Winter Squash and Cranberry Muffins Perfect for Sleepovers

It's December already and I am still sorting through summer clothes and several newspaper articles from last March and April that I was going to read when I had more time.

Why am I always so far behind?

I should be posting about Hanukkah. But somehow I am more focused on New Year's weekend. Probably because I made some unbelievably delicious winter squash muffins recently.

That really isn't a non sequitur. I thought of these muffins because every year we celebrate the coming new year with my brother and sister-in-law and my cousins. The cousins sleep over for a few days. We watch a lot of movies. Watch a lot of British mystery tv (Morse, Endeavor, Foyle's War, etc.). We sit around and enjoy each other's company.

We used to drink a lot of wine but have slowed down over the years.

We used to eat much more too.

(You get older, you can't keep going quite the same way, the same amount, the same speed.)

Still, there are meals to consider.

Breakfasts are usually smoked fish, bagels and stuff like that. 

But every once in a while I like to break up the monotony and have at least one different something for breakfast.

This year: those squash muffins I mentioned. I made a few batches recently and I can honestly say that they are the best muffins I ever ate. I've given some out as samples to my usual "tasters." Most of them also said they were the best muffins they ever ate. 

You'll see.

WINTER SQUASH-CRANBERRY MUFFINS

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 cup mashed cooked squash (or canned squash or pumpkin)
• 3/4 cup fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger and whisk the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Set aside. Beat the sugar and vegetable oil in the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium for a minute or so or until well combined. Add the eggs and beat them in. Add the orange juice and squash and blend them in thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients to the squash mixture and stir gently until just blended. Fold in the cranberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared tins. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins

Carrot Spice and Honey Muffins

I always make a few carrot dishes for Rosh Hashanah. It's tradition!

Most often it's soup, sometimes a side dish.

This year I baked carrot muffins. Big breakfast winner for everyone, especially the grandkids.

Freezable too, so you can have them on hand whenever you might have a need. Like Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving weekend.

Carrot Spice and Honey Muffins

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, yogurt, honey, cooled butter and vanilla extract. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and stir gently just until blended. Fold in the carrots and raisins. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the muffins are golden brown. Let cool in the tins for 2-3 minutes, then remove the muffins to a rack to cool.

Makes 12  

Zucchini Muffins

This summer I was finally able to grow tomatoes. I had lots of them and there are still more to come!

I feel as if I finally did it right because I have failed every year up to now.

It makes me confident about next year, and not just about tomatoes. I might try to grow peppers and string beans and all sorts of things.

Maybe even zucchini. Now's the time of year that several people I know are harvesting their zucchinis, and some are gigantic! I'd like to see those in my garden.

For now I have to rely on my neighbors' and friends' generosity!

Here's what I did with zucchini this week. These muffins are not too sweet so you can have them for breakfast as well as snack.

 

Zucchini Muffins

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 1 cup raisins, optional 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. In a large bowl whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl combine the vegetable oil, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until well blended. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in the zucchini and optional raisins. Spoon the batter into the tins. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Invert the muffins onto the rack to cool completely.

Makes 12

Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

A few weeks ago I bought about 60 pounds of apples.

That's a lot of apples.

And even I can hardly believe that after making many pies, a few cakes, some baked apples, apple crisps and apple brown bettys, mounds of applesauce, a couple chicken-apple recipes, including a salad, all my apples are gone.

Oh no! 

I still have a pancake recipe to try! 

Hard to believe I'll have to buy another few pounds. 

But before I ran out of apples, I did get to try these Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins which are gorgeous and delicious and such a welcome, seasonal treat (with cider or coffee or tea) for Hallowe'en or Thanksgiving or simply for breakfast or coffee break.

 

Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Streusel:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut in smaller pieces, or coconut oil

Muffins:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups chopped apples

To make the streusel: place the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and mix to distribute the ingredients evenly. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture looks crumbly. Set aside.

To make the muffins: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk until the ingredients are evenly distributed. In another bowl, combine the pumpkin, vegetable oil and eggs and blend thoroughly. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the apples. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the streusel. Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are browned and crispy and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Makes 12

Pumpkin Spice Corn Muffins

It's October, almost Hallowe'en, which means you're going to see "pumpkin spice" everything. Cake. Ice cream. Latte. Whatever.

