Skinny Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I just love a good blueberry muffin and love trying new variations on them. I wanted to find one that incorporated oatmeal because oats and blueberries and just so delicious together. One of my absolute favorite blogs Skinny Taste posted this recipe called Insanely Good Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins and with a name like that, I was sold! 

I made these larger than the standard muffin size because I wanted to give them as a welcome gift to our new neighbors. They told me how yummy they thought they were and I agreed! They are moist and dense but still have a wonderful texture. Even better -- they are low fat! Perfect in the morning with a big cup of hot coffee or a cold glass of milk, or in my case, both!

Skinny Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
From Gina at Skinny Taste 
Makes 12 standard size muffins
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup milk (almond or skim milk)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (I didn't have any on hand so used white sugar)
1 tablespoons honey (or agave)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla (my homemade vanilla extract is pictured in vodka bottle)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
Baking spray

Directions
Preheat oven to 400. Line a muffin tin with liners and lightly spray with oil. Place oats in a food processor or copper and pulse a few times. Soak oats in milk for about 30 minutes. 

In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar, honey, apple sauce, vanilla, egg whites, oil and mix well. In a third bowl combine whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and whisk to combine. Combine oats/milk mixture with sugar/apple sauce mixture and mix will. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the blueberries, saving a couple to place on top. 

Spoon into liners and bake for 22-24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Allow to cool on a wire rack. Keep in an airtight container. These taste great even the next day!

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

Just in time for Halloween here are the easiest pumpkins muffins in the world. They are moist, flavorful and adaptable to your flavor preferences as you can use whatever cake mix you prefer. I added in some mini chocolate chips so mine are technically three ingredients. :)

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
From Duncan Hines
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 box of cake mix - chocolate, vanilla, or spice work best
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
Optional: 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (white chips are better for spice or yellow cake mixes)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two muffin tins or place in muffin papers. Mix the can of pumpkin and cake mix together until combines. Stir in chips if using them. Fill muffin cups to almost full as these muffins don't rise very much. 

Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookies so when I saw this recipe for Snickerdoodle Muffins I was really excited to try them. They taste JUST like the cookies, but in muffin form, making them the best muffins I've ever made! Not the healthiest or most diet friendly, but they are so yummy! Cinnamon sugar coating on top of these soft fluffy muffin bottoms made these little babies disappear in a flash when I brought them into hubby's office for his co-workers. They will be a huge hit when you make them too!

Snickerdoodle Muffins
From Sweat Pea's Kitchen
Printable Version
Makes 16 muffins
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sour cream (greek yogurt would also work)
1/4 cup buttermilk


For the topping
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with muffin paper (do not use cooking spray). In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tarter, nutmeg and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Beat in half of dry ingredients then add in sour cream and buttermilk. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients until just incorporated (batter will be soft). To make the topping combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using an ice cream or large cookie scooper drop the scoop of batter into the bowl with sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the dough with the mixture and roll it around until it is covered completely. 

Place the ball into the muffin paper and repeat with remaining batter. Sprinkle the leftover cinnamon and sugar on the top of the batter. 

Bake until the muffin tops are golden brown, 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Set on wire rack to cool at least 5 minutes. 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I haven't had too many pregnancy craving yet but these chocolate chip muffins were probably my first official craving. Totally out of the blue and totally random, but the other day I  began thinking about homemade chocolate chip muffins and couldn't stop thinking about them til I whipped them up. The only other thing I've had a hankering for is root beer. Hmmm, chocolate chip and root beer - now that's a pretty yummy sounding combination!

These muffins are the best right out of the oven but are also great as a snack with a big glass of milk or your morning coffee. I loved the cinnamon sugar topping on these soft cake like muffins.

Chocolate Chip Muffins
From Joyofbaking.com
Makes 12 muffins
Printable Version
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled 
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips


Topping:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Position rack in center of oven. Butter or line with paper liners 12 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups. In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. In another large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. With a rubber spatular fold the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter into the dry ingredients. Stir only until the ingredients are combined - do not over mix the batter or muffins will be tough.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and sugar topping and sprinkle a little on top of each muffin. 

Place in the oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool about five minutes before removing from pan. 

Mini Pumpkin Muffins

I realize that posting a pumpkin recipe in December isn't going with the flow of Christmas cookies or other Holiday goodies, but I made these the other day and they are so yummy and soft and moist I still want to share them with you. This recipe comes from Deanna House, a cook book author from my home state of Michigan. The ladies in my Mom's family all love Deanna House and make her recipes frequently, so I decided to dive into her cookbook and start trying some out myself. 

