Best Use of Bananas That are on Death's Door

A few days ago, I had some bananas that were on their last leg....on death's door I like to say. So, I made these muffins and they were perfect. These may have been the most moist muffins I have ever made using bananas. Whole wheat flour has become one of my newest loves. Try them and you will love then, especially if you like banana bread.


Whole Wheat Banana Muffins:


1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 350. Line or grease a 12 cup muffin pan. Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the mashed bananas, honey and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour, stirring until smooth. Divide batter into the muffin cups. Bake the muffins for 25 minutes.

Chocolate For Breakfast

These yummy little muffins come from the same Miss Daisy's Tearoom cookbook that the Lemon Freeze came from. We ordinarilly do not have chocolate first thing in the morning, but, hubs had to get to work so wee needed something quick. Also, we had been wanting to try them for a while now.

Turns out my mom, sneaky as she is, actually already tried them before we could get to them. I guess she told the truth when she said she couldn't wait to see how we were going to like them. They are much like a fudge pie, just in muffin form. If you like chocolate, this is really the way to go.

Fudge Muffins:

4 1oz. blocks semi sweet chocolate
1 cup butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, although I feel sure we mistakenly set ours to 350 degrees. In a saucepan on low heat, melt the butter and chocolate squares. Set aside to cool. With a mixer, beat the sugar, salt, and flour, with the eggs, adding them one at a time. Add vanilla and walnuts to chocolate mixture that has cooled. Blend chocolate mixture into the egg, sugar, and flour mixture. Pour batter into greased muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes.

This recipe is linked to:
Mommy's Kitchen for Potluck Sunday
Tidy Mom
Simply Sweet Home
It's a Blog Party

Say Cheese!!

Fig’s Cheese Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded colby-jack cheese
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter (I used salted)
Whisk together dry ingredients, then stir in cheese.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk, and butter together. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir with a spoon to combine.
Bake in greased muffin tins at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

This comes from the Pioneer Woman.

Not a Halloween Dish

Pumpkin Oat Muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins

Topping:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 T all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spic
1 T cold butter

In large bowl, combine first six ingredients. Combine egg, pumpkin, milk and oil. Add to dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in oats and raisins. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. In small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and pie spice. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle 1 rounded teaspoonful over each muffin. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack. Serve warm.

P B & J.....Muffin Style

Peanut Butter & Jelly Mini Muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoon strawberry or grape jelly

In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small mixing bowl, beat together eggs, yogurt, peanut butter and oil until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until moistened. Fill the greased or paper-lined muffin cups half-full. Top each with 1/4 teaspoon jelly and remaining batter. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.

Year Round Favorite

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pumpkin bread and/or muffins. I make them year round, but especially love them during the holiday season. I have no recollection where this recipe came from, but I would be crushed if something happened to it. I can hardly believe that I have not posted this before now.

Pumpkin Bread:

3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2-1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin together in a large bowl. In another large bowl, sift the flour. Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Add this to the pumpkin mixture. Stir in the water. Combine well. Pour into 2 well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the bread. If it is not fully cooked, place it back into the oven for about 10 more minutes.

*You can also pour this into greased muffin tins. If you are making muffins, they only cook for approximately 30 minutes.

Muffin Madness

It is incredible how fast the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays seem to be approaching. When James and I went grocery shopping today, we noticed that all the shelves are fully stocked for the holiday baking season. We love muffins in our home, and this recipe will be sure to show up several times during the holidays. We might even have these on Thanksgiving morning. Hopefully you will love them just as much.


Carrot Raisin Bran Muffins:

1 ¼ cup unprocessed wheat bran or oat bran cereal
¾ tsp. whole wheat flour
¾ cup all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Cinnamon
2/3 cup skim milk
2 large eggs
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
¾ cup finely grated carrots
¾ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 12 count muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the cereal, flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the mix. Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, and oil. Stir in the carrots and raisins. Pour into the well of dry ingredients and fold in until mix is moist. Pour 1/3 cup batter into each section of the muffin tin. Let batter rest 5 minutes. Bake 15 to 18 minutes.

A Taste of Autumn

This yummy little muffin recipe comes from an issue of Cooking Light. I honestly can't remember which month it was, but nonetheless, they are worth your time. This is great for the fall too!. If you need something quick for overnight visitors during the holiday season, this is your recipe!

Cranberry Orange Muffins:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. grated orange rind
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups coarsely chopped, fresh cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Level with a knife. Set aside 1 Tbsp. sugar. Combine flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Make a well into the center of the mixture. Combine rind, juice, oil, and egg in a small bowl. Stir well with a whisk. Add this to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts. Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups, coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved sugar. Bake 15 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly. Run a spatula or knife around outer edge of each muffin cup. Carefully remove and place on wire rack to cool.

Many Memories

This recipe takes me back to my childhood. I remember several visits to the restaurant that introduced me to these yummy little muffins. They can be served alongside any meal or simply as a snack. I have been making them for probably close to 25 years.

Raisin Bran Muffins
1 15 oz. box Raisin Bran cereal
3 cups sugar
5 cups all purpose flour
5 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 quart buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in very large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Mix very well as this will be a lot of batter. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake 15 minutes. Serve with butter. This batter will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Nuts!!!!

Okay, yes, I admit, I am in the beginning stages of going nuts! I return to work in a little more than 24 hours, and let's just say I am ill prepared. I feel this way after every vacation it seems. I have lots to do in little time. Dear sweet James is the best husband a girl could ask for. He knows this is coming every year at the same time, and he does everything humanly possible to help me maintain sanity. We thought a recipe including nuts was appropriate for tonight. This recipe is good for breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Pecan Pie Muffins

1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter

Combine the first 3 ingredients. Make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they begin to look foamy. Stir the butter into the eggs. Add the egg mixture into the center of the well with the dry ingredients. Combine well until the mixture is moist. Bake in muffin tins for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.