Banana Poppy Seed Muffins

I finally did it! I took the plunge and completely reworked my little blog; a new host, a new domain, a whole new look, and I LOVE it!! Welcome to the very first post on delectablymine.com! No more blogspot for me, it's feeling great! It all happened so fast. I hope you all enjoy the new look and the new site. It's nothing fancy, but I usually like to keep things simple so it's perfect for me. There may be a few wrinkles to iron out yet, just bear with me, I'll get to them as quickly as I can! 

For my very first post on this new adventure I have a delicious breakfast muffin to share. I would guess that of all the types of recipes I've posted over the years, I have the most muffins so what better way to start out than with another muffin recipe. Everyone know the classic lemon poppy seed muffin (check out a good one here), but I had never before thought about doing a banana poppy seed muffin. Why not? I love pretty much anything with banana, and with the addition of poppy seeds - amazing! 

These muffins baked up just beautifully, rising nice and tall, crowning perfectly and tasting delicious. The banana flavor certainly shines through. If you're expecting lemon flavor when you first bite into these you will be sorely disappointed, but have no fear, the banana is a fabulous alternative. Not quite as bright and tangy as the lemon obviously, but wonderful in a different way. 

I made a few minor changes in the recipe; first I halved it because it's just me and so it takes me a while to eat through a dozen muffins. Thankfully muffin recipes generally halve very well. I also cut down on the sugar by just a tablespoon and didn't seem to notice, they were plenty sweet for me with the banana in there as well. Finally, I pulled these out of the oven about 5 minutes earlier than the recipe called for and they definitely did not need to go longer. I dislike dry and over cooked muffins so I'm really happy that I pulled them when I did. They were nice and light and plenty moist. Another winner to add to the muffin arsenal. 

Banana Poppy Seed Muffins
Adapted from Macheesmo
Ingredients

• 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) brown sugar
• 1 banana (4 ounces), mashed; about 1/2 cup
• 1 egg, lightly beaten, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) milk or liquid whey
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with butter, or line with paper liners.  In a medium sized bowl combine the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, set aside. 

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and banana. Add the egg, milk, butter, vanilla and poppy seeds and mix until well combined. 

Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan, dividing the mixture evenly. Bake for 12-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Yields: 6 muffins

Cinnamon Sugar Apple Muffins

Over the past year or so I have been doing more and more baking with fruit. Since I absolutely love fruit this really is a no-brainer. Any kind of fruit will do, I'm not picky. Due to the overwhelming number of banana bread/muffin/cake recipes out there I definitely end up using bananas most often. It doesn't hurt that they are cheap and freeze beautifully. But there are many other fruits that bake up well in recipes too. 

Today I'm sharing a simple yet wonderful cinnamon apple muffin recipe. The cinnamon apple combo is a pretty classic pairing, and it's easy to see why. The warming spiciness of cinnamon mixed with sweet and tart apples is a match made in heaven. I don't always like large chunks of apple in my baked goods, so instead of chopping it into pieces, I decided to grate it so it kind of melts into the batter and distributes evenly while still contributing it's apple-y sweetness. Add a little more spiciness with some nutmeg and allspice, and top the whole thing with a sweet buttery topping and you have a breakfast to be proud of. 

The original recipe called for coconut oil, so if that's your thing go for it, but I just used plain old vegetable oil. Next time I might even try melted butter, because why not? A blend of whole wheat and white flour gives the muffins a nice heartiness. I think some toasted walnuts of pecans would be a wonderful addition to these muffins as well. I guess I'll just have to make these again soon, what a problem to have!

Cinnamon Sugar Apple Muffins

Adapted from

Pinch of Yum

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 1 apple, grated
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

For the topping:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

To prep ingredients:  Add the vinegar to the milk and let it sit for a few minutes to let it curdle (or you can use real buttermilk instead). 

For the muffins: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, milk with vinegar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Stir until just combined. Fold in the apples. Scoop the mixture into a greased or lined muffin tin.

For the topping: Melt the butter for the topping. Add the sugar and cinnamon; spoon over the tops of the muffins. You only need a little bit to get the crunchy top effect, but if you love those crunchy cinnamon sugar tops, I'd suggest making twice or three times as much topping as what's listed here.

Bake the muffins for 15-16 minutes, more or less by a few minutes depending on size. The muffins should be golden brown with big round tops that spring back when you press them.

Maple Muffins

Growing up in my house, pancakes and waffles were served with a side of Mrs. Butterworth's syrup, and I loved the stuff. Super thick and ubberly sweet, I loved dousing my fluffy stack of pancakes with this delicious liquid sugar. In later years my mom started making her own syrup with a bunch of corn syrup, plenty of butter, and some maple flavoring and I liked this concoction even better; thick, sweet and buttery. However, as time went on, my palate improved and my love of real foods and simple ingredients became a passion, and I knew it was time for a change. 

Then, a few years ago I went to a sugar bush in the early spring and saw the whole process of maple syrup processing, from tapping the trees to getting the sap to the sugar house to boiling the sap down into syrup, I was in love. I found the whole process completely fascinating. It is amazing how a benign looking watery liquid that drips out of a tree can be transformed into liquid sugar with some time and some heat. From that day forward, I decided to only use real maple syrup, I'm never going back. 

