Muffins

Whether my kids like it or not, muffins are for lunch (unless you want to make your own PBJ).  I make a double batch of muffins whenever I make muffins and freeze the extras for lunches.  I often plan muffins for dinner on weekends just so I can keep the freezer stocked.  Muffins are also what is for breakfast on Monday mornings.   I know muffins generally are not the healthiest food out there, but I do use at least half whole wheat in each of them and since they are not a processed food, it just feels healthier (and tastes better to me than a granola bar or the like).

Chandler informed me last year that I was becoming famous at the Jr. High for the Glazed Orange Muffins.  Ha. (Didn't he realize how much work these things are and that I can't afford-- at least time wise-- to keep the whole JH stocked with muffins???  This year that might not be as much of a problem, but last year when Caleb was here, it was! He took an entire lunch sack full of muffins everyday so keeping up was nearly impossible.)

Here is my rotation of muffin recipes.

Brown Sugar Muffins

These are the Monday morning fare because they are the quickest to pull off  (and strangely, most of the kids' favorite).  This is a very adapted recipe from my sister, Katie.

Double Batch:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups white flour
2 cups wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
heaping 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 tsp vanilla

Mix oatmeal, buttermilk, milk and vanilla.  Let oatmeal soften while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Mix flours with soda, salt and baking powder.

Combine butter and brown sugar.  Beat until fluffy.  Add eggs and beat well.  By hand gently stir in the flour mixture until almost combined.  Add milk mixture and stir just until moistened.  Fill muffin cups.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired before baking.  Bake for 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

Blueberry-Sour Cream Muffins

Place baking rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Spray muffin cups or use paper liners. For the topping, combine the following in a medium bowl:

½ cup light brown sugar	2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup all-purpose flour	1 teaspoon cinnamon

Rub with your fingers to form coarse crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.

1 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon flour	1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons baking powder	1 rounded cup sour cream
¼ teaspoon baking soda	1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt	1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg	1 rounded cup frozen blueberries
¾ cup sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 ½ cups of flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer, beat the egg at medium speed until frothy. Add the sugar and melted butter and beat until pale yellow, 1 minute. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest until blended. Add the dry ingredients and stir by hand until almost blended. In a bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour. Using a rubber spatula, fold the blueberries into the batter.

Fill the muffin cups three-fourths full of batter; sprinkle with the topping. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Glazed Orange Muffins

Place baking rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray muffin cups or use paper liners.

1/4 cup butter, softened	1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil	3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup white granulated sugar	1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup packed brown sugar	1/4 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs	2 2/3 cups flour
Zest from two large oranges	1 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP squeezed juice from oranges

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Mix oils and sugars and beat with hand mixer until well mixed. Add the eggs, vanilla, zest and juice. Mix well. By hand add half of the flour mixture. Mix until slightly moistened. Add half of the buttermilk. Stir to combine. Repeat. Do not over stir. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake 15-17 minutes. When they come out of the oven, let them cool for 10-15 minutes and then glaze them.

Glaze:

2 TBSP butter	1 cup of powdered sugar
Zest of one orange	Juice from oranges

With beaters, combine butter, zest and powdered sugar until blended. Thin with juice until you reach desired consistency and flavor.  

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Place baking rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin cups or use paper liners.

1/2 cup butter, softened	2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2/3 cup sugar	2 lemons zested
2 large eggs, separated	1/4 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups flour	1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking powder	2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda	1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time. Beat well after each. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients, and poppy seeds. By hand, add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating two times with the buttermilk. Stir until barely blended. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold them into the muffin batter until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, 3/4-full. Sprinkle the muffin mixture with sugar if desired. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Banana Nut Muffins
Here is the link to my favorite muffins.  I don't make them that often because Tom doesn't like bananas and they are a fairly involved recipe.  But they are oh, so, yummy.

Pumpkin muffins  (Tessa's favorite)
2 2/3 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 TBSP softened butter
3 TBSP chopped nuts

Mix topping together and set aside.

Mix flour, sugars,baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Add eggs, pumpkin, oil and vanilla.  Stir until blended.  Fill muffin cups with batter.  Sprinkle with topping.  Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees.
(This recipe originally had a cream cheese filling, and while good, the extra work and calories were totally dispensable in my opinion!)

The nicely formatted recipes are copied and pasted from my documents.  For bridal showers, I give those recipes with a zester and a muffin tin.  At least on my computer, the formatting shows up right.  If it doesn't on yours, let me know and I'll fix them.