Pecan topped Pumpkin Muffins

Good Morning, Fall! There is something about Autumn that is warm and cozy. Even the shades of fall are cozy, the deep and bright hues of orange, red, auburn and even cappuccino browns. I love lighting candles throughout the house with hints of cinnamon, maple and apple. Bundled up for walks and football games. Trips to local tea rooms and coffee shops. Flavors of apple and pumpkin. Cuddling on the couch with nothing on the to-do-list. Unwinding in a warm hot-tub outside in the fresh brisk air. All things comfy and cozy!

If you've been following my blog for a while (ok, It couldn't have been that long because I just started the end of May!) or if you know me, there are two things or really three things that you have learned about me. I am a morning person! I will be happy to see you in the morning, just because I'm not really the grouchy type! Secondly, I love to bake. Last weekend I couldn't find my favorite muffin tin and I about panicked. I realized then, that aside from not being kind to my kids (the princess and the warrior) one of the meanest things you can do to me is hide my muffin tins! Thankfully before anyone got hurt I found it tucked away inside another muffin tin....whew! And lastly, my weakness is muffins. I don't know why, but I love muffins. Especially if they are adorned with any kind of sweet crunchy topping! And I am not a respecter of muffin types, except that they must be freshly made.

So fall and my love for muffins of course ensured the creation of the perfect muffin recipe. And I will stand by my belief that this is the best pumpkin recipe! A distinct pumpkin flavor, well balanced spice, soft and moist texture and crunch top. Definitely plan to make this recipe this week! Then pour yourself your favorite cup of coffee or tea and a great book, magazine or best friend and enjoy the season!

PECAN TOPPED PUMPKIN MUFFINS
(makes 17 muffins)
Ingredients

1-15oz can pumpkin purée
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Pecan Topping (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbl sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line muffin tins. In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin purée, eggs, both sugars, oil, and vanilla. Mix until well blended and smooth.
In another mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir a few times, making sure that you scrape the sides and the bottom. When you think you should stir it just one or two more times...STOP! Divide evenly between muffins tins.
In a little bowl combine pecans, cinnamon and sugar. Spoon over muffin batter. Bake for about 20 min.

Burn your fingers trying to peel back the paper to get your first bite because you can't resist the smell anymore and must have a bite now...or wait until the muffins cool down a bit and ENJOY!

Warmly,
Mary

Blueberry Almond Creme Muffins

Dear Neighbors,

I know that my kids get up early and we play outside before you are even thinking about getting out of bed. And I am terribly sorry that the warrior and the princess were screaming and singing at the top of their lungs as they rode their bikes up and down the street this morning. Please accept this as a token of my sincere apology...when you smell the overwhelming sweet aroma of fresh baked muffins billowing out of my window, just wait on your porch with your coffee and I will be by with my peace offering. I am positive that these wonderful blueberry muffins with a cream cheese filling and an almond topping with make up for your loss of sleep.

Warmly,
The mama of a princess and a warrior

Blueberry Almond Creme Muffins
(Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients for the Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups blueberries

Cream Filling
4 oz Cream Cheese, room temp
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract


Almond Topping Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 Tbl butter, melted


Heat oven to 400. In a small mixing bowl beat the egg, milk, oil, vanilla and almond extract. In a Medium mixing bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir in around three or four times then fold in the blueberries, you don't want to over mix muffins, I promise.

Okay, in another bowl add all of the Cream Filling ingredients and with mixer, cream it all together.

Lastly, in a small bowl mix together the Almond topping ingredients.

In a greased muffin tin, spoon half of the blueberry muffin mixture into the muffin wells. Add a spoonful of the filling on top of the blueberry mixture. Spoon the remaining half of the blueberry batter on top. And top it all off with a spoonful of the surgery almond topping. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

If the blueberry muffins weren't enough on their own, filled with cream cheese and topped with a sweet crunchy almonds should definitely win you over! Enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

Banana Nut Muffins

I once heard someone saying that they didn't like banana bread because it's always dry and tasteless. I thought "what planet are you from?". I had never had dry or tasteless banana bread. Then recently I had it from a mix and in that moment I experienced dry and tasteless banana bread. In 30 years of life I had never had bread from a mix and now knew why. Three thoughts came to mind 1) maybe had they added REAL bananas to the mix, it would have helped A LOT! 2) banana bread is not hard to make...why not make it from scratch? 3) I am now really hungry for the real stuff!