I decided to get in on the act. Especially because I have been experimenting with mashed pumpkin for a variety of recipes and have (actually, had) loads of it in my fridge.

These Pumpkin Spice Corn Muffins are among the tastiest results.

Corn muffins are some of my favorite breakfast breads but sometimes they're too dry or too grainy. I have several good recipes though. 

Adding mashed pumpkin and autumn spices to the batter gives the corn muffins a warm and comfy flavor. In addition, the muffins are dense, moist and tender. Not dry, not grainy. 

Pumpkin Spice Corn Muffins

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1-1/4 cups cornmeal 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon until well blended. In another bowl mix the egg, milk, pumpkin and cooled butter until well blended. Pour the liquid into the cornmeal mixture and stir to blend the ingredients. Spoon equal amounts into the muffin cups.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 10

Oat Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

Oat Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

Having company for the Labor Day weekend? 

Need a breakfast bread for the back-to-school crowd?

Brunch item?

These banana muffins will suit so many needs.

Oat-Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 small very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin tins. Mix the flour, 1/2 cup oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together in a bowl. In a second bowl, mix the banana, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just to bend ingredients. Spoon equal amounts into the greased muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the 2 tablespoons oats. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 12

Tips on Salt Free, Plus Blueberry Muffins, salt free and vanilla-y

Salt Free Blueberry Muffins

Everyone pokes fun at the "old folks" who talk about their "conditions" and "ailments" and pills.

But it's okay because sometimes it makes serious stuff easier to handle if you can joke about it, as long as you actually take the serious stuff seriously.

So before our annual new year’s festivities, when our cousins come for a few days, we went over whether there were any new dietary restrictions.

There was: no salt. (I mentioned it last week when I talked about serving India-style shakshuka instead of the usual herrings and smoked fish for brunch on New Year’s Day.0

We joked about our conditions and ailments and pills. And understood that we weren't talking about our grandparents or even our parents, but about ourselves. 

We had become them.

When did that happen?

Don't laugh youngsters. If you're lucky, this will happen to you too. It's one of the costs of growing older.

On the other hand, from a food point of view? Not lucky. No salt is a real UGH.

Salt is the salt of the earth. It's what makes so many foods taste so good.

Food without salt is, well, not as tasty. Let's just admit it and move on.

And, moving on, if you have to cook without salt, you have to and that's that. So you have to come up with ways to make the food taste good without it.

Among the salt-free dishes I prepared over the weekend were blueberry muffins. 

What did I do to make sure they didn't taste like a box of Cheerios? (I don't mean the Cheerios, I mean the box.)

I added extra vanilla to my standard recipe. A good brand of pure vanilla extract — I bought it at Penzey’s), not imitation vanilla.

I could also have added 2 teaspoons of grated fresh orange or lemon peel but I knew this particular company would not have enjoyed that. 

I could have included 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts -- both of these nuts pack plenty of flavor, but I don't keep those nuts in my house because of allergies.

The tip here is to add powerful, flavorful ingredients that perk up the dish so you won't miss the salt.

We didn't.

Blueberry Muffins

• 5 tablespoons butter

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 large egg

• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange or lemon peel, optional

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 8 muffin tins. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Place the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, vanilla extract and orange peel (if used) in a second bowl and whisk to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix just until combined. Fold in the blueberries and optional nuts. Fill muffin tins evenly with the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 15 minutes. Remove the muffins and serve warm or let cool to room temperature.

Makes 8

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

A few days ago I posted a recipe for gluten free blueberry muffins made with almond flour and oat bran.

But a gluten free diet is not for everyone, so if you’re like me and can’t resist the tons of blueberries available now and buy them by the six-pack as I do, and you also love blueberry muffins in the summer when the berries are so fat and sweet, here’s a really simple recipe for traditional blueberry muffins.

These are plain, vanilla-y flavored. You can add a teaspoon of grated fresh lemon peel or orange peel for a more citrusy taste. You can also add a half cupful of chopped nuts.

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup plain yogurt

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a bowl. In a second bowl, combine the yogurt, egg and vanilla extract and blend them thoroughly. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just to bend ingredients. Fold in the blueberries. Drop into the muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 10

The Tea Plantation; Honey Corn Muffins

Last week’s post about taking Lila to tea got me thinking about the tea plantation Ed and I visited in Sri Lanka.

