Breads

Zucchini Mini Muffins

With zucchini being in abundance this summer and almost always on sale, why not pick up an extra squash the next time you are at the store and consider putting it in some bread? Never had zucchini in bread? You don’t know what you’re missing. Zucchini bread was just as common in my house growing up as banana bread and it shocks be when people have never tried it before. I once had a friend cringe at the thought of zucchini bread that you would have thought I was suggesting liver in bread. But honestly, if you at all like banana bread, or even carrot cake, you must give zucchini bread a try. When I had an extra zucchini in my fridge, I remembered I had this recipe for Zucchini Mini Muffins which makes for a quick bite for breakfast in the morning.

Shredded zucchini is added to a light quick bread batter accent by the flavor of allspice. The result is fluffy bite-sized muffins which could easily be enjoyed as a quick breakfast or even as an after dinner snack. And if you are able to eat just one, there is zero guilt involved. Never considered zucchini bread, let alone zucchini muffins, before? Definitely try this. And since muffins freeze well, make a batch of these and throw them in the freezer. Pop a few in your bag before you run out the door and microwave for a few seconds and your breakfast is ready. Who would have thought that adding vegetable to a muffin could be so good?

The ingredients:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and allspice in a large bowl.

Combine zucchini, oil, butter, vanilla, milk and egg in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring batter just until combined.

Divide batter evenly among 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

Double Chocolate-Mocha Muffins

I haven’t really been cooking as much as I want to, let alone doing much baking. There are so many things to do, so many things I’m interested in, so many ideas, and so many plans on my mind. It can sometimes seem a little overwhelming. But then I remember than cooking calms my head and sometimes I forget just how easy baking can be. I love the fact that most of the time, you can whip everything up in one bowl and once it’s in the oven, you get to leave it alone. You can write, clean, do laundry, read a book, watch TV, anything you want. Try doing that with a skillet of chicken and you’ll have your smoke alarm going off. These Double Chocolate-Mocha Muffins are another one of those really easy recipes to whip together when you just have too many other things to do or think about.

Chocolate chips and cocoa are both added to this batter to make some really chocolate-y muffins and espresso powder or instant espresso is added to give it yet another layer of flavor making these perfect for breakfast, as a sweet addition to brunch, or even as a late night chocolate snack. The recipe calls for chocolate chunks but I used mini-chips because I had them on hand so use any kind of chocolate you want. I also substituted applesauce to lighten their calorie load and the end result was still a light, fluffy muffin. Also consider replacing up to half of the flour with whole wheat flour. These muffins puff up nicely, just the way you want a good muffin to and also freeze well. Craving a little chocolate with your coffee? Or a little coffee with your chocolate? Just mix them together and make these muffins.

The ingredients:

Whisk together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips in a large bowl.

Whisk together eggs and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until blended, being careful to not overmix.

Pour batter evenly into muffin pans lined with paper liners.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes in a preheated 350°F oven.

Serve warm, or cool on a wire rack.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Mini-chocolate chips
Applesauce

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Coastal Living magazine

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

As I’m sure you’ve heard, the northeast is getting pummeled by Hurricane Sandy right now. This is the second hurricane that has hit the Philadelphia area in a little more than a year and for those of us not used to it, it is two too many. As I write this, I still have power but considering I lost power for days last year with Hurricane Irene, I’m fully expecting to lose power again. I’m a little more prepared this year though: I’ve loaded my kitchen table with my emergency necessities (which you can see here – and yes, that includes bourbon) and I have a flashlight this time which will prevent me from using my iPhone to see in the dark (and hopefully reduce my risk of dropping said iPhone into the toilet à la last year). Because losing power is inevitable, I had to make food this past weekend that wouldn’t require refrigeration. Which means I’ll be eating these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins for days.

Canned pumpkin and mini chocolate chips are mixed into a simple muffin batter to create a moist, light, flavorful treat. These muffins have a lot of butter and sugar so they are not low-fat but given my circumstances of enduring the hurricane, I’ve got more to worry about right now than calories. The recipe calls for 3 to 4 cups of flour but I only used 3 cups and it was plenty. This batter is thick and makes puffy muffins like the kind you see in bakeries – yum. I used mini chocolate chips which I’ve come to love more than regular chocolate chips. These muffins are really, really good. I just hope I’m not sick of them by Wednesday.

The ingredients:

Blend the pumpkin, brown sugar, butter, and eggs in a large bowl mix until creamy.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg). Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined when batter is moist and thick.