These Meyer Lemon Earl Grey Tea Muffins are soft, lemony, and irresistible.
Breakfasty Things
Clementine Tea Loaf
It’s clementine season!
Spiced Apple Cider Muffins
These muffins were so popular that I ended up making them three times in a week.
Peanut Butter Cocoa Oat Muffins
Easy to whip together and perfect for breakfast.
Banana Yogurt Muffins, once forgotten
My very first original recipe, and still a classic.
Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins
Light orange, sweet chocolate, and a splash of vanilla make for a breakfast you can look forward to.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins
These pumpkin-gingerbread muffins make winter almost bearable.
Whole Wheat Banana Oat Muffins (with Chocolate Chips)
Banana redemption is mine.
Round-up: A Quartet of Pumpkin Recipes
It’s a pumpkin round-up! Muffins, cupcakes, cookies, and the perfect Thanksgiving cheesecake.
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
These banana chocolate chip muffins were worth the oven confusion.
Cinnamon Apple Cider Muffins
Lightly spiced, definitely tasting more of cider than pure apple, and perfectly sweetened. Another winner.
Molasses Bran Spice Muffins
Who ever heard of kids asking for more bran muffins? (I did! Today!)
The Perils of Bloggery, and a Recipe Round-up
Apologies galore, and a recipe round-up to make up for lost time.
Golden Oatmeal Spice Muffins in Silicone Baking Cups: my first product review
I got my very first request for a product review on my blog, right before we left for a family vacation to London & Paris. Exciting! I was asked to review silicone baking cups by Rizzi from The New York Baking Company, and told to be completely honest in my review.
Maple Zucchini Muffins and the Window of Opportunity
These Maple Zucchini Muffins had a very short and specific shelf life. By day 3 they were no good anymore, but for two perfect days, they were glorious.
Chewy Oatmeal Yogurt Bars
Chewy Oatmeal Yogurt Bars with mini cinnamon chips, sweet and substantial, delicious for breakfast or a perfect snack.
Mini Banana Maple Muffins
LIttle banana bites with a touch of maple flavor, lovely for guilt-free eating and apparently perfect for trading on the 5th grade snack market.
Vanilla Crunch Muffins
jump to recipe I have been wanting to make these Vanilla Crunch Muffins for ages! I don’t know why I wanted so long. They are sweet, if somewhat sticky, with a lovely coconut crunch on top, and smooth vanilla flavor. A little different from my usual fare. I started by scraping the vanilla bean. Lucky […]
Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffins (without Pecans)
jump to recipe These were supposed to have pecans in them, originally, but circumstances forced me to rename them Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffins (without Pecans). The recipe I based them on was called “Pumpkin Pecan Muffins,” but mysteriously, there weren’t any pecans listed in the ingredients or in the directions. I posted so in the […]
Vanilla Bean Blood Orange Mini Loaves
jump to recipe This recipe for Vanilla Bean Blood Orange Mini Loaves turned into The Great Ingredient Improvisation Experiment. I didn’t have all the ingredients, so I had to wing it a little, and once I was winging it, I started adding in some things too. The results were incontrovertible: a perfect soft crumb, and […]
Sweet Potato Quick Bread
This Sweet Potato Quick Bread made me brave. I am not a fan of sweet potatoes, to put it mildly. Not in a casserole, not by themselves, not mashed, not even fried; I just don’t like them. But when challenged, I was forced to admit that I also don’t like pumpkin, not even pumpkin pie, […]
White House Honey-Oat Muffins
jump to recipe It’s okay to alter a recipe from the White House if you’re Canadian, right? I pinned these White House Honey-Oat Muffins ages ago. I was intrigued by the use of coriander in the recipe; it’s not an ingredient I’ve used before. I gave the jar of coriander a sniff and decided to […]
Fluffy Corn Muffins
Some homemade chicken soup inspired these fluffy corn muffins. Dave spent the whole day making soup, and when we got back from the movies, I decided I’d better whip together something to go with it.
Blood Orange Poppy Seed Muffins
These blood orange poppy seed muffins are just a lovely variation on the Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins I’ve been perfecting. The texture, the flavor, everything translates perfectly to the flavor of the blood orange. I don’t really know which is better, just that both are sublime.
Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
I am unnaturally excited about these Meyer lemon poppy seed muffins.
I’m always looking for a good recipe for such things, and I’m always inundated by recipes that call for a full cup of butter and ridiculous amounts of sugar. Conversely, there are a slew of recipes out there that are “low fat” and “heatlhy” and come out heavy, dense, and stick to the muffin papers. But now, I have found it. THE PERFECT LEMON POPPY MUFFINS! They are here! In my house!
Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
jump to recipe I thought I’d run out of variations on a banana theme, but these Whole Wheat Banana Muffins took me by surprise. They taste like the best banana bread, but slightly softer and fluffier as befitting a muffin. Don’t skimp on the bananas when you make these! This isn’t one of those recipes […]
Chocolate Cupcake-Muffins
Why are these called Chocolate Cupcake-Muffins? Because they are muffins, and they are cupcakes, and they are delicious. They can be eaten for breakfast or for dessert. They can be eaten plain, or with peanut butter, or with whipped cream frosting. They are made with healthy ingredients like quinoa flour and yogurt, but also required the melting of butter and the adding of cocoa powder. Hence: cupcake-muffins.
Blood Orange Spice Muffins
It took three batches to get these Blood Orange Spice Muffins right. It was a true exploration into the world of muffindom. What makes them tender? What makes them sweet? How can you bring out flavor and play with texture to create something wonderful, and still keep it healthy? Big questions, indeed, and with a good solid year and a half of muffin-making behind me, I decided it was time to be bold and venture where no muffin in my kitchen had gone before: an original recipe from scratch.
