Rhubarb Streusel Muffins

Inspiration:
Tim's love of rhubarb and allrecipes.com

Notes:
The recipe is for bread, but it made a perfect dozen of muffins. I baked them about 30 minutes.

Tim's Rating: 10/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10

TWD: Whole Wheat Mango Muffins

For this week on Tuesdays with Dorie, I modified the Fresh Mango Bread recipe into a whole wheat muffin recipe. They turned out great!

You can find the recipe on Baking with the Boys.

I halved the recipe, which made 8 muffins. I omitted the raisins and used half whole-wheat and half all-purpose flour. I baked them for about 25 minutes. I loved the spices combined with the sweet mango and will definitely make these again!

Liz's Rating: 9/10
Tim's Rating: 8.5/10

TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

Inspiration:
A Tuesdays with Dorie recipe chosen by Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake and found on page 6 of Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Notes:
These were really, really good. A bit crumbly. I omitted the bell pepper and added extra corn. We enjoyed them with big bowls of Cumin Chili.
Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Zucchini Muffins

Inspiration:
The Simple Recipes blog
as well as a large zucchini from our CSA

....AND this lovely new kitchen tool. Thanks, Mom!
Ingredients:

• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add these dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture. Fold in the walnuts and dried raisins or cranberries if using.
2. Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

Recipe Notes:

• Much like the banana bread, these zucchini muffins are insanely good and insanely easy to make. No mixer, wooden spoon only, and two bowls, though you could really even make the batter in one bowl. Very moist. Just sweet enough.
  

• You don't need a mixer for this recipe.
• If you are including walnuts and dried fruit, you will likely have more batter than is needed for 12 muffins. I got about 14 muffins from this batch, and that included filling the muffin cups up as far as they could possibly go (above the surface of the muffin tin).
• For those of you who prefer to use oil over butter, be my guest (use 1 cup vegetable oil instead of the butter) but I have to tell you, I've made these both ways, and the butter version just tastes better.
  
  

My Notes:
These are really good! I wish it used up more zucchini than it did-- I got 4.5 cups shredded zucchini from one medium-large zucchini. I froze the remaining cup and a half. I still have three large zucchini left, and more coming next Thursday! I have added a zucchini tag to this blog to help other people with lots of it!

Liz's Rating: 9/10
Tim's Rating: 9/10

Strawberry Oat Muffins

Inspiration:
Strawberries from our CSA and this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a muffin pan, or use paper liners. In a small bowl, combine oats and buttermilk, and let stand 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the egg, oil, brown sugar and vanilla. Blend in the oat mixture. Stir in the flour mixture, just until moistened. Fold in strawberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes: I don't know if I would make these again. They taste good but don't have the "wow" factor of Katie's strawberry cupcakes. If you do try these, use paper liners as these muffins fell apart pretty easily.

Liz's Rating: 8/10

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Source:
Food and Wine

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the blueberries. In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, oil and lemon zest, then whisk in the lemon juice. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture until blended; do not overmix.
2. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins stand in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes:
"Using frozen berries makes the batter incredibly thick and keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the pan. Of course, the muffins are fantastic with fresh blueberries as well.
Once thoroughly cooled, the muffins can be kept overnight in an airtight container."

My Notes:
Next time I will sprinkle a little sugar on top before baking. These are very, very good.

Tim: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 9.5/10

Cheddar-Olive Muffins

Inspiration:

The need for an "official snack" for book club and this recipe from Food and Wine

Ingredients:

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon each of baking soda and sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 2 tablespoons Spanish green olives, pitted and chopped
• 1 1/4 packed cups farmstead cheddar cheese, shredded
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line three 12-cup mini-muffin tins with paper or foil liners. Alternatively, lightly butter and flour the cups, tapping out any excess flour.


2. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the egg. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Whisk in the chives and olives and 3/4 cup of the shredded cheddar. Add the buttermilk mixture and the melted butter; stir just until moistened.


3. Spoon the batter into the prepared tins and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.


4. Bake the muffins for about 16 minutes, or until golden.


5. Let cool in the tins for 10 minutes before serving.

Suggested beverage: Juicy, ripe Petite Sirah: 2001 Guenoc North Coast.

(Suggestion made by Food and Wine)

Notes from Food and Wine: "Perfect as a snack with red wine, these supremely cheesy and crusty little muffins have shredded cheddar folded into the rich batter and sprinkled on top. If miniature food is not your thing, you can also use this recipe to make 12 standard-size muffins and bake them for about 20 to 22 minutes."

My Notes: My book club is meeting at a lakeside cabin tonight, and I am so excited! Each member is to bring an "official snack" which is code for something in between a snack and a meal. This is more of a regular snack than an "official snack," but knowing my book club, they'll love them anyway. Especially because they will go well with the red wine we'll be drinking! The olive flavor is not overwhelming-- it's the perfect amount. Don't make them if you don't like cornbread.

Tim's Rating: n/a (Tim neither likes olives nor is in book club!)

Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Lemon-Glazed Candied-Ginger Muffins

Inspiration:
I wanted to make Martha Stewart's recipe for Lemon-Glazed Candied-Ginger Cookies, but of course I didn't read the recipe all the way through before I bought all of the ingredients. When it came time to make them, I didn't feel like rolling out the dough and using a cookie cutter, chilling between steps, and so on.

SO, I found this recipe for Lemon and Candied Ginger muffins.


Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter, soft
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tbsp zest)
• 3/4 cup milk (low fat is ok)
• 1/2 cup candied ginger, in small pieces
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
  
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter/sugar mix, working in two or three additions and beating at a low speed (or by hand) only until just combined. Stir in candied ginger.
5. Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups and bake for about 15 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the top of the muffin springs back when lightly pressed.
6. Cool on a wire rack, drizzling with lemon glaze (below) while muffins are still slightly warm.
7. In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar with enough lemon juice to make a glaze that will drizzle easily from the tines of a fork. You don’t have to be exact, and can always add either a bit more juice or a bit more sugar to achieve a good consistency.
   
8. Drizzle a little glaze over each muffin and let dry for at least a few minutes before serving.

Tim's Rating: 8.5/10
Liz's Rating: 7.5/10

Raisin Bran Muffins

Inspiration:
Everyday Food

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for tin
• 1 1/2 cups raisin bran cereal
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil a 6-cup standard muffin tin. In a medium bowl, combine cereal and milk; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Stir oil, egg, and sugar into cereal mixture. Fold in flour mixture. Divide batter among cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in tin 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack; let cool completely, or serve warm. Store up to 5 days at room temperature in a resealable plastic bag.

Notes: I think that they're good, and healthier than most muffins, but they don't really taste very much like raisin bran. I think I will add more raisins next time!

Suggested beverage: hot black tea

Tim's Rating: 9/10 ("These were supposed to be raisin? I don't think I had raisins in mine.")
Liz's Rating: 8/10

Banana Bread Muffins

Inspiration:
Tim's request for banana bread with walnuts and this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place muffin cups in muffin tin, or grease with a little butter.
2. Mix sugar, oil, and egg until creamy and light yellow. Add bananas and walnuts. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until completely smooth. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin.
3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until toothpick poked in center muffin comes out clean.

Notes: Makes one dozen muffins

Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10