Real maple syrup is expensive, I know that, and because of that I try to be sparing, and use it wisely. This recipe is a bit of a splurge, using 1 1/2 cups of real maple syrup, but it is completely worth it for an occasional and very special treat. 

I found that calling these "muffins" may be a bit of a misnomer. After eating through the entire batch I came to the conclusion that they are really more like cake, but lets not worry about symantics. What matters is that they are incredibly tender and full of flavor. The maple flavor is surprisingly subtle considering how much maple syrup is in them, but it is perfect, not overwhelming and perfectly balanced. When I made these, I didn't have any walnuts but they would be a fantastic addition and would really round out the flavor and texture of these muffins perfectly, I'm sure of it. 

So if you're looking for an extra special morning treat I highly recommend this recipe. They would also be wonderful as cupcakes, topped with a little maple cream cheese or buttercream frosting. Versatile, delicious and unique, you really must give these a try.

Maple Muffins

Adapted From

Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Home to Yours

Ingredients

• Softened unsalted butter, for the pan
• 2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tbs baking powder
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1½ cups pure maple syrup, preferably Grade B
• 12 tbs (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°. Line muffin pan with muffin liners or alternatively, brush the insides of 12 muffin cups with softened butter, then brush the top of the pan to ensure that the muffins don't stick to the top when they rise.

Whisk the unbleached flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk the maple syrup, melted butter, and milk together in another bowl, then whisk in the egg and yolk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until smooth. Stir in the walnuts. Let the batter stand so the dry ingredients can absorb the liquids, about 5 minutes.

Using a 2½-inch-diameter ice cream scoop, portion the batter, rounded side up, into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375° and bake until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a wire cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes more.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely.

Half a recipe makes 8 or 9 muffins

Bakery Style Muffins

When it comes to muffins, there are just muffins, and then there are real muffins. I'm sure you know what I mean, some muffins are short, flat and to be honest, rather ugly, not that this means they don't taste good, but let's be honest, it's more fun to eat something beautiful. Then there are the real deal; tall and handsome muffins with those perfectly domed tops, slightly crispy edges and a dense yet tender crumb that will never be confused with a cupcake. This is the kind of muffin I pine after. It's surprising how difficult it can be to find a recipe for this type of muffin, however, I think I've finally done it. These muffins were gorgeous and delicious, true muffins with the perfectly rounded top, exactly what I've been looking for.

What's interesting about this batter is that it doesn't use any milk or other liquid. The dairy is all yogurt, and a lot of it. This makes the batter super thick, almost like pancake batter, and helps create that beautiful mushroom top that doesn't overflow the muffin tins or flatten out too much. For this go around I made half of the mushrooms just plain, so I could really taste the muffin as is. For the other half, I tried swirling in some homemade strawberry rhubarb jam for a little added sweetness. I topped both with some coarse sugar for a little extra crunch.

The results were simply marvelous. The plain muffins were very nice, simple, slightly sweet and perfect as a basic muffin. The jam swirled version was also quite wonderful, a little extra sweet and sticky, the jam brought the muffin up just a notch. I would definitely do it again. Since the batter was so thick and my jam was really thick, it was difficult to actually swirl in the jam,  it mostly just stayed as a blob, but that was okay, it turned out really well in the end. This recipe comes with several delicious looking variations that I hope to share with you all soon.

Bakery Style Muffins
From Food.com, originally from America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

Directions
Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375 F (or 450 F for mini muffins). Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternating 1/3 at a time, beat in the dry ingredients and yogurt until a smooth, thick batter just forms.

Spray 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or coat lightly with butter. Scoop batter evenly into cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes for the large muffins (and 10-12 minutes for the mini muffins). Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

I know I've posted a lot of pumpkin things lately, but this is probably my last one, so if you are sick of pumpkin just bear with me. Personally, I don't ever get sick of it. Since muffins are always at the top of my list of things to bake, pumpkin muffins were a no brainer this fall, and these muffins didn't disappoint. A nice basic pumpkin muffin, topped with a simple streusel, they are pretty and tasty. Sometimes a simple recipe is just the thing I'm looking for. If you need a easy but delicious pumpkin muffin recipe, this fits the bill.

I actually made these muffins twice in the last couple of weeks, first for myself, and the second time to share with friends at school. For the first batch that I made, I used the streusel recipe that I found with the muffin recipe. This is the streusel that is shown in my pictures. I thought it was very pretty, and tasted quite nice, but just didn't quite cut it as a streusel topping for me. It was a little too floury. I prefer my streusel to be chunky and buttery, so for the second batch I used a different streusel recipe which worked out very nice. I've listed both options below; either one you choose will be very tasty, it's just a matter of opinion. What really matters is just that you make these muffins. They are the perfect breakfast treat for a chilly fall morning!

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Adapted from: Buns In My Oven
Ingredients
For the muffins:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Streusel topping option #1:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

Streusel topping option #2

• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
For the streusel, combine the flour and brown sugar in a small bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside. 

For the muffins, cream together butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, buttermilk, eggs and molasses. 

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and mix into the batter. Stir just until combined. Fill paper lined muffins cups 2/3 full with batter. Spoon streusel topping over the muffins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 375, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Enjoy!