The place went on for acres and acres, it was a fabulous, warm, sunny day and we were able to see everything from plant to package and then, of course, we sipped tea and nibbled on cake in the shade of a beautiful garden.

We learned a lot too.

In case you don’t already know this, all tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant. Flavor differences have to do with lots of other factors such as where the plant is grown, the acidity of the soil, leaf size and so on, and also how it is processed, (whether it is left immature, or green, or “fermented” to darken; whether it is smoked, blended with other teas, etc.).

Sri Lanka is known for its tea and Ed and I agree it’s the best tea in the world, which is why we were so excited to spend a day and see exactly how it’s made.

The plantation we went to wasn’t totally set up for visitors, but we were able to speak with some of the workers who showed us the entire tea-leaf process. You can see one of the women plucking the tops — only the new, light green growths are harvested (every 7 days on this plantation). Then (second photo), the leaves are placed in a bin to wither and dry. Once they dry somewhat they are sent (photo 3) to crushing machines (photo 4), which breaks the leaves. The leaves are then dried some more and as they dry they oxidize and change color from golden to dark blackish-brown, to achieve varieties of tea such as oolong and different black teas. (Green tea and white tea are not oxidized.)

Finally, the leaves are sorted for quality (photo 5).

The best quality teas are sold in bulk, as whole or partially broken leaves; the lowest quality teas are tiny, crushed, sometimes almost powdery leaves packed into tea bags. For the most part I can say that tea bags are less messy and more convenient but tea tastes better when you make it from loose tea leaves.

After visiting a tea plantation I prefer the loose tea, if only because I know how much work is involved and it makes me appreciate the beverage better.

Your choice on that though. Whatever you choose, enjoy the muffins, which are perfect no matter what kind of tea you pick.  

If you are ever in a place where you can visit a tea plantation, I recommend it highly. It’s a good learning experience and lots of fun too.                                                                                                                                             

Honey Corn Muffins

5 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons honey

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

2/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease 8 muffin cups. Melt the butter with the honey and set aside to cool. In a bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In another bowl mix the egg, milk and cooled butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour the liquid into the cornmeal mixture and stir to blend the ingredients. Spoon equal amounts into the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 8

Yogurt Spice Muffins

When I was a little girl I heard a woman say she wanted to “clip coupons for a living.”

I had no idea what that meant but later learned that she wanted to be rich and own lots of stocks and bonds and in those days apparently, in order to collect the interest on a bond you had to physically clip an attached coupon and present it at the bank.

I clip coupons. Not the bond kind though. The supermarket kind. You know, $.50 off a carton of milk and so on. It won’t make me rich but it will save me some money.

And also it allows me to try new products that I might not have tried because I don’t have to pay the full price for them.

So I was happy the other day to get a few coupons for Maia yogurt, a new brand for me. Anyone who reads this blog knows I eat and cook with yogurt all the time, so this was a natural for me to try. I usually buy plain yogurt because I think the flavored ones are way too sweet. But I couldn’t find plain Maia and so I bought strawberry and vanilla.

I can tell you that as for eating out of hand these yogurts are very creamy and thick, but not at all starchy. The milk comes from grass-fed cows; the yogurts are completely gluten-free, GMO free and kosher.

Best of all, for me anyway, they are not cloyingly sweet. There’s much less sugar in these yogurts than in other brands. So they are good to eat as a snack and also to bake with, because the amount of sweetener won’t mess up a recipe meant to be prepared with unflavored yogurt.

For example in these Yogurt Spice Muffins.

Also, click on this coupon link so you can try it for yourself.

NOTE: the recipe calls for a full cup of yogurt (more than one container)

Yogurt Spice Muffins

5 tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 cup Maia vanilla yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

sugar or finely chopped almonds for garnish, optional

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour 10-12 muffin cups. Melt the butter and set aside. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves in a bowl. Set aside. In another bowl whisk the eggs, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla extract together until thoroughly blended. Fold the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients until just blended. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups. Sprinkle tops with sugar or almonds, if desired. Bake for about 18 minutes or until the muffins are set and lightly browned. Let cool in the cups for 5 minutes then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. Makes 10-12