Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

September 30, 2013 by 6 Comments

Fall is FINALLY here!! I do not think that I am alone in saying that it is my favorite season. Especially now that I am back in an area that actually has real seasons. The air is getting a little cooler and the leaves are starting to change colors. I’ve even busted out a few sweaters! But, even more than cool weather, colored leaves, and sweater, what I love the most about fall is probably the food. Warm stews and soups, apple cider, and, of course, PUMPKIN! Judging by the view of my blogs Pinterest page, I am not the only person excited about baking with pumpkin again.

To be perfectly honest, I did some premature pumpkin baking this year. These muffins were actually a part of my great pre-baby freezer stocking! . I waited to post the recipe because I wanted to see how they held up to freezing and reheating after a month. I am happy to report that these froze and reheated beautifully.  There really was no sacrifice in flavor or texture after hanging out in freezer bag for a month. Anytime I wanted a delicious, easy, one-handed snack, I would just grab one of these out of the freezer and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds and boom! You pretty much have a freshly baked muffin! Perfect for first time parents of a newborn, busy parents of back-to-school children, or busy people with no children!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degree. Prepare a muffin tin by greasing the cups (or lining with liners).

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours through salt) and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat together the brown sugar and pumpkin. Add the egg, apple sauce, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

To freeze, allow to cool completely then place in a gallon size freezer bag (make sure to use a bag that specifically says freezer, with double zippers) and place in the freezer. To reheat, remove a muffin from the freezer bag and microwave for 20-30 seconds. For an extra tasty treat, spread a little butter on the hot muffin!

Sunny Side Up Original

I’m muffin crazy, how about you?

Banana Oat Muffins
Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins
Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins
Blueberry Doughnut Muffins

Filed Under: Breakfast Treats, Freezer Friendly, Muffins Tagged With: , , ,

Peanut Butter Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel

July 30, 2013 by 5 Comments

I’m sure it’s no surprise to regular readers that Jesse and I have a thing for the chocolate/peanut butter combination. Yes, it is a true love affair. So, when Jesse asked me to bake something a few weekends ago and I asked, “Like what?” it’s not that surprising that his answer was, “Something with chocolate and peanut butter.” Referring back to all of those links I just shared, I have a lot of chocolate/peanut butter recipes under my belt. Which is awesome when I want a tried and true recipe to quickly whip up, but when I’m wanting something new I can share on here, it makes things a bit more challenging.

At this point, coming up with new chocolate/peanut butter combinations is challenging. So I sat and pondered. I thought of cookies, and cupcakes, and brownies… Then I started to think of Jesse’s other favorite sweet treats. Towards the top of his list of favorites is Cinnamon Crumb Cake. When I tell him I’m making crumb cake he gets a look in his eyes, like a kid hearing the faint music of an ice cream truck. So I wondered if there were a way for me to combine the chocolate/peanut butter combo with a crumb cake of sorts. After a bit of researching I found something that looked inspiring. She put chocolate chips right in the crumb topping?! Perfect! Of course, I am a huge fan of the recipe I always use (something about that mile high, truly crumby, crumb topping!), so I used her idea as base to adapt my usual recipe.

Trying not to brag here, but the results were AMAZING! The cake had a nice moist and tender crumb with just the right density (even though I was slightly worried it could be too dense with the addition of peanut butter). The crumb topping was thick and warm with just the hint of cinnamon that was perfectly paired with the chocolate chips. I liked mine drizzled with just a little bit of chocolate syrup, Jesse said it didn’t need it. He declared that it was one of the best baked goods I’ve ever made. And I think he might be right!

 

Peanut Butter Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel

Ingredients

Crumb Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp butter, cubed
~1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cake
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbsp butter, softened
3 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2/3 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Chocolate syrup for serving, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a glass/ceramic baking dish with butter (not a 9×13, but a smaller oval dish or 9×9).

Mix together all of the dry crumb topping ingredients (flour through cinnamon). Drop cubes of butter into the mix. Start by using a pastry cutter, or two knives, to cut in the butter. When the butter is evenly distributed, use hands to squeeze it together then break it into crumbs. Do this until it seems well combined and you are making crumbs that are mostly about the size of peanuts. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and peanut butter. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated. Add the yogurt and vanilla and beat until combined. Finally, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, beating just until combined without lumps.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth with a spatula. Scoop up the crumb topping with your fist and drop clumps of it onto the the batter until all of the crumb topping is used. It will seem like a LOT of crumb topping.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the middle of the cake seems solid. If the edges seem to be baking a lot faster, turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees and continue baking until center is done.

Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving. If you like, serve with chocolate syrup. And you’ll definitely want a big glass of cold milk with this treat!

Inspired by Crazy for Crust, Adapted from here

 

 

Filed Under: Breakfast Treats, Cake, Dessert Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Strawberry Muffins

April 16, 2013 by 2 Comments

For the past few weeks I’ve been on a huge muffin kick. They make a great grab and go breakfast (even if the Chocolate Chip version isn’t so healthy), an even better second breakfast, and a pretty nice snack, too!

Since April is the kick off for strawberry season in California, I decided to try my hand at creating a strawberry muffin. We were absolutely thrilled with the results, light and fluffy with a nice strawberry punch. I liked mine with just a little butter (well truthfully, the Land O’Lakes spreadable butter with canola oil) and Jesse liked his plain (though of course he said they’d be just that much better with icing, haha).

*Side note – When I took this picture I totally felt like I was in one of those commercials with just the hands spreading butter/margarine on toast/a muffin and voice overs talking about great said butter/margarine is. 🙂

Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 1/4 cup strawberry puree

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degree. Prepare a muffin tin by greasing the cups (or lining with liners).

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In another medium bowl (or a standing mixer with paddle attachment) beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Next, alternate adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and yogurt in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until incorporated. The batter will be pretty thick. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the strawberry puree until well combined.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Looking for more strawberry recipes?

Strawberry Sorbet
Strawberry Brownie Tarts
Strawberry Lime Cupcakes
Strawberry Vanilla Scones

Filed Under: Breakfast Treats, Muffins Tagged With: , , ,

Chocolate Chip Muffins

April 5, 2013 by 1 Comment

Since my flight from Boston got in so late last Saturday night, I wasn’t feeling up to making a big Easter brunch on Sunday. Instead we met some friends at Broken Yolk (I can’t resist the California Breakfast Burrito, drool). We expected that they would be pretty packed and were pleasantly surprised to get a table almost right away. The staff must have also been expecting long waits because they were carrying around trays of mini-chocolate chip muffins for people waiting to be seated and waiting for their food. I, of course, snagged one and for the next 2 days I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Needless to say, I recreated them at home just 2 days later.

Let’s be serious for a second. These do not make a nutritiously sound breakfast. They are glorified chocolate chip mini-cakes, with no real redeeming nutritional value. But… they make an absolutely perfect second breakfast (ya know, that meal between first breakfast and lunch) for this 5-month pregnant lady. 🙂 And a delicious evening snack for anyone.

 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup flour plus 2 Tbsp, divided
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degree. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/4 cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a glass measuring cup, stir together the greek yogurt and milk; set aside.

In another medium bowl (or a standing mixer with paddle attachment) beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat until combined. Next, alternate adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and wet ingredients in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, making sure there are not patches of unmixed dry ingredients. Toss the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of flour then use the spatula to mix them into the batter.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Adapted from previously posted recipe for Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Love Muffins? Me too!

Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
Blackberry and Lemon Muffins
Banana Oat Muffins

 

Filed Under: Breakfast Treats, Muffins Tagged With: , , ,