Zucchini Mini Muffins

Adapted from this Cooking Light recipe... made them for the kids at Mommy Fit Camp last week and they were a big hit!

1 1/3 cups all-purpose

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

heaping 1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium-large zucchini) 

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons butter, melted 

2 tablespoons milk 

1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten 

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a large bowl. Combine zucchini and next 5 ingredients (through egg) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring batter just until combined. Divide batter evenly among 36 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean.

Low-fat blueberry muffins

From Cook's Country

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 teaspoon grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.  Whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.

Whisk eggs and brown sugar in medium bowl.  Gradually whisk in butter, buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until well-blended.  Fold into dry mixture (a few streaks should remain).  Toss blueberries with remaining tablespoon flour and gently fold into batter.  Bake 25-30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking.

Arkansas biscuits

Vickie Reed has made these when we've been at her house a couple of times and they are delicious!

Arkansas Biscuits

5 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups of buttermilk  

5 Tablespoons sugar

1 pkg dry yeast

2 Tablespoons warm water (to mix up with the yeast)

1 cup shortening (use solid, not oil)

Melted butter in bowl.

Dissolve yeast in water in small bowl.  Mix dry ingredients.  Add yeast mixture and