Banana Chip Muffins



I really think those bears have the right idea.

Every winter, after eating a few fantastic Thanksgiving feasts, they hunker down in their cozy caves, wrapped in their plush fur coats, and dream away the winter.


I want in on that. Especially early in the morning when there aren't enough layers in the world to combat that freezing cold wind while dropping my daughter off at school. And then there are days like today, where, barring high-tech warming devices, it might actually be impossible to warm up. Even my fuzzy socks are failing me today. And to think, I used to constantly fight with mom to even wear a coat in the winter!

Well, since I don't get to hibernate like a bear, baked goods like these will definitely help me get through the cold cold days of winter. I grew up on these muffins, and after losing the recipe my mom gave me, I was convinced that any old banana chocolate chip recipe would suffice. WRONG. I actually tried quite a few different recipes, but soon realized that I wasn't going to be satisfied until I had the ones that reminded me of home.

These are everything a good banana muffin should be, moist, flavorful, and rich, but not too sweet. They are also a total snap to whip together, no mixer needed, just a good wooden spoon. Next time you have a few bananas ready to turn, give these a try. And stay warm out there friends!


Banana Chip Muffins
Provided Sweetly by My Mom

Ingredients

1 3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c choc chips
1 egg
1/4 c oil
1/4 c milk
3 mashed bananas

Directions

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.

Beat egg until frothy. Mix in oil, milk and bananas. Pour into the flour mixture. Stir to moisten.

Bake @ 400* for 20-25 minutes.
Yummy!

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins



Call me crazy, but among all of the star dishes of thanksgiving, I honestly think my very favorite is homemade cranberry sauce. I'll never go back to the canned version again, there's no comparison! But I don't just love to eat homemade cranberry sauce, it's fun to make. My favorite part is listening to the POP POP POP of the cranberries, I'm not going to lie, it makes me giggle like a five year old. But then after it's been made, it chills into a thickened tart treat that goes well with just about every meat and side of the meal.

Unfortunately I'm one of the only ones in my family that feels that way, which consequently leaves me with about a gallon of the stuff left when the holiday is over (you'd think halving the recipe would have dawned on me by now, but it hasn't). So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw these beauties on Maria's blog at Two Peas and Their Pod. This is not the first time I've made something from her blog, and it certainly won't be the last. She consistently posts the most delicious dishes and gorgeous pictures.

These muffins were a real family pleaser, I've already made two batches and will most likely be going for a third! My first batch are what you see in the pictures. My second batch I got a bit lazy and just threw the cranberry sauce right in the batter. It turned the them a delightful shade of pink and infused cranberry flavor in the whole muffin. Both were just delicious. If you have extra cranberry sauce on your hands, I highly recommend these. Thanks Maria!


Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins
By Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh cranberry orange sauce (about 2 tablespoons per muffin)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Rub in sugar and orange zest together. Whisk into dry ingredients.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk canola oil, egg, milk, and vanilla together.

5. Incorporate the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir together. The batter will be thick.

6. Place half the batter at the bottom of six muffin cups. Spoon about two tablespoons of fresh cranberry sauce on top of the muffin batter. Top muffins evenly with remaining muffin batter. Sprinkle each muffin generously with turbinado sugar.

7. Bake muffins for 15-17 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

Makes 6 large muffins

Lemon Blueberry Muffins




Sometimes cold and rainy days are great. You put on your comfies, a sit down to a nice movie or book and enjoy the warmth of your home. Buuuuut then you have days where the weather couldn't have picked a worse day to be cold and rainy. The kids are climbing the walls, trashing the house with every second and driving me absolutely insane. That's when recipes like this are huge life savers. I found this on Recipe Shoebox, a fabulous blog that you should go check out asap. As soon as I found it, I ordered the kids into the kitchen and got to baking. Muffins are so fun to make with kids, they're not complicated, but there are enough steps involved to keep them busy for a while.

The best part is not only are these a snap to make, they are INSANELY delicious. And this is coming from a person that doesn't usually go running to the muffin table. So soft and moist with the best flavor. Lemons and blueberries really were meant for each other. Two days and these bad boys were gone. I can't wait to make them again. Thanks Lara, you saved us on a rainy day!


Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
From the Recipe Shoebox.

Ingredients

2 cups flour (I used King Arthur's white whole wheat flour)
1 cup sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. cold butter, cut into 6-pieces
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

TOPPING I never did the topping, just covered the top in raw sugar. I imagine the topping is wonderful though!

2 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs (you want to be able to see small pea-sized clumps of butter still). In a separate smaller bowl, lightly beat together egg, milk, lemon juice, lemon rind and vanilla until blended. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until just blended (do NOT overmix). NOTE: Batter will be somewhat thick.

Fold blueberries into batter. Spoon batter evenly into well-greased muffin pan.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon until well blended. Spread mixture evenly over tops of muffin batter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°. Muffins should be golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 12 standard size muffins. Enjoy!
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artist photos