simple), sliced thick and enjoyed with a fork and a cup of tea. Today couldn’t get any better.

Unless, of course, I had that extension cord.

Thanks to Katrina of Baking and Boys for choosing this gem. Head on over to her blog for the recipe (or simply click here.)

Happy Autumn (finally)!!!

Chocolate Chunk Muffins – TWD

Dorie certainly has it right when she says to embrace every opportunity to call chocolate breakfast. I agree x 57.

Chocolate is delicious. Especially as muffins. Even more so for breakfast 🙂

Make these! They are tender, chocolatey, chunkity and a perfect Tuesday morning pick-me-up with a cup of hot coffee or cold milk.

Go on, be a kid. Have chocolate for breakfast!

Thank you to Bridget for choosing these!! Click here for the recipe!

Citrus Cranberry Sunshine Muffins – TWD

One weekend away from the blogging world can put you so out of touch.

But I am happy to report that my three-day weekend was completely worth it. I’ve been in dire need of a change of scenery, just to get away from the big city and sit on a ridiculously beautiful balcony and stare out at the water and think about absolutely nothing. Just… be.

And I was.

The hubby’s birthday fell on our weekend getaway. I usually make him a cake or something to celebrate but this year was pretty low key (and I wasn’t convinced he would eat it all anyhow) I did make these muffins and although he didn’t eat any of the muffins (and neither did I) he certainly wasn’t above taking a picture with them 😉

They came together SO quickly and the batter tasted amazing. It was bright and just sweet enough. I didn’t have the dried currants called for in the recipe but I figured that dried cranberries went just as well with the citrus flavors in this muffin. They smelled amazing coming out of the oven and were THE perfect texture.

I’ll definitely have to actually TASTE one of these next time I make them.

Thank you to Lauryn of Bella Baker for choosing this recipe. Click here for the recipe.

Corniest Corn Muffins – TWD

I’m a Texan. And us Texans take cornbread seriously. Just about as serious as we take our chili.

Even with being so serious, there’s still a million ways that us Texans make our favorite chili (beans vs no beans, tomatoes vs no tomatoes, etc) and there’s a million ways we like our cornbread (corn vs no corn, sweet vs savory, etc) so in the grand scheme of things, it really just comes down to personal taste.

And this Texan doesn’t like ‘corny’ cornbread.

Texture is very important to me and my tastebuds. Corn kernels are not welcome in my cornbread and I like it on the sweet side, thankyouverymuch.

But some cheddar and jalapeños works as well. Too bad I forgot this time around.

I guess I’ll have to make these again. With some chili 🙂

I halved the recipe, doubled the sugar and omitted the corn kernels. I decided not to use the nutmeg and used veggie oil instead of the corn oil due to accessibility. The half recipe yielded 6 adorable tasty cornbread muffins. Definite repeat.

Head on over to Jill’s blog, My Next Life for the recipe (or click here)

SMS – Strawberry Muffins with Fresh Lemon and Rosemary

Rosemary makes my heart skip a beat. I don’t know what it is about that spice but it’s powerfully aromatic and strong flavor sets my taste buds alight.

The pairing of rosemary and strawberries seemed a bit odd to me but I figured this was one muffin I wanted to try.

These muffins worked out pretty well this time. Usually the dough is thick and heavy and much too dry and dense to be considered muffins but the baking fairy must have waved her magic wand because these were moist and fluffy. Although, I have realized that I’m not a big fan of chunky strawberries in my baked goods. Next time I think I’ll puree them and fold it in at the end.

The flavor pairing is weird but it works! If you’re feeling adventurous, try these!

For the recipe, head on over to Shandy’s blog Pastry Heaven. While you’re there, oogle her baked goodies. They are drool-worthy!

MSC – Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

I have grown a fondness for snickerdoodles. Even after the initial disappointed of finding out that the cookies had NOTHING to do with Snickers themselves.

But I do love them. In all their cinnamon-sugary glory.

And now I can enjoy them in a cupcake too! Win-win!!

These are super simple, super tasty, light and fluffy.

The first time I made these, I made them into minis and glazed them with a simple confectioners sugar icing.

The second time I made them I skipped the frosting and topped them with a sprinkling of brown sugar (when they baked up, they has a nice sugary crunch in various places). Perfect for breakfast 😉

Yes, I’ve made them twice. Yes, I’ll make them again. Who knows, maybe with frosting and tiny snickerdoodle cookies as garnish 🙂

Thank you Katie from Katie’s Cakes for choosing this great cupcake!! Find the recipe in Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book or here on her website.

TWD – Coffee Break Muffins

These are THE best.

There’s not much more I can say. There really isn’t much more that I HAVE to say. But I’ll pick a few of my favorite words and leave the rest up to you:

Muffins. Quick. Easy. Moist. Delicious. Crowd-favorite. Coffee. Chocolate. Tender. Addictive. PERFECT.