Cheddar Herb Bread
I’ve had this Cheddar Herb bread on my Pinterest board for over a year, believe it or not. Worth the wait? Sure. But why wait? This bread is easy to whip together, and wonderfully flavorful, a nice savory treat for a change. It paired perfectly with Dave’s homemade chicken soup.
Mini Chocolate Doughnut Muffins
Mini Chocolate Doughnut Muffins for a snow day, that’s what these were. The kids went back to school on January 2nd, and by the 3rd they already had a day off, thanks to an insane amount of snow. We seized the moment, slept in, and then it was time for breakfast. I decided to skip the glaze so these not-unhealthy treats wouldn’t venture into dessert territory.
Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread
I devoured this loaf greedily, mostly because the soft crumb made it among the nicest baked goods ever to come out of my kitchen. It’s a little taste of what pumpkin bread heaven must be like. To quote Dale Cooper, “This must be where pies go when they die.” Trade in the pie for some cinnamon pumpkin bread and I’m right on the same page.
Healthy Banana Oat Muffins
I really have to pick up the pace on my blogging. I made these Healthy Banana Oat Muffins weeks ago, and they are SO delicious and breakfasty and good to eat that I feel like a jerk for not making them available to you sooner. A jerk, I am! But maybe this is better, a little post-Christmas healthy baked good to rescue you from cookie overdose.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Mini Muffins
They’re funny-looking little things, aren’t they? Don’t be deceived. These Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Mini Muffins are deliciously addictive, supplying decadence to the tastebuds without contributing to your food guilt.
Carrot Cake Muffins
Usually when I see a recipe for Carrot Cake Muffins, there’s a lot more emphasis on the cake than the carrots, which means it’s more about dessert than breakfast. (Yes, most carrot cake is so good because it’s filled with butter and sugar!) But these were also called “Healthy Applesauce Carrot Muffins”, and I knew with some slight adjustments I could do something interesting with them. And so I did. They came out great. Flavorful, fluffy, and worthy of the carrot cake name without the carrot cake decadence. The spices are balanced perfectly and these muffins make breakfast worth celebrating.
Round-up: Unfortunate Loaves, Cinnamon Snails, and a fun Bread Baking Class
I had fun, despite my type A team member, and I stuffed myself with bread and packed up the leftovers. The teacher, who was wonderful, seemed to think he was doing us a favor by ending the class early, but I would have happily stayed another hour or two to bake more. I don’t feel ready to take on bread-baking at home, exactly, but I got a handle on kneading, which is a good start. And I tested two new quick bread recipes that weren’t very good, and I am ready to teach Advanced Cinnamon Snails. I celebrate my accomplishments where I can.
Banana Bran Muffins with Mini Chocolate Chips
These were a lovely surprise.
I hadn’t done a banana-bran combination before. Well, sort of. I’d tried these Banana-Nut Oat Bran Muffins but that was oat bran instead of wheat bran and they didn’t have real flour in them and while some people liked them, I wouldn’t make them again. So they don’t count.
But I had some brown bananas sitting around, even after making my Chai Spiced Banana Muffins, and I had a hankering for something new. I also had some buttermilk to use up, and liked that this recipe looked pretty healthy but still adaptable, plus it looked like I’d get some mini muffins out of the deal as well, which are always fun.
Chai Spiced Banana Muffins
I made the unfortunate choice of bright yellow muffin papers, which cast a bit of a sickly glow in my photos, but the muffins themselves were delicious. The chai spices combined beautifully with the banana, and the shredded coconut, while it didn’t impact the flavor much, added a soft crunch without detracting from the fluffy, moist texture.
Gingerbread Muffins
Cakey gingerbread muffins for breakfast? Yes!
I really was sure it was going to be one of those other recipes, and then suddenly I was standing in the kitchen looking at a gingerbread muffins recipe. How it happened, I don’t know exactly. I’m glad it did, though, because they are cakey and delicious and I feel happier when I bite into them than I did the moment before.
Spiced Honey Pumpkin Bread
If you’re looking for a decadent, sugary pumpkin bread for dessert, this isn’t it.
If you’re looking for a gently spiced, not-too-sweet pumpkin bread for breakfast or a snack that warms you up from the inside out, you’ve found it. I like this bread but given the abundance of sugar in most pumpkin-based baked goods, you do have to know before your first bite that this is going to be a little different. On its second or third day it hits a beautiful peak of flavor, when the honey and the spices and the pumpkin coalesce into smooth perfection.
Pumpkin Bran Muffins with Mini Cinnamon Chips
It was time to get back into the healthy swing, after whipping up requested decadent treats like Butterscotch Brownies and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. Still on a pumpkin kick, I went digging through my Pinterest board to see what might strike my baking fancy. Sometimes I’m in the market for a great, unique recipe, and sometimes I just want something I can play with. This one fell into the “play with” category, and play with it I did, for the betterment of muffinkind.
Espresso Spice Pumpkin Muffins, take two
It’s pumpkin season!
Okay, all the other baking blogs are way ahead of me, but I’m a bit of a late bloomer. I’m okay with that, I’ve had years to get used to it. We won’t even talk about what all the boys used to call me before I got boobs.
Wait, what are we talking about? Muffins! We’re talking about muffins. And these particular muffins are the ultimate breakfast, supplying you with very basic morning nutrition: wheat, fruit, dairy, and caffeine.
Apple Butter Spice Muffins
While my taste buds will never accept a muffin with fruit pieces in it — I remember trying this applesauce cake well over a year ago and not liking it — I took a risk on these apple butter muffins, intrigued.
It was a risk worth taking: the results were lovely. Spiced, flavorful, slightly sticky breakfast muffins. Welcome, fall. Welcome, change.
Maple Vanilla Muffins
I know, I know. It’s fall, and I’m supposed to be baking with pumpkin or apples, and instead I’m pretending it’s spring and making maple treats. But I got lured in by the fact that this recipe called for non-standard ingredients like vanilla bean and coconut oil, and I already had both of them on hand; I’ve come a long way from the days when I had to check to see if I had baking powder before I made anything. Plus the photos on the blog where I found this recipe are inspiringly gorgeous, making the already delicious-sounding combination completely irresistible.