I have a go-to banana bread recipe that I use, but I wanted  to "play around" with creating a muffin recipe. I was ready...had my pen and paper handy and started measuring away. The kids helped, we baked them and they smelled wonderful! Before the muffins even cooled down the kids ate them up like nobody's business...I had to steal 1/2 of the last one so that I knew what it tasted like. But something just wasn't right....what is it? Something was missing...it's moist, great texture, nice banana flavor but not...hmm...not sweet...oh, the sugar! I left out the sugar! And the kids still LOVED the sugar-less Banana Nut Muffins! Even so, obviously I had to make them again, to finalize the true recipe. Yep, perfect! And if you've tried my Very Merry Blueberry Muffins you know I like a sweet crunchy top, which these have!

If you only have 10 minutes to whip up some quick bread...please give these a shot. It will be worth it! If not I have some in my freezer because a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old could not possibly eat another dozen muffins! Even if this batch did have sugar in them!

Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 bananas, mashed with a fork (Use 3 bananas if you dare! I would!)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Crumb Topping (optional but totally worth it!)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup butter, melted

Handful of chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400. Spray or grease muffin pan. In a medium bowl mix the first four ingredients. In a small bowl, beat egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Then stir in the bananas and the sugar. Add the banana mixture and walnuts to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Divide equally into the muffin pan. I use a large ice cream scoop and they come out perfectly equal every time.

Now for the crumb topping mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter, mix well. Add in walnuts if you choose. Spoon evenly over the muffins. Bake for 20 minutes.


Eat them up while they are nice and warm! Enjoy my friends!

Warmly, 
Mary

My Very Merry Blueberry Muffins

This is my favorite food on the planet. And there is no better place for me to start than my greatest weakness...muffins. Oh my how I love muffins. Banana, apple, even raisin bran. It doesn’t matter what kind, I love muffins. But THESE are my ultimate favorite! They are moist, soft, spongy, bursting with blueberry sweetness. And to top it off, a delicious crunchy crumb topping.

I don’t know about you, but I do not NEED a dozen wonderful muffins sitting around my kitchen. So a while back I perfected my blueberry muffin recipe and cut it so it only makes six! One for Superman, one for the Warrior boy, one for the Princess girl and three for me!

Oh ya, I guess I need to share one more detail about my family with you. We are very healthy eaters. VERY healthy. In fact I don’t know anyone else who eats as whole as we do. But I still love my food and fabulous recipes. And I love making people smile with my food. So, this is a special occasion food and it is in no way healthy! And I love it! So, please don’t try to suggest to me how I can make this healthier. Cause I don’t wanna. That’s why I’m only making six of them, okay? Oh wait, I use fresh blueberries amongst all the butter and flour and sugar. And blueberries are REALLY healthy, so there!

My Very Merry Blueberry Muffins

(makes 6)
 

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 egg

1/3 c milk

2 Tb oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup butter, melted

Handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Spray or grease 6 muffin tin wells (I don’t know the “correct” terminology, but you know what I mean). In a med bowl mix all the dry ingredients (first 4 items). In a small bowl or measuring cup beat egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just a couple of times, parts of it will still look dry. Now add the blueberries.  I use a full cup, you may think it’s too much, I don’t! Divide equally into the 6 muffin wells. I use a large ice cream scoop and they come out perfectly equal every time. 

Now for the crumb topping mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter, mix well. Add in walnuts if you choose. Spoon over the muffins. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. 

While they are hot, if you dare, cut in half and smear with butter. OH MY! Enjoy!

Look at all those amazing blueberries!

Warmly,

Mary