Are you getting the picture? I hope so.

I have horrible luck with muffins. Every recipe that I’ve tried has turned out to be a bit disappointing, texturally. I end up with either a dense and heavy crumb or a light and airy crumb that’s too reminiscent of cake. But these, these babies are what all muffins should strive to be.

An espresso flavored dough studded with chocolate chips (my own addition) makes for the perfect breakfast treat or mid-afternoon snack with a wonderful cup of coffee. Both the fiancé and I took these to work and they didn’t last.

First thing in the morning I was greeted with two texts: one stating that this is the best thing I’ve ever made and another asking if the muffins were laced with crack, because they were addictive. Need any more incentive to make these? I didn’t think so 😉

Head on over to Rhiani of Chocoholic Anonymous‘ blog for the recipe (click here) or buy the book, I promise you’ll love it! And be sure to check out the other TWD bakers’ opinions/variations on this great muffin!

Up next week: Tarte Fine. Baked apples!! I LOVE baking french pastries. I walk around my kitchen dictating the recipe (to myself) in a crummy french accent. Oh the joys of baking 😉

MSC – Triple Citrus Cupcakes

Upon reading the title and the recipe I wondered if the lemon would overpower the lime and orange flavors, but they didn’t.

They lived in harmony. Moist and tender crumb, beautiful flecks of zest peeking through the tops, an inviting aroma, lightly sweet and flavorful, these were a stunner. Now that’s what I call a happily ever after.

The texture was more muffin like to me so I only glazed one for show and left the rest plain to give away as a breakfast treat. I halved the recipe and used the zests of one lemon, one lime and one clementine. These were VERY well liked by the fiancé’s coworkers. They disappeared in no time, and I can understand why.

Another winner Martha. You don’t disappoint.

Thanks to Marthe from Culinairy Delights for choosing this recipe. You’ll have to get Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book for the recipe.

Up next month: Cookies and Cream Cupcakes. These are great!

SMS – Peanut Butter Truffles & Orange Blueberry Muffins Two-Fer!!

Yes, I have been slacking. No, it’s not because I don’t love you. Or the goodies. Or posting.

It’s just been hectic. I keep telling myself tomorrow, tomorrow. But tomorrow never comes. Isn’t that a song?

Anyways… I’ll be a woman of as few words as possible so I can type up another blog and put it on the back-burner.

Peanut Butter Truffles
For the recipe, head on over to Mara’s blog Love Your Mother.

These were gooooooood. Sinful, even. They are easy to throw together and yield such wonderful, creamy deliciousness. My only complaint is that the peanut butter wasn’t as pronounced. I halved the recipe so that may be the culprit. I melted some bittersweet chocolate and dipped half. I also didn’t have peanuts so I chopped up some salted cashews and rolled the other half in that. Still good!! 🙂

Orange Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Crumble
For the recipe, head on over to Chaya’s blog Sweet & Savory.

The muffin base for this recipe has given me trouble time and time again. I’ve tried nipping and tucking it until it was barely recognizable and quite honestly, it isn’t worth the effort anymore. They are borderline dry, really heavy and quite dense. The blueberry flavor didn’t stand out (my fault because I used frozen) but the orange flavor was bright and sunny. I would try this combo again with a different muffin base.

Up next week: Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel-Rum Raisin Sauce. That’s aaaaall going to my mom. The lover of all things bread pudding 🙂

SMS – Pear Cranberry Muffins

NOTE: my flickr account is being a pain in the *cough* so for now, because I’m out of time… for pictures… visit my Flickr account! And will SOMEONE please tell me how I’m supposed to transfer my pics from flickr to my blog? Thanks!

There is one phrase that I tend to save for something big, so it will make a big impact when I use it.

DOUBLE WHAMMY!!

And that’s exactly what these muffins are. Easy to make (see: throw together) and deeeeeelicious (see: yum).

The base for these is the exact same that I used for the peach muffins, but those were a disaster compared to these. They were very dense and just lacked in texture and flavor. I needed to alter these to make ’em work for me because pears…. and cranberries?? Hello, lover!

I halved the recipe, omitted the orange zest (I didn’t have any on hand, but I WILL throw this in next time), omitted the gingersnap crumble (to cut down on cost, but will consider next time),  substituted half of the butter for unsweetened applesauce (and added roughly 1/2 tsp more), I added cinnamon (I want to say 1/2 TBS but I can’t recall exactly, I just threw it in) and I used 2% milk in place of the whole milk. My pears weren’t ripe (which made for a nice crunchy texture), cranberries frozen solid, and my milk and egg weren’t at room temperature. Threw it all together, and was blessed with the most tender, moist, flavorful muffins that have ever come out of my oven! This is a keeper, a keeper I tell ya!!

Because I know you’ll want the recipe, head on over to Jennifer’s blog Maple N’ Cornbread. Oogle her goodies and nab that recipe 🙂