Apple Cider Mini Donuts
Fall is upon us. . .at least in the mornings.
It’s been super cold here in the morning, so it’s jackets and maybe even a scarf when we leave the house, and then the heat kicks in and by afternoon everyone who isn’t in shorts feels like an idiot. So Fall is whispering at us, maybe, and when the kids went gaga over the apple cider donuts at Stew Leonard’s, I decided it was time to for the first treat of the season.
Orange Mocha Muffins
Redemption.
The last two baked goods that came out of my kitchen were substandard, for sure. Not enough flavor, heavy, arduous texture, and especially disappointing because one came right on the heels of the other. But today things turned around at last, courtesy of these lovely. fluffy, flavor-filled orange mocha muffins.
Zucchini Spice Muffins
These muffins are magical.
I don’t know who Kathie is, but I started with her recipe, played with it here and there, and created something exquisite. Everything came together in perfect balance, in both flavor and texture. I’m going to try to recreate these because I have to find out if it was a fluke or if there really is such a thing as muffin perfection.
Healthy Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
This recipe called out to me but it took a while for me to heed the call.
First of all, it was based on a recipe by Marcus Samuelsson, whose memoir Yes, Chef was a recent and engaging, fascinating, inspiring, and delicious read. I’ve never tried any of his recipes before, and I had actually pinned this one a few weeks ago. But then I saw this version of it, which seemed to preserve the general nature of it but healthed it up a bit, finding alternatives to the sugar (which I would simply have reduced) as well as the oil.
Spicy Orange Bran Muffins
I didn’t actually think they were that spicy, to be honest. Maybe they should be called Spiced Orange Bran Muffins instead, because it’s the orange that gives them the zing and then there’s a little pop of the spices to accompany it. I also just discovered (with a mouthful of muffin as I type) that they taste great with a bit of melting peanut butter on them.
Zucchini Chocolate Coconut Muffins
Pretty, they’re not.
Delicious, they are. And then some. They’re bursting with chocolate and coconut with just a touch of cinnamon, and not a whisper of zucchini hits the taste buds. Amazing.
I confess that I was very, very nervous while I was making them. I changed so many elements of this recipe that I had no idea if I was going to be elated by success or depressed by failure, and then have to go hungry as well. But sometimes a baker has to take a few chances.
Skinny Chocolate Fudge Banana Muffins
Ignore the word “skinny”. Really. Because these taste anything but skinny. They taste FAT in the most delightful way. Fat with chocolate flavor. Fat with cakey texture. Fat with desserty joy.
And yet they are skinny too. Low fat, Weight Watchers-friendly, and full of healthy ingredients like wheat germ, yogurt, bananas, and whole wheat white flour. They have chocolate chips too, of course, but that’s okay. It’s all about balance. And deliciousness. These muffins have that in abundance.
Peanut Butter Protein Muffins
I’m always looking for more peanut butter recipes; anything that focuses in on peanut butter without becoming a Weight Watchers points nightmare piques my interest. So even though these were called Peanut Butter Protein Muffins, which meant that something was being prioritized along with flavor, I gave them a shot. Peanut butter does that to me. I would follow it almost anywhere.
Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
jump to recipe Everyone loved these. I thought they were just okay, but everyone I work with went nuts for them and kept coming back to ask if there were any left long after the last one had disappeared. So I’d consider that a hit. And they’re awfully good for you. They started with zucchini. […]
Peachy Keen Muffins (with Poppy Seeds)
I had to try one more time. I want a peach muffin without peach pieces, is that so wrong?
Well, it may not be wrong, but I still haven’t achieved it. Not that these muffins are anything but sweet and delicious and good for you, they’re actually quite wonderful. Fluffy, flavorful, sweet, with a nice little crunch from the poppy seeds, a last-minute addition. And they actually do have a hint, a wee whisper, of peach taste. So while I love them and plan to make them again, they are not the peach muffin I’ve been seeking. (“These aren’t the peach muffins you’re looking for,” said the Jedi master.)
They taste damned good, though.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
I had no idea you could make cookies without flour that aren’t disgusting. Seriously! I see these recipes all the time and they make me suspicious. And I don’t have any health issues with flour or reasons to avoid it; I am more than pro-gluten, I am a gluten advocate. EAT MORE GLUTEN.
But this recipe looked really good, despite the absence of flour, and I don’t like to give up on big ideas until I’ve given them a good go. And I don’t think these cookies are gluten-free anyway, since apparently there can be gluten in oats. Gluten schmuten, these cookies are deliciously satisfying, full of rich peanut butter flavor, and crumbly in a rather delightful way. The mini chocolate chips don’t hurt the cause either. And yet they’re still pretty good for you, or at least not terribly bad for you. That’s what makes them breakfast cookies.
Maple Oatmeal Muffins
I’m back on the healthy muffin train. I was trying to come with something new to try for breakfast when I found this gem hiding at the bottom of one of my Pinterest boards. Being Canadian, I was drawn to this one by forces beyond my control.
It’s hard to believe that all the sweetness in these muffins comes from maple syrup. They’re just sweet and dessert-y and full of flavor and still healthy, without a grain of sugar added. Maple syrup rocks. (Did I mention I’m Canadian?)
Honey Tea Bread
I’ve been wanting to try making this recipe for weeks, but first I had to use up the carrots, zucchini, and bananas that were sitting around. Finally I ran out of everything, and felt it was morally okay to proceed. (I hate wasting food, okay?)
I had a feeling this bread was going to be something special and I was right. The texture is soft and perfect, reminding me of that Chai Tea Bread I enjoy so much. And it’s sweetened with honey; not a grain of sugar passed through my hands.
