Pear & Cinnamon Muffins ~ #MuffinMonday

January 28, 2013 By 21 Comments

Brr, it’s freezing in Baltimore. It’s the kind of cold that causes you to burrow under thick, down-filled blankets for relief. The kind of cold that commands layers of socks, shirts, and thermals. The kind of cold that requires a space heater right next to your feet while you’re watching television. I’ve been living in thermal pjs, fuzzy socks, and my furry cupcake robe. It’s not sexy, people, but sexy gets thrown out the door when it’s only 19 degrees outside.

The one thing that helps warm me up is baking, so I made these pear and cinnamon muffins with a brown sugar almond streusel for #MuffinMonday.

They’re full of chopped ripe pears, maple syrup, and greek yogurt. They’re absolutely delicious.

The pears add a moist, buttery texture to this muffin, while the cinnamon and maple add warmth.

The brown sugar almond streusel is my favorite. It adds a crunchy, nutty topping.

Enjoy!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Pear & Cinnamon Muffins
 
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Recipe type: muffins, quick breads

Ingredients
Muffins
  • 4 tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • ⅓ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 cup chopped pears
  • ⅓ cup cinnamon chips
Streusel
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup flour
  • ¼ cup quick oats
  • ¼ cup sliced almonds
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and melted butter. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract.
  4. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in greek yogurt and maple syrup until smooth.
  5. Fold in pears and cinnamon chips.
  6. Fill the muffin liners with the batter until they’re ⅔ of the way full. Top with streusel.
  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Streusel
  1. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, oats, almonds, cinnamon, and flour. Stir in melted butter until combined.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

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Pumpkin & Apple Butter Granola

October 25, 2012 By 16 Comments

It’s officially fall in Baltimore. There’s a nip in the air, the leaves are a beautiful shade of bright red orange, the sky is cloudy and gray, I’ve busted out my hoodies and North Face jacket, and I’m still in flip-flops. I know that last bit doesn’t make much sense, but, because of my foot injury, I’m unable to wear my very favorite fall accessory…riding boots.

I own an unhealthy amount of riding boots (unhealthy for my hubs wallet, that is). There are 5 pair of riding boots just sitting in my closet staring me down every morning, pleading to be worn. If riding boots could talk, they’d be saying, “Uh, hello, we’re your favorite fall accessory. Why aren’t you sliding us on over a pair of skinny jeans?” They’re tormenting me. Of course I want to wear them, but my toes scream every time I put them in a pair of shoes. I’ve been walking the earth looking homely for the past few weeks- sweat pants, t-shirts, flip flops, ball cap, and bed head. It’s not a pretty site, people. Now, don’t get me wrong, I heart me some sweat pants and t-shirts, but not every day.

Yesterday was my first day back to work, and you know what I wore…bedroom slippers. That’s right. I wore bedroom slippers to work. We have a strict no flip flop policy at work, so I had to resort to bedroom slippers. I should have slipped on a moo moo to complete the ensemble.

By the way, I made you guys pumpkin and apple butter granola. I’ve done far too much donut snacking, ice cream snacking, and pie snacking while I was out of commission, so I felt it was time to make and eat a healthy snack.

This granola is full of pecans, pumpkin seeds, oats, and golden raisins. All the stuff that’s great for your waist line and good for your heart.

This granola requires little effort to make, but takes a considerable amount of effort to keep your hands out of the granola jar. Every time I walk past the jar, I find myself sneaking a taste.

This granola is very different from my maple nut granola. I like both of them for very different reasons. This granola is a chewier granola. It’s chunkier, making it easier to pluck a pinch and pop it into your mouth. It’s great for snacking.

I also sprinkled it over greek yogurt and drizzled it with some honey for breakfast the other day. Delicious and filling.

Happy Snacking!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Pumpkin & Apple Butter Granola
 
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Ingredients
  • 4 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • ½ cup pumpkin puree
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup apple butter
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, add oats, pecans, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and raisins. Stir to combine.
  3. In a small saucepan, combine pumpkin puree, maple syrup, apple butter, and brown sugar. Cook over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and stir to combine.
  4. Pour the mixture over the oat mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until all the oats are evenly coated.
  5. Divide the granola between the two sheet pans and spread evenly.
  6. Bake for 40-50 minutes, tossing with a spatula every 15-20 minutes, until the oats are golden brown.
  7. Place pans on a baking rack and cool completely.
  8. Break the mixture up with your hands and store in an airtight container.

 

 

 

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Orange Pumpkin Pancakes

October 3, 2012 By 23 Comments

Happy Wednesday, all! Today is a good day. Why? Because I’m posting my very first breakfast food on the blog. I made pancakes, and not just any pancakes, orange pumpkin pancakes. I had some leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge, and you know how much I love pumpkin, so I couldn’t resist making a jumbo stack of fluffy pancakes.

Squirrel (my hubby) isn’t a huge fan of pancakes (weird, I know), so I had to take on the task of eating the entire stack myself. I don’t make pancakes too often (thank you, Squirrel), so I was able to rise to the occasion. A jumbo stack of pancakes is no match for this gal; I took them down like a champ.

Hungry for pancakes? These are a must make pancake for fall. The warm pumpkin spice, zested orange peel, pumpkin puree, and fresh squeezed orange juice create the perfect fall pancake. I enjoyed these on Sunday with a homemade pumpkin spice latte, and they were delicious.

These pancakes only took me 5 minutes to mix up and 3 minutes to cook. You know what else is good? Pancakes for dinner. Talk about a quick meal, and the kiddies will feel like they’re getting a treat.

I like my pancakes crispy around the edges and fluffy on the inside with a hefty drizzle of maple syrup.

Enjoy!

 

Orange Pumpkin Pancakes

Dry

1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
3 tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. orange zest

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and orange zest. Whisk to combine.

Wet

3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
4 tbs. pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small bowl, combine milk, orange juice, melted butter, pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, whisk to combine.

Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat and add a drizzle of canola oil. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour batter onto the pan (if you like your pancakes smaller, use less batter). Cook until the top of the pancakes are full of bubbles and the bottom is golden brown. Turn with a spatula and brown the other sides. Serve with butter and a drizzle of maple syrup.

 

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#MuffinMonday: Blueberry Carrot Muffins

September 17, 2012 By 39 Comments

It feels good to be back! Sorry I’ve been gone for so long, but my grandfather was rushed to the hospital last week, and the family rushed up to Pennsylvania to help out. He came home from the hospital Friday evening and is doing well. Thank you all for being so patient.

It may be Monday, but that doesn’t matter, because this gorgeous fall weather has me in a good mood. It doesn’t hurt that it’s #MuffinMonday and I happen to be munchin’ on a delicious blueberry carrot muffin.

Fall is my very favorite season, and I impatiently wait for its arrival every year. The crisp fall air, pumpkins, fresh apples, fall baking, and Starbuck’s pumpkin spice lattes are some of my favorite fall attributes. And, let’s not forget Thanksgiving. It’s only the best holiday of the year- eat all you want without feeling bad. What’s not to love?

Not only are these muffins delicious, they’re healthy, too. They’re full of heart healthy ingredients and sweetened with all-natural maple syrup. You can have your muffin and eat it, too. No feeling bad about this healthy breakfast snack.

The blueberries and carrots create an extremely moist muffin that’s so light they’ll melt in your mouth. I topped them with a sprinkling of coconut to give the crust a sweet, toasty crunch.

Enjoy!

 

Blueberry Carrot Muffins

Dry:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup almond flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 tsp. salt

Wet:
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp. lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup blueberry or plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Instructions: 

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with 7 liners.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

Stir together the wet ingredients, except for the carrots and blueberries, in a small bowl and add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.

Fold in the carrots and blueberries. Divide among 7 muffin liners and bake for 15 minutes.

Turn immediately onto a wire rack to cool.

 

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Maple Nut Granola

May 18, 2012 By 45 Comments

I’m extremely happy to be back after missing in action for almost two weeks. I’d like to apologize to all of my followers for my short sabbatical from blogging. I have been extremely busy with school. You know, all the boring things that need to be done in order to graduate. I’ve spent hours at my computer typing up a 2o-page research paper on an eighteenth-century gothic novelist. Blehk! Boring. I’d much rather talk about food. But, in today’s world, you have to be certified smart. You just can’t walk around telling people you’re smart. No, you have to have a piece of paper that says, “Hey, this girl really is smart. Here’s the paperwork.” I suppose some good came out of all of my hard work. My professor approached me yesterday and had nothing but good things to say about my paper. He wants me to consider publishing it. What? Me, publish a paper. I was completely shocked and totally honored that he considered my paper worthy enough to publish. Who knows, I may be a published author soon. I’m thrilled!

It felt great to get back in the kitchen. I haven’t held a whisk in almost two weeks. I almost didn’t know what to do with it. Just kidding. I was born with a whisk in my hand. I decided to make my maple nut granola. I’ve been stress eating a lot lately. I mean, a lot! I need something to balance out all of the stress donuts, s’mores, and cupcakes. Granola sounded like an awesome snack, so I went with it.

This granola is super easy to make, and it’s so good. You can’t even tell that you’re eating something healthy. First things first. Dump all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Stir to combine. Easy, right?

Whisk the wet ingredients together.

Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until all of the ingredients are equally coated with the syrup mixture.

Line two sheet pans with parchment paper, and spread the mixture evenly onto the pan. Bake at 250 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until the granola is a toasty, light brown color.

Feel free to eat the granola by the fist full (I do it all the time), or sprinkle it over greek yogurt and top it with fresh berries for breakfast.

Greek yogurt sprinkled with granola is my favorite breakfast. It’s quick, healthy, and filling. It keeps me full until lunch. I can’t say that for too many other breakfast items.

Mmm, a heaping pile of granola- yum! This granola is full of good stuff. Tons of oats, flaky coconut, piles of nuts and seeds, and dried cherries.

A spoonful of this will make you happy. Trust me. Enjoy!

Love and sweet treats,

Jennie

Recipe:

4 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup whole almonds

1 cup whole pecans

1 1/2 cups dried cherries or cranberries

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup + 1 tbs. canola oil

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, pecans, and dried cherries. Stir to combine.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine maple syrup, honey, and canola oil. Whisk to combine. Slowly add the syrup mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until all of the dry ingredients are equally coated with the syrup mixture.

Divide the mixture equally among the two sheet pans. Spread the mixture evenly onto the pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the mixture becomes light brown in color, stirring the mixture every 15 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet pans before serving and storing.

Eat the granola by itself or sprinkle over greek yogurt and top with fresh fruit. Enjoy!

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