Mini Pumpkin Muffins 
From Even More House Specialties by Deanna House
Printable Version
Ingredients
1/4 cup shortening or butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup mashed pumpkin
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup raisins if desired (I omitted these)


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. At medium speed, cream together shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, Allspice, and cloves; set aside. In a small bowl combine pumpkin and milk. 

Add dry ingredients alternately with pumpkin mixture to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir well after each addition. Add raisins if desired. Fill paper lined mini muffin cups 3/4 full of batter. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Blueberry Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

I stocked up on frozen berries at my last Trader Joe's visit, thinking I would start making smoothies. I made one smoothie and gave up. Smoothies are just not my thing. So I decided to make muffins with the berries instead.

I found this recipe of Emeril Lagasse's on Food Network and was sold because it received a 5 star rating. I didn't follow the recipe exactly because I didn't have walnuts, so substituted almonds instead for the struesel. I didn't have lemons either, but I am sure the lemon peel and lemon zest would have these muffins even better. They were very moist and I loved the pop of the berries in each bite. The streusel topping is of course the best part!

Blueberry Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
From Emeril on Food Network
Makes 18 muffins
Printable Version


Ingredients
For the topping:
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel


For the muffins:
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
2 large eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3/4 cup blueberries
3/4 cup raspberries


Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins or line with a standard with paper liners. To make the topping, in a medium bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In a large bowl beat the eggs with the melted butter. Add the buttermilk and lemon zest and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just to combine. Batter will be somewhat lumpy, do not over mix. 

Gently fold in the blueberries and raspberries to the berries do not break open. Pour into the prepared muffin tin. 

Crumble the streusel to topping over the muffins and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on wire racks.

30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30: English Muffins

My 30th birthday is one week away - EEEK! English Muffins were probably one of the most intimidating items on my list of 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30. I love English Muffins, but am not a baker! However, I have come to realize over the past year that baked goods are really not that difficult, just more time consuming and laborious. These English Muffins were no exception. They took several hours and lots of steps, but overall were not hard to make. I am really pleased with how they turned out and the fact that I will have fresh, homemade English Muffins for breakfast all week. I finished them in the afternoon, so topped my first one with a cream cheese and olive spread. I am really looking forward to topping them with eggs for breakfast. Yum!

Homemade English Muffins
From Kitchen M
Makes 8 - 10 English Muffins
Printable Version


Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 reduced fat buttermilk
1 - 2 tablespoon water
Extra flour and cornmeal for dusting
Cooking oil (I used vegetable oil)

Directions
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, active dry yeast, salt, and baking soda) and mix well. 

Add buttermilk and water and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts forming into dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth, soft, and pliable. If the dough is too wet, add a little bit of flour. If it is too dry, add a little more water. Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Sprinkle a large flat platter or a couple flat plates with cornmeal. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch. Cut the dough into 3 inch circles. I used a glass, but you could also use a 3" round cookie cutter. 

Place the circles onto the plates. Avoid working with the dough too much because it will get tough. You can gather the scrap pieces and combine to create more circles, but do not do this more than one time. Sprinkle cornmeal on top and allow to rest for 50 minutes.

Brush a large flat skillet with cooking oil. Heat to medium and place the muffins on the griddle so they are not touching. Cook on each side for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and repeat the procedure on each side for 2 more minutes each. Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. 

Cinnamon Flax Muffins

There is not much better, in my opinion, than a piping hot muffin with a huge glass of a cold milk. I wanted to find a muffin recipe that incorporated flax seed meal since I have a bunch sitting in my fridge but unfortunately, there aren't a lot of recipes out there with flax seed. Thankfully I came across this recipe at Your Organic Child. I modified the recipe by using more carrot and adding in sweetened coconut, which I had on hand. These muffins were soooo good. Very moist, sweet, and filling. I ate a couple for breakfast and didn't feel hungry at all until late into the afternoon. They also stay moist for several days which I've found that most muffins don't do. You could add in 1/2 cup of raisins, but my hubby despises raisins and I wanted to him to eat these, so left them out. This recipe makes 18 muffins.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill flax seed meal

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups shredded carrots

2 peeled and shredded apples

3/4 cup sweetened coconut

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together flour, flax seed meal, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Shred carrots and apples in a food processor. Stir in carrots, apples and coconut. Combine the milk and eggs. Pour into lightly greased muffin tins (I use cooking spray) and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.