Carrot Oatmeal Muffins, new & improved
I already liked my carrot oatmeal muffins. A lot. But it’s been a while since I made them, and I decided it was time to see if I could make them even better. And I did!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread (two misses and a hit)
Finally!
This delicious, satisfying chocolate zucchini bread came on the heels of two very unfortunate baking experiments, and a last-minute mishap to boot.
Failure #1: I tried to make a zucchini bread without chocolate chips or cocoa powder. Now I know that it’s possible to make a good spiced zucchini bread, but the recipe I tried did not generate one.
Peach Poppy Seed Muffins (take 2)
These look better, don’t they?
I’m still on a peach muffin mission, but before I tried a new recipe I wanted to go back to this one and get it right. That meant:
A. using properly ripened peaches
B. mixing peach puree with baking soda to get it foamy
C. not accidentally mish-moshing two recipes together
I succeeded on all three counts. These muffins came out a little fluffier, a little prettier, and a little more delicious, but I have to be honest: I still don’t really taste a whole lotta peach. Still, I’ve had trouble holding on to them, as the kids love them and so does everybody else.
Mocha Banana Bread
Love this twist on a traditional banana bread. Next time I’ll push it even more and up the cocoa powder and the espresso, but even as is it was full of flavor and made for a nice spin on a familiar treat.
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
These muffins are wonderful. The amount of chocolate chips was just right, the sweetness balanced beautifully with the spices, the crumb was soft and fluffy, and the zucchini provided moisture and nutrition without ever rearing its ugly head into the flavor. A gem, this one. I feel like these muffins are helping me slowly inch towards a zucchini bread without cocoa powder. Perhaps I am beginning to understand the powers of the humble zucchini
Peach Poppy Seed Muffins (take 1)
I have been on a quest: the quest for a peach muffin. To reiterate what I’ve expressed in this blog multiple times, I do not like pieces of fruit in my baked goods. I don’t make or eat blueberry muffins, apple pies, cobblers, or cookies with raisins in them. But I love the taste of the fruit, so as long as the texture is pure crumb, I am happy.
I also love using seasonal ingredients, when I can. Last winter I specialized in Meyer lemons and blood oranges, and now it’s summer so I’ve been making zucchini chocolate treats and have been trying to do something with peaches. I love peaches! I found some lovely peach-ginger tea that worked well in muffins, but I wanted to try using fresh peaches.
One Banana Banana Bread (made with two bananas)
And then I remembered the recipe I’d seen a while back for One Banana Banana Bread. Yes! Since Pinterest finally allows you to search your own pins, it was easy enough to find the recipe, and reassure myself that all was going to go well in bananaland.
Peach Muffins
These didn’t turn out quite the way I’d hoped. I’ve been wanting to make peach muffins for a while, a muffin that would be all crumb but would be full of flavor from pureed fresh peaches. So I started with a Strawberry Mini Muffins recipe I’d made not that long ago and adapted as I […]
Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Cake
It’s zucchini season! And that means it’s chocolate season too. (It’s not wabbit season, though.)
I’ve had my eye on this healthy chocolate zucchini cake recipe for a while because it has cardamom in it, which piqued my interest. So I gave it a go.
Peach Ginger Tea Muffins with Lemon
A few weeks ago, I picked up some peach-ginger tea at an interesting little spice store in Sayville. We were on our way to Fire Island, but had some time to kill before the ferry came, so we stopped in town to get some coffee (for us) and some treats (for the kids) and when I spotted the gourmet store next to it, I couldn’t resist. I’ve had it in my mind to bake with that tea for the last few weeks, but I couldn’t decide exactly how. And then I remembered my Lemon-Ginger Tea Muffins, and thought I could use that as my base.
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
What to make, what to make…I really wanted to try something new with the 3 revoltingly overripe bananas in my kitchen. And I was in a hurry because I picked up a new laptop this morning so I could blog more portably, so I wanted something simple. I struck banana gold with this one, because it IS simple, and straightforward, and delicious. Perfect amount of oats, flour, and buttermilk to create a soft but solid texture, bursting with banana flavor.
Carrot Tea Cake with Oat Crumb Topping
This tea cake is so delicious that I made another one three days after making the first one, and the only reason I waited so long is because we were away for the weekend.
The cake itself is warm with spices, and the topping adds a crunchy sweetness to every bite. It’s a magical combination. Hard to believe it starts out with something as mundane as a cup of shredded carrots.
Low Fat Coffee Cake Muffins
jump to recipe I was in a state when I made these. It was the evening before a Day of Many Mishaps, and I think these are where it all started. Funny thing is, the muffins actually came out great, but the making of them was fraught with unnecessary difficulty, mood swings, and the lunacy […]
Cinnamon Graham Banana Bread
jump to recipe I know I have a pretty good banana bread recipe, but this one is sublime. And it comes with cinnamon glaze. I’m not surprised it’s so delicious, since I found the recipe on Tutti Dolci, plus it gave me a chance to use more of the graham flour I bought a while […]
Strawberry Mini Muffins
Strawberry mini muffins? Please keep in mind that I am known as She Who Hates Fruit In Muffins. Really. I don’t eat blueberry muffins, cranberry muffins, raisin muffins, or any sort of fruit pie or cobbler. I do not like them, Sam I Am.
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Another win for the peanut butter team! These Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins are delicious, good for you, and hunger-satisfying in the best way.
Whole Wheat Cinnamon Muffins
jump to recipe Do you like cinnamon? These are a lovely treat for the cinnamon-lover, and no doubt a nightmare for the cinnamon-hater. Cinnamon muffins with cinnamon chips, and full of healthy ingredients like whole wheat white flour, wheat germ, applesauce, and Greek yogurt. Delicious! It was also a very easy recipe to whip together, […]
Mini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
I thought I had the banana muffin market cornered, but these are just as good as mine and come in mini form! The recipe for these mini banana chocolate chip muffins had unusual instructions, and specific directions, and I obeyed all with success. I changed a few things in the recipe, and got great results: a moist, flavorful, fun mini muffin, popular with all who tasted.
Banana-Nut Oat Bran Muffins
Gluten-free is not for me. I suppose the gluten-free crowd might appreciate these, but only because they’re used to eating muffins made without flour. Me? I’m a gluten-lover. Bring on the wheat! These have good flavor but the texture is a complete disappointment. I thought they’d be interesting, but alas, they are not. The good […]
Honey Orange Oat Bran Muffins
jump to recipe These turned out great! I could have just added some orange zest to one of my existing bran muffin recipes, but I like to keep trying new things, plus it’s been a while since I baked with oat bran instead of wheat bran. The results did not disappoint. This is a tasty […]
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Friday was National Donut Day. So I made donuts. I also needed some baked goods to take to photography class, and I figured we could use some interesting shapes. I had mini muffins and a small loaf, so I decided on donuts to round things out. Round things out! Get it? Sigh. I do have […]
Honey Whole Wheat Bran Muffins
jump to recipe I already have some tried and true bran muffin recipes, but I had the itch to try something new and Nathaniel had the itch to grate nutmeg, so we scratched our itches together. While I toasted the walnuts, he got to work. (This blog doesn’t have the subtitle “in a perpetually messy […]
Peanut Butter and Banana Bread
jump to recipe This was one of those nights when I had a non-specific baking itch. I had no idea how to channel the whisking urge until I spotted the overripe bananas on the counter, then this recipe from Delish leapt out at me. Who was I to argue with a leaping recipe and some […]
Orange Oat Muffins
These muffins are such a nice little surprise!
I’ve been feeling the loss of the great blood oranges of the season, but now I know the joys of a regular (non-blood!) orange muffin too. Phew! These are lovely. Nathaniel says it’s like drinking orange juice while you’re eating a muffin, and I agree. (I think my son would be a great food critic; he told me tonight as we were watching Chopped that he’d be a good judge on that show. Given how specific his reviews of my baking are, I believe he’s right.)
Baked Vanilla Donuts
The kids needed donuts. We ran out of Eggo waffles a few days ago and I kept saying I’d get to the store to get more but I hadn’t had a chance, so to make it up to them, I offered to make something for for breakfast. “Donuts!” they cried. They wanted the mini donuts, […]
Blood Orange Poppy Seed Bread
jump to recipe I had the last blood oranges of the season, and I wanted to make sure that whatever I baked would be worthy of them, so I adapted this wonderful lemon poppy seed bread recipe from amyBITES and hoped for the best. I’d already adapted it VERY slightly to make Meyer Lemon Poppy […]
Golden Oatmeal Spice Muffins
Soft and fluffy muffins, moist without being dense, and full of the beautifully intermingled mix of the spices I’ve used, with a little sweetness from the vanilla.
Peanut Butter Bran Muffins
jump to recipe I wasn’t sure how things were going to go with these. I got brave and decided to swap out some of the flour for wheat germ (as my current obsession dictates) and I added some vanilla, and what I ended up with, to my delight, was not only a light airy delicious […]
Wheat Germ Bread
I know, it doesn’t sound tasty, does it? Wheat Germ Bread. Wheat Germ Bread? How is a person supposed to get excited about that? Well, taste it. Because once you taste it, you’ll get it, and once you find out how easy it is to make, you’ll make it, and once you start eating it, […]
Chocolate and Cinnamon Chip Espresso Oat Muffins
jump to recipe I won’t pretend they’re pretty, but they sure are delicious. This is a grown-up sort of muffin. The espresso flavor is strong, the oats give the muffins a density that makes them nice and filling, and the only real sweetness comes from the chips. So don’t make these for kids and expect […]
Blood Orange Wheat Germ Muffins
Blood Orange Wheat Germ Muffins. They taste SO good, full of orange flavor, contained in this wonderfully textured, soft, substantial muffiny package.
Blood Orange Tea Muffins (mini)
A while back I made some delicious Meyer Lemon Tea Muffins, only I didn’t realize they were supposed to be mini muffins so I only ended up with 9 of them. Since they were delicious, I decided to give them another shot, this time using blood oranges instead of lemons. And behold: mini muffins. Delicious, soft, fluffy blood orange tea muffins.
Oatmeal Cookie Muffins with Cappuccino Chips
jump to recipe Let’s just say that these live up to their name. They stick to the paper a little bit, but what’s a little paper when you’re devouring a sweet delicious healthy muffin full of cappuccino chips? A minor inconvenience. I made some modifications to the recipe, starting with replacing a little bit of […]
Blood Orange and Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Sometimes an ingredient shortage can work in your favor. For want of a few more blood oranges, some Meyer lemons were used, and born out of the uncertainty of that unusual pairing, some poppy seeds were added. Thus, a brand new muffin emerged, and a very delicious one at that.
My intention was simply to make another batch of blood orange muffins, based on my very slight adaptation of a recipe I’ve used before. I started squeezing the blood oranges, noting how much more juice I was getting from each one since I was using a plastic juicer as opposed to just squeezing by hand. But then when I had squeezed the last one out, I looked at my measuring cup and I only had just over 3/4 of a cup. Disaster!
I didn’t want to throw away the juice, or risk having it go bad if I stored it, since I didn’t know when I’d be able to get more blood oranges. So I got creative: I decided to top off it off with Meyer lemon juice. Risky, I know. Bold, even. I am normally neither risky nor bold, but this was a baking emergency. I took out the lemons, and squeezed out enough to make a full cup of juice.
Honey Pumpkin Bran Muffins
jump to recipe I still had the white balance settings wrong for this entire batch of photos and it’s annoying me because these muffins were really delicious and you can’t even see their true beauty. Trust me, they looked lovely. I found these in the bottom depths of one of my Pinterest boards. Sometimes I […]
Banutter Bites
jump to recipe I invented these. I had some overripe bananas, which I had to protect with a label or our cleaning lady would have thrown them away: I also had an itch to do something new, a craving for peanut butter (which is really just status quo around here, “around here” being inside my […]
Pumpkin Muffins, made over and still delicious
jump to recipe I’ve made these before, but I put a spin on them this time: I wanted to know if I could make them healthier without compromising on deliciousness. And the answer: a resounding yes. I’ve been looking for a formula for a long time that would cover how to add flax and wheat […]
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Quick Bread
I made this one night last week, when I wanted something hearty and robust and satisfying but not sweet and dessert-y. I know, that sounds weird. But I was after something that would ground me a little. And thus I made this delightful bread. I started with whole wheat pastry flour, which always makes me […]
Coconut Banana Bread
Coconut banana bread, who knew? I had many doubts about this one as I was making it and AGAIN messed up with something egg-related (see Cocoa Banana Yogurt Muffins for another egg near miss) but but in the end, it turned out great and was also immensely popular.
Cocoa Banana Yogurt Muffins (a Laurie original)
jump to recipe Yesterday, I played with my tried-and-true banana yogurt muffin recipe to see if I could add in some cocoa powder without ruining it. I’ve also been playing with my camera. My photography class started yesterday, and I got cocky and started shooting on manual, which turned out to be something of a […]
Maple Pumpkin Mini Muffins
These have been on my to-try list for months. I’m so glad I finally made them! They taste far too delicious to be as healthy as they are, too. And the timing is good, I’m back on Weight Watchers and these puppies are only ONE P+ each. And they are treats you can have for […]
Oatmeal Muffins
jump to recipe These are delightful. I took a very basic, healthy recipe that I found on food.com, read the reviews, made it mine, and created deliciousness. If I achieve nothing else over the weekend, at least there’s that. I kept very little of the original, but I started out exactly as directed, by letting […]
I Miss My Yoga Teacher Muffins — Honey Sage Corn Muffins
Not only are these pretty tasty, they were made in honor of one of my yoga teachers, Nancy, who I have been missing terribly since they changed things up at the studio I go to and she doesn’t teach there anymore. I loved her class, and I miss her teaching as well as her company. […]
Carrot Bran Muffins
jump to recipe These muffins. These muffins! The fact that they are so healthy and good for you makes no sense with how delicious they taste. And I took a risk with these, changing the recipe mid-process, on a whim. A crazy, carrot- bran whim! I never knew there was such a thing. Once the […]
Blood Orange Poppy Seed Muffins
I’ve decided that there’s a property peculiar to baked goods with blood oranges in them: it’s all about the second bite. Just like the Blood Orange Muffins I’ve made before, the first bite is a little confusing to the palate, but the second one rolls in all the flavor and goodness the muffin has to […]
Pumpkin Espresso Bread
Another home run. Make this bread right now. I mean it. It couldn’t be easier and your taste buds will thank you, as will anyone else who gets a bite. I brought some of this to work with me and had someone come back for thirds. Who says you have to wait for fall to bake with pumpkin?
And the topping…to think I almost didn’t include it. How dumb that would have been. The bread is a wonder unto itself but the topping adds a bit of crunchy magic. I made a few changes to the recipe, but the credit really belongs to a beautiful blog called Pastry Affair that gave me reason #85279 to love Pinterest and the internet.
Greek Yogurt and Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins
jump to recipe These are insane. Now they’re not crazily low fat or anything, but they’re not anywhere near as decadent as they taste, and the flavor combination in these muffins is absolutely exquisite. Semi-sweet chocolate, turbinado sugar, espresso powder, and a hint of orange come together to create some sort of flavor perfection that […]
Carrot Spice Mini Muffins
I make these carrot spice muffins pretty regularly. They’re freakishly healthy, and I say freakishly because they are just ridiculously delicious. The spices are a perfect blend with the carrot base, the texture is moist but fluffy, the turbinado sugar on top gives them an extra bite of crunchy sweetness, and they’re full of good-for-you […]
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
I changed this recipe up a fair bit, and it paid off. Dave is normally immune to the charms of the endless stream of baked goods that makes its way through our kitchen, but this one hooked him. He’s even suggesting that there might not be any left to bring to my hungry co-workers tomorrow. I’ll take that as a compliment to the awesome power of Meyer lemon pound cake.
Double Chocolate Yogurt Loaf
jump to recipe Let me just put this out there right away: this picture does not do this loaf justice. The how-to-use-your-new-DSL-camera class doesn’t start until April, so I’m still using the automatic setting, and I baked at night, so there was no natural light to work with. So understand that the dark blob you […]
Blood Orange Muffins
I had my eye on this recipe for a few weeks before I got a chance to try it. I’d picked up a bag of blood oranges at Trader Joe’s and I knew there had to be a good recipe out there. Look at them! The recipe called for an entire cup of juice and […]
Peanut Butter Bran Muffins
I never would have thought to mix peanut butter and bran, but I am in love with these muffins. I also love that they come via a blog called The Teenage Taste, written by a junior in high school. It’s a simple recipe, not particularly low in WW points (coming in at 5 because of […]
Oatmeal Tea Bread II
It’s a bit of an odd concoction, but I love it. It’s a hearty, oaty bread, with a lot of sweetness, so it fills you up and feels healthy but dessert-ish at the same time. It’s an odd combination, though, and this is one of the few times that I’m eating more of it than […]
Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Definitely make this. Perfect texture, deep, tangy lemon flavor with just the right amount of sweetness, and it’s not even bad for you? A win all around, And I like recipes that get very specific about when to put in which ingredients, and what to do after that, and how slowly or quickly to do […]
Wholesome Oat Muffins
Get aboard the muffin transport! You won’t regret it. jump to recipe I should have made these muffins instead of last night’s disasters, but we have them now, so the muffin balance has been restored. These are delicious and the recipe seems to lend itself to adding different spices, sugars, or bonus ingredients. The process […]
Banana Nutella Muffins — an original
jump to recipe I had two overripe bananas, a jar of Nutella, some peanut butter, and an urge to combine them all. I combed Pinterest and Google for recipes. I compared. I contrasted. And then I realized that I didn’t need a NEW recipe, I could just adapt my own banana muffins recipe. It’s the […]
Basic Corn Muffins
I finally did it! After nothing but corn muffin failure, I found a recipe that works, is easy to make, tastes great, and doesn’t require butter to make it special. Dave made pulled pork for dinner and they are providing a perfect match. I started by dumping yellow cornmeal into my yellow mixing bowl and […]
Lemon Tea Muffins (made with Meyer lemons)
jump to recipe I admit I screwed these up. Not the flavor, not the texture, and I didn’t knock anything upside down on its way out of the oven, but somehow I missed that these were supposed to be MINI muffins so I was bewildered when I was pouring the batter into muffin cups and […]
Cinnamon Honey Oat Muffins
jump to recipe If an oatmeal cookie came down to earth disguised as a muffin, this is what it would taste like. I don’t know why I made the cookie come from outer space. Just live with it. These muffins are delicious, filling, and both breakfasty and desserty at the same time. Maybe they DID […]
Peanut Butter and Banana Quick Bread
I love peanut butter.
This quick bread brought out the best of the peanut butter & banana combination, and didn’t break the Weight Watchers bank along the way. It’s long gone, but looking at this picture as I type, I wish I were eating it right now.
Meyer Lemon Tea Bread
This lemon tea bread took some doing. It’s not that it was hard to make, it’s that I had one of those rare, completely unnecessary baking disasters, and I wasn’t able to pull it together enough to give it another try until the next day. I’m glad I did, though; it was completely worth it. […]
Chai Tea Bread
jump to recipe This is a keeper. It was easy to make, didn’t take long, and tastes just wonderful, with a soft fluffy crumb and a mix of spices that come together beautifully and provides an array of flavors for your taste buds to savor. I did make a few changes, and I didn’t bother […]
Baked Apple Cider Donuts
A donut pan is one of those things I’ve been dismissing. You can’t own every specialty pan there is, not in a kitchen like mine, which is already bursting at the seams. There’s no room at the inn. Plus we already have that cute mini donut maker that Jenny gave us, so why would I […]
Cheerios Banana Muffins
What a fun surprise these Cheerios Banana Muffins turned out to be! I had no idea you could crush Cheerios and bake them into muffins. Pinterest proves its worth yet again.
Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread
jump to recipe I am am finally baking again. I was down & out with the flu for a few days and as much as that sucked, it gave the bananas time to get ripe and disgusting, and it gave me…well, it gave me no joy. But this banana bread did. It’s an unusual recipe, […]
Honey Oat Quick Bread
jump to recipe Yesterday I was poking around the web looking for quick bread recipes, and came across this one. I liked the look of it, I liked the ingredients, but most of all, the reviews were almost all glowing. A few people had some trouble with texture, but the vast majority of people who […]
Carrot Spice Muffins
The other night I wanted to make something healthy. I always want it to be delicious, but I wanted to contrast the chocolate buttercream frostings and cheesecakes as of late, and I wanted to try something new. That’s how I found myself making Carrot Spice Muffins. And I’ll tell you right now to read on, because they are not only good for you, they’re super delicious. I’m eating one right now and it’s healthy enough for breakfast but tastes like dessert. Awesome.
Whole Grain Nutella Swirl Banana Muffins
People went NUTS over these. I made some mistakes along the way and had to improvise, and wasn’t even sure they were going to turn out okay. But not only did they turn out fine, they turned out delicious, and I have never had raves like this before. I think the word (and the substance) […]
Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats
Recipes like this are reason number twenty million for why I love the internet. I told Jana to pick a birthday treat, and she went to my Pinterest board and picked Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats. So I read the comments under the recipe, and a lot of people were complaining that the squares fell apart because of the moisture created by the pumpkin. And then one person posted that she came up with a solution to get the moisture out of the pumpkin. I followed her link. I followed her advice. I will now follow her blog. And maybe follow her around.
Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
jump to recipe Remind me not to listen to Presidential debates while I’m baking. It’s so depressing. It feels like this great big game with so little meaning. And yet I’m still watching. I listened to it on the radio while I was baking, I switched to my iPhone when I had to walk around […]
Apple Cider Spice Bread
jump to recipe Here’s another one I’ve been looking at for a while. I don’t like baked apples in things, but I do love apple cider and apple-pie-type spices, so how could I resist a recipe for Apple Cider Spice Bread? The only thing keeping me back was the full stick of butter required, so […]
Spiced Pumpkin Bran Muffins
jump to recipe I’m always on the lookout for more healthy muffin recipes, since that’s what I have for breakfast every day. Well now I have a new one to add to the collection. We went apple picking today, and you’d think I’d be baking something with apples, but I don’t actually LIKE baked apples, […]
Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread (Lightened Up)
I finally did something with those brown bananas that have been sitting on the counter for days, disgusting all of us. Or maybe just me. I don’t know. I find them disgusting! But I’d seen this lightened-up version of cinnamon swirl banana bread a while ago and wanted to try it out. Its time had come.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Muffins
These are wonderful. Fluffy light texture, deep rich espresso-pumpkin flavor, just delightful. Sophisticated, ever so slightly, but definitely a treat and a reasonably healthy one at tha
Gingery Carrot Tea Cake With Cinnamon Glaze
jump to recipe I’ve made this before, sort of, but today I changed the recipe, used a new pan to make things pretty, and took the glaze from one dessert to add to it, skipping the frosting. We have company coming, and we’ve actually been talking about having these guys over for years. Literally. Years! […]
Banana, Peanut Butter, and Honey Muffins
jump to recipe Finally! I am always looking at recipes that involve peanut butter, are low in points, and healthy enough for breakfast, but usually they involve some sort of Epicurean compromise. But my quest is over. I have found them! These banana, peanut butter, and honey muffins are delicious, in a no-caveats-needed way. Bursting […]
Healthy Breakfast Cookies
I made these healthy breakfast cookies in BC when we were visiting Mom, and I’ve been wanting to make them again ever since, this time with cinnamon chips. I ended up making one other change by accident, and I think it made them even better.
Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Singles
This has been a very strange evening. I don’t usually skip ahead to the end of my baking tales, but really, I was ready to give up on these weird oatmeal singles muffiny thingles completely, until Dave and Nathaniel each gobbled one up with glee. And then about ten minutes later, when I asked Dave […]
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins
I’ve been wanting to make these for days. Peanut butter, banana, oatmeal, all in a low-point, low-fat, healthy muffin? Sold. I had some icky brown bananas ready, too. The only reason I had to wait an extra day was because I spent Tuesday night making Snickerdoodle Mini Loaves for Miff’s birthday. By Wednesday I was […]
Wheat Germ And Molasses Bread
Oh fine, you might not think that sounds appealing. But it does to me. I’ve been wanting to try another recipe with wheat germ ever since I made those breakfast cookies in BC, and I love the flavor of molasses, and the picture on the recipe just looked very delicious to me. Look at it. […]
Breakfast Bran Muffins
I haven’t made bran muffins in a long time, and I found this nice, low-fat, healthy, and flexible recipe on Pinterest, so I whipped them together last night. I have to say, I’m very, very happy with the results. I do love a good bran muffin, and these have an unusually light texture, with a nice flavor that you can adjust based on your own tastes. I have big plans for these muffins. Plus, they were sort of fun to make.
Baked Cinnamon Mini Donuts
The kids have been begging for mini donuts and yesterday was our first Saturday at home in weeks, so I finally took out the mini donut maker Jenny gave us, and got to work. Lucky for me on a sleepy Saturday morning, I had a helper. Juliet was in charge of the flour (whole wheat […]
Low Fat Pumpkin Muffins
jump to recipe We came home after a beautiful weekend in Fire Island to a muffin-less house; well, it wasn’t supposed to be muffinless, but the banana muffins I made did not survive their weekend abandonment. I’d made another batch at the same time and brought it to Fire Island, and those were still fine […]
Healthy Pumpkin Bread With Cinnamon Chips
Dave looked at me like I was crazy when he saw me standing in front of a counter full of ingredients, and I don’t blame him. Every afternoon I get this lightheadedness and feel dizzy, and the feeling extends well into the evening, and yet there I was, setting up mixing bowls and measuring cups. […]
Baking in BC: Banana Muffins With Peanut Butter Chips
I had to make my famous original Banana Yogurt Muffins in BC once I saw Mom’s potato masher. “Do you have a potato masher, by any chance?” “I do, but it’s not a very good one. It has a penguin handle and it’s in the drawer.” Okay, Mom? That’s not a penguin. I think it’s […]
Baking in Toronto: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Snack Squares
We started out our vacation in Toronto, and I really felt like what the city was lacking was a giant dough ball. I think that’s what my brother’s house was missing too, as it certainly didn’t have one when I got there. So I set out to remedy that with the very delicious, previously tested […]
Banana Peanut Butter Chip Oatmeal Bread
(Yes, that top one has a slice taken out of it already.) It was supposed to be Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread, but I’m still holding on to the perhaps groundless hope that Juliet will actually eat some of this. And we all know she doesn’t eat chocolate, unless it comes in a wrapper from […]
Coconut Baked Oatmeal
I wanted to make something relatively healthy, but I’m really tired too, so it was time to try Coconut Baked Oatmeal. I pinned the recipe after we devoured the Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal from the same site (Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures), and it’s an easy recipe for the exhausted. You just put it all in a […]
Oatmeal Tea Bread redux: An Adventure In Toasted Walnuts
I have a confession to make: I have never toasted nuts before. I generally don’t cook with nuts, either, and part of that is my own texture preference. I like nuts, but I don’t love biting into something crunchy and resistant in the middle of something nice and cakey. I don’t usually bake with chocolate […]
Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal
After I threw the corn muffins away, I had to make something else, and it was almost lunch time, and the kids requested that the primary flavor be peanut butter. I couldn’t argue with that idea, as I love peanut butter with a fierce, obsessive love. We’d had baked oatmeal at Mussers’ Bed & Breakfast […]
Oatmeal Tea Bread
Yesterday I didn’t bake anything. So tonight I baked two things. I made my signature banana yogurt muffins, although I was a little distracted and forgot to top them off with cinnamon chips. Crap. They turned out great anyway, I say with honesty, and without any ego. They’re just delicious, that’s all. But I’ve had […]
Chai Pumpkin Bread
jump to recipe I wanted something to contrast yesterday’s bran muffins, something with a more complex flavor. When I saw that the ingredients for this recipe included cardamon, allspice, cloves, black pepper, and brewed chai tea in addition to cinnamon and nutmeg, I knew my search was over. See all that stuff? I figured I’d […]
Buttermilk Bran Muffins
jump to recipe I was planning on making carrot oatmeal muffins tonight, since I’ve run out of breakfast muffins, but then I was poking around in the Epicurious iPad app today and saw a buttermilk bran muffin recipe that looked like it was worth a try. When I got home, I asked Nathaniel which one […]
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Snack Squares
I’ve resisted this recipe for as long as I can. I mean, I pinned it TWELVE DAYS AGO and it has peanut butter, oatmeal, mini chocolate chips, and at some point you actually get to turn it into this: That’s twelve days too long, in my book. I had a great excuse to make it, […]