South Beach Peanut Butter Muffins

One of the things I miss most during phase one of the South Beach Diet is the loss of baked goods. Breads, cookies, rolls, muffins, cakes... *sigh.*  This year, I found a recipe for muffins, using ground flax seed and ground almonds instead of flour.  They will not win any tasting contest, but man did they hit the spot when a baked-good craving hit!


INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup egg whites (2-3 eggs)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup ground almonds (* My Magic Bullet did a great job on this!)
1/4 cup Splenda granular, sugar substitute (* I used Stevia. This has a "different" aftertaste to it. If you're not used to it, I would use Splenda or another sugar substitute).
1/2 cup natural-style peanut butter
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Melt peanut butter in microwave for 1 minute or until smooth.
• Mix all ingredients together.
• Pour into mini muffin cups (24 cup tray), and bake 15 minutes.

*FYI - I received a Babycakes Cupcake Maker for Christmas. This was the first time I tried it out and it worked great! As you can see from the photo, it makes mini-muffins, but the non-stick meant I didn't need to use any liners. 

Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins

I was looking for a new recipe to bring to my mom's group at church for breakfast. Cinnamon rolls are so yummy, but time-consuming and not the easiest to make in large quantity.  These muffins from Joy the Baker caught my eye.  They taste as good as they look! I think having the yeast in them makes them more authentic.


INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp active dry or rapid rise yeast
2/3 cup warm milk (100-110F; low fat is fine)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

Filling/Topping
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground cardamom (optional)

Icing  
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk or cream

DIRECTIONS:
* DO NOT PREHEAT YOUR OVEN!!!


In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Dissolve the yeast in a measuring cup filled with the warmed milk, then stir milk mixture, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and egg into the flour mixture. Mix well, until very smooth. Divide evenly between well greased and/or papered muffin tin and let rest for 15 minutes. (*My silicon muffin pans worked well for these as the sugar filling that bubbled out was very sticky on the metal pan but popped right out of the silicon one.) (*Also, these will rise, so do not overfill. Make it come out to an even dozen.)

While the dough rests, mix together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a small bowl using a fork until all the butter has been incorporated into the sugar and mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly on top of rested dough and press the mixture down into the dough with your fingertips (or swirl in with a spatula.) (*Be careful not to leave dents in the muffins or they will come out a bit sunken. The ones where I tried to cover back over the sugar with dough came out the prettiest.)

Place pan into a cold oven, then set the oven temperature to 350F.


Bake for about 20 minutes, until bread is lightly browned at the edges and the center of the bread springs back when lightly pressed. Some of the sugar mixture on top may still be bubbling.

Cool for at least 30 minutes before whisking the powdered sugar and milk together to form an icing and drizzling it onto the bread.

Serve warm. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.


Yield: 1 dozen muffins

Pineapple Banana Muffins

Yes, more muffins! Another great recipe from Let's Dish.  Elise only ate the tops of these (she only eats the main muffin part if it contains chocolate chips...) but Caelyn and I loved the whole thing.  I like to pop one in the toaster before eating to crisp up the coconut topping a bit. Yummo!

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Topping
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped nuts (<-- I omit this)
1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat the eggs, oil and vanilla; stir in the pineapple and mashed bananas. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill lined muffin cups with batter, about 2/3 full.  Top with a generous amount of coconut topping.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  



Yield: 2 dozen

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

It's fall! You know what goes best with fall? Pumpkin baked goods!  HOWEVER. Since we are still in the midst of a national canned pumpkin shortage, apples to the rescue! Elise and I made these scrumptious muffins this afternoon and they are a keeper. I used the All-Star Muffin base recipe from my KAF Baker's Companion, with the suggested variation of apple and cinnamon.


INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream (or 1 cup plain yogurt + 1 tsp baking soda)
3-4 tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar to 1 tbsp cinnamon) plus extra to sprinkle on top

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel and grate apples.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a handheld mixer until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add the vanilla and sour cream and combine.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until halfway combined. Then add apples and cinnamon sugar. Mix just until combined.

Fill lined muffins cups and sprinkle a bit of cinnamon sugar on top. Bake for 18 - 24 minutes, or until a toothpick  inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Using my Pampered Chef large scoop, this made 32 muffins.

Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Another wonderful find on allrecipes! These are really yummy and with the alterations I've made below - it sneaks in some healthy elements as well. We've gotten into a habit of having a muffin for Caelyn as a "come home from school snack" and these are a favorite for sure.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/4 oil and 1/4 applesauce)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 
  

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

Yield: 1 dozen

Fall Comfort Muffins

I've had this recipe from The Finer Things in Life for a while and finally decided to make it. It was a hit! The pumpkin flavor is barely there, but I like that it adds some nutrition.

Ingredients:
1 c. melted butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. honey
4 eggs
1/3 c. water
1 c. mashed banana
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus (I used a CopyCat recipe) or pumpkin pie spice
2 c. white flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. chocolate chips (or a few more)

Directions:
Blend sugar and butter. Add honey, eggs, and water. Mix well. Add banana and pumpkin. Mix well. Stir dry ingredients together, add to wet batter just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Makes 3 dozen muffins exactly (using my Pampered Chef large scoop).

Banana-Chip Oat Muffins

A really yummy recipe from allrecipes.com. Healthy, too!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until crumbly. Beat in the bananas, egg, applesauce and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.

Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners; fill three-fourths full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Yield: 12 - 16 muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I found these on allrecipes (where else?), but found they make great jumbo muffins! They are SO good, one regular sized-muffin just wasn't enough.


INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (*OR 3/4 cup sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (*at least one cup)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt/sour cream and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. (* I lightly floured the chocolate chips to help keep them from sinking during baking)

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes (for regular muffins, 27 minutes for jumbo) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

SERVINGS: 16 regular or 8 jumbo muffins