Muffin Round-Up

Looking back at all the drafts I've written to be published, it occurs to me that I have far too many muffins.

Well, that's a lie. Far too many muffins that I haven't shared. Even after the insane amount of baking I did for Christmas, I don't think there's such a thing as too many muffins.

Instead of writing full entries for each of them, I'm just gonna share a few quick pictures and my thoughts on them. Maybe that'll motivate me to finally get the rest of my old entries up so I can start sharing new stuff again. Like the buffalo chicken calzones I made recently. Oh god, why did I wait so long to make those?

First up: Coconut Jam Muffins, from Los Angeles Times. They're definitely dessert muffins, since they're pretty darn sweet. Surprisingly, even my friends who didn't like coconut liked these. I think it's probably because they have oatmeal too, because oatmeal does magic things to muffins.


Whole Grain Pumpkin muffins from Other Side of Fifty, which I sadly didn't take a picture of. They didn't look too pretty. I also doubled the batch to use all the pumpkin I had left, and ate these for almost a month and a half. As someone who's always disliked pumpkin pie, I thought that was a pretty big feat.

Morning Glory Muffins from Joy of Baking. I didn't get a picture of these either, but with a much more reasonable excuse. I made these the morning of Run For Your Lives, which is a zombie-themed 5k. We got up super early to drive to the race, and I decided that really nutricious muffins would be great, and someone suggested carrot. So I went all out and made Morning Glory muffins. There are no pictures of these because they were all completely demolished the night I made them, including the extra ones I left at my house. I'd highly recommend trying them.

Raspberry Lemon muffins from Coco Bean. Despite my making these more than six months ago, I remember them extremely well. I really liked the flavor, but I didn't do a great job with the zest, so there were long strands of lemon throughout the muffins that weren't really enjoyable to chew on. If it hadn't been for that, I think they would have been perfect.


Honey Cornbread muffins from A Farmgirl's Dabbles. I made these to pair with jambalaya, so I could watch the Princess and the Frog and have fitting food (never mind that they actually eat jumbo in that movie.), and they were great. Not overly sweet, but sweet enough that I think with a little jam they'd be a perfect dessert. Thinking about them makes me sad I gave the rest away...

Chocolate Cherry muffins from Stolen Moments. I don't think I even need to say much about these. Just look at the name and ingredient list. Chocolate muffins are great, and then add cherries? They were amazing.

Apple Cinnamon muffins from Southern, eh? I have a thing for apple and cinnamon. I love them. Next time I make these I'm going to put a bit more cinnamon in them, but otherwise they were great. They're also surprisingly low calorie.

And now for the Christmas muffins.

White and Purple Amaretto muffins, modified from I Love Muffins. Instead of having any chocolate I just made extra batter and died some of it purple. I wasn't a big fan of these, but I think the texture difference the chocolate would have provided would probably have alleviated most of my complains about them. I also just didn't find them terribly flavorful, since I didn't add anything to compensate.


Strawberry Cinnamon Sugar muffins from Eggs on Sunday. I added some food coloring to make the batter pink, and also put pink sugar sparkles on top, just in case it wasn't sweet enough before. They were quite good, although I wish strawberry flavoring would come through more in baking. Maybe if a large number of strawberries were pureed....


I would actually call these cupcakes, honestly.... and we didn't take a picture of any of them, but they're rainbow muffins! I had a lot of help with these, and they did a bunch better job at making them even than I probably would have.... making the rainbow cake was frustrating enough for me.


Here's a picture of all the muffins (well... half of the muffins. There were five tins in the end):


There are four muffins in there I didn't take pictures of individually: blueberry from Obsessed with Baking (which I've made before and are always a huge hit), another version of Cinnamon Sugar muffins, banana muffins from Melbourne Food Files, and my personal favorite, apple butterscotch from Annie's Eats. I could have easily eaten all of the butterscotch ones on my own, and probably would have if there hadn't been people in the kitchen with me.

Okay, there's one more muffin I didn't share with you guys, because they were special. I also liked the pictures I took of them enough that I think they deserve their own post. So while the world may be almost caught up on my muffin adventures, bear in mind that I just ate the last of the banana muffins, so the time for more is rapidly approaching....

Christmas Baking

Four dozen cookies, two pounds of candied almonds, and about ten dozen muffins, all baked in two days. The complete list:

Candied Almonds

Green Tea Cookies

Modified these into Chocolate Blackberry Cookies

Russian Tea Cookies

Carrot Cake Cookies

Blueberry Muffins

Strawberry Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

White Amaretto Muffins

Rainbow Cupcakes

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Butterscotch Muffins (which are possibly my favorite)

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

It took hours and would not have been possible without a lot of help, but they all came together, and I think everyone liked everything.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

"These are the best muffins you've ever made."

I made these muffins a while ago, using apricot jam that I had leftover from making thumbprint cookies. I had a whole second jar of jam, so I brought it to my friend's house to use up more and to leave it with them.

I made the muffins while they were working on dinner, which was a delicious fish of swordfish steaks, crab cakes, and green beans with garlic and onion. The meal was fantastic, but I won't go into details about it because I did nothing to help prepare it, and it seems unfair to take their credit.

Around 4:30, I decided I was too hungry to wait for dinner. So was Kendo Bird. So I decided to make the muffins I had promised Darth Bird, while they worked on making the crab cakes and the swordfish.

They came out of the oven around 4:40.



Except for the second one that I spent a while resisting, they were all gone by 4:46.



Everyone ate two muffins, while they were still steaming from the oven. I had almost burned my hands getting them out as quickly as I could. And they were instantly destroyed.

They're also delicious in the mornings, microwaved to the point where the jam is once again hot and bubbly. They're light and, dare I say it, fluffy, with a slight hint of cinnamon in the dough. We've used six different jams now: apricot, black cherry, red plum, peaches, raspberry, and blackberry. I've only eaten the apricot and red plum. We played muffin roulette. Made two dozen muffin, with four of each, put them all on a giant plate, and spun it around. I got red plum, but my diet stopped me from taking two or three more, like I really wanted to.

These are certainly a new favorite. I can see making these for parties, although I'd love to find a way to make them look prettier...



I dunno, they look pretty good on their own.

Cinnamon Jam Roulette Muffins
(Makes 12 muffins, with 126 calories and $0.21 per muffins)

1.5 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2.5 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons milk

1 large egg

1/4 cup jam

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375.
   
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
   
3. Combine yogurt, butter, milk, and egg in separate bowl.
   
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, just combining.
   
5. Spoon one tablespoon batter into each liner.
   
6. Top each with 1 teaspoon jam, and then top with remaining batter.
   
7. Combine extra tablespoon sugar with extra cinnamon, and sprinkle over batter.
   
8. Bake for 15 minutes.
   

Today's lessons learned:

• My friends really, really like muffins.
  
• Six varieties of jam, and no one can decide which was best....
  

The Thanksgiving Feast from the Bird's Nest

I'm a few days late on this one, but Thanksgiving was great! I tried to have two Thanksgiving dinners, one with Boyfriend Bird's mother, and one with my family. This was a mistake. No one should try to eat that much food in one day, that is for sure.

As expected, there was a lot of food. I offered to make something for dinner one, but I asked much too late, so there was nothing that needed to be made. We had green bean casserole, awesome stuffing, turkey and gravy, homemade cranberry sauce by boyfriend's grandmother, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and... oh, there was more, but I can't even remember. I had another serving of the stuffing, despite knowing about the second dinner that was awaiting me.

Oh, and then like an hour after gorging myself on food, they brought out pies. I was practically falling asleep on couch while his family played Boggle. I would have not played with them even if I had been awake, as Boyfriend Bird can get stupidly high scores. His little sister is now quite a monster at it as well, so I am afraid to try to play with them. But back to the pies.

I don't know about you, but when I think of Thanksgiving pies, I think of only two: pumpkin pie and pecan pie. I have two confessions to make about Thanksgiving pies.

I have never liked pumpkin pie, ever.

Until last year, I had never had pecan pie.

(Mama Bird always made me an apple or cherry pie for Thanksgiving. I was a spoiled little bird.)

So this year, when the pies came out, I looked at them, and had to think for a while. I knew I didn't need those pies, given that I was going to be eating in maybe another two hours. And given the whole 'on a diet' thing, too. Thanksgiving is probably the worst time to diet, isn't it? So the pumpkin pie wasn't even tempting, even with a scoop of vanilla ice cream next to it. The pecan, however, was tempting me. I had only had it once, and it had been insanely sweet. Was it always that sweet? With that weird texture? I had to test this theory.

So I had a half of a piece, and it was delicious and totally worth the calories.

Then we migrated over to my family's house, where more food awaited us. One of my aunts came over, and she made us fried.... sausage bread balls. I want the recipe, although I know I should never make those again, because they were surely terrible for me.

The first thing I did when I got home was set up my mother's slow cooker. To make mulled wine. I did not take any pictures, since the kitchen was full of work, and I didn't really want to try to explain to my aunt why I was taking pictures of a slow cooker. It was also really dark in there.

So yes, I made up a batch of Stephanie from A Year of Slow Cooking's Mulled Wine.
Sadly, I am really not a red wine fan. I go to a wine tasting after work every Friday, so I should have seen this coming. But I wanted to like it so badly I ignored that I hated the little taste of the wine I took when I was pouring it in. I even tried to have a glass with dinner, and got scolded for putting such hot liquid in a wine glass. That probably was a little foolish, I'll admit that.

But Mama Bird liked the wine, and so did Boyfriend Bird's father. He and his fiancée had a most of it, I would say. So while I was disappointed, I guess it wasn't a failure.

Second dinner did not go nearly as well for me. I had like four sausage balls before, so any hunger that had been thinking of returning to me stayed far away instead. Mama Bird made many things, that all smelled wonderful, but I just could not eat. I had a tiny amount of turkey, of mashed potatoes, a pittance of stuffing, and a dinner roll with homemade jelly. I think that was it. I just sat there and moaned about how I wanted to eat. Boyfriend Bird managed to eat, and I was proud of his efforts.

Immediately after dinner, my mother brewed some coffee. And I remembered I had promised Boyfriend Bird I would make pumpkin spiced lattes for him. Also from A Year of Slow Cooking. Only this time I didn't have 2 hours to prepare it, and I started panicking a little, until I remembered we had a stove.

And I felt rightly silly.

We didn't have espresso, either. I did not make myself any, because I dislike coffee, so although I tried it I had no real opinion. It was very well received, though. Except for the bottom fourth of Boyfriend Bird's, which was nothing but spices. I felt bad for not stirring his enough.

Then after we sat around for a few hours, Mama Bird decided it was time for dessert. I was no longer completely stuffed, so I agreed. We had two pumpkin pies- Sister Bird wanted a lot of leftovers. She was feeling well enough by then to have a small bite, but she was completely better the next day. We also had a pumpkin parfait that I made, and a cheesecake that hailed from my great-grandfather.

The cheesecake was a bit of a joke through the whole day, actually. Mama Bird had to beg the recipe from him, after he had made it every year. He very begrudgingly wrote it down for her, and when he handed it to her, he looked her in the eye and said 'You'll never make this correctly. I'm the only one who can.'

I spent most of the day reminding her of that, but in a loving way. But I will say that he was very wrong; her cheesecake was delicious. Someday I will attempt to make it as well and maybe even share the recipe.

My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is decidedly the pumpkin parfait. I used to find out where my mother had put it after making it, and then move it to a different freezer and bury it deep, so I was the only one who could find it. And I would eat the whole thing. No regrets. This year was no different, except that now I encourage others to eat it so I don't. Oh, how things change.

Pumpkin Parfait, from Mama Bird's recipe box
(Serves 9, approximately $1.12 per serving)
Ingredients

1.5 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1.5 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1 quart softened vanilla ice cream

Directions

1. Combine sugar, graham crackers, and butter.
   
2. Press into 9" pan.
   
3. Combine pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in mixing bowl.
   
4. Fold into ice cream.
   
5. Pour into pan.
   
6. Freeze until firm, and keep covered.
   

I could eat this every day of the holidays. It's not a pronounced pumpkin flavor, which I think is a big part of why I like it. I advise against trying to resist its charms.

Today's lessons learned:

• Even if pumpkin pie is gross, you probably don't hate pumpkin flavor as much as you think.
  

On sleeping in and muffins

I have a dog. Doggie Bird, I suppose I will call her. Boyfriend Bird hates her because despite being adorable, she is very poorly trained, and snaps at anything that moves if it's within an arbitrary radius and disturbs her while she's sleeping. We all know this and make sure to wake her up when we wish to move.

Yes, it's a little ridiculous.

She's still adorable.

Last night, she came in to sleep on my floor, which is her favorite place to sleep from about midnight to six or so, when she goes to sleep other places, meaning I have to always have my door open so she can escape. I normally keep a mess of blankets on the ground for her to nest in, which is adorable. They were all cleaned over the weekend, and I had no blankets to give her.

So I found a shower curtain.



She slept fine.

She continued sleeping when I was going to work, and will sleep until someone comes home. I am jealous of her, although perhaps I would be tired of sleeping in every day eventually. Certainly not any time soon.

What I would really do if I had her life would be make muffins all the times. I love having a muffin for breakfast, as it's something you can just grab out of the freezer if you've frozen them, they're low-calorie if you don't make super sugary ones, and they're quite good. My last muffin experiments were raspberry and cinnamon. I actually made two batches of raspberry, because I messed the first up.



See the middle of the muffin? That is the lone raspberry in the muffin. Instead of chopping the raspberries up so they were well-distributed through the muffins I just threw in a cup of non-chopped raspberries. It made the muffins dry, and although they weren't bad they were certainly disappointing. So what did I do? I made more muffins. To make up for my sadness.



The second batch of raspberry muffins looked promising, and I had made sure to chop the berries this time, so I had high hopes. But since these were my 'breakfast work muffin,' I was concerned that three weeks of nothing but raspberry muffins would get old fast, so I made cinnamon as well.



While I have no problem with cinnamon muffins (I made the darn things, didn't I?), I was so much more expected for the raspberry that I had one as soon as it came out of the oven. And had cooked enough for me to grab it. Maybe a little sooner. It smelled so good.

I had to try a cinnamon one too, for... fairness.

The raspberry ones turned out perfectly this time. The chopped raspberries distributed through the muffin, keeping it from being dry, and giving a much more uniform raspberry flavor. I devoured those muffins, and wish I had made more. I am going to, eventually, but the raspberry muffins are approximately 250 calories apiece, which is a little much for me for breakfast. They'd probably be much less without the crumb topping, so I may try that someday to see how much flavor/texture they lose.

As for the cinnamon, I will not make them again. I am a fan of cinnamon, but when it is worked in to the whole muffin, not just on the outside. I also probably did not make them 'correctly,' as they weren't exactly light and fluffy. Either way, I will most likely not make them again. Which is okay, because the Hillbilly Housewife has a large collection of freezer muffins for me to pick from. The two I made here were the raspberry muffins, which I highly recommend, and the cinnamon muffins, which I'd recommend if you really like cinnamon and are better at baking than I am. Which is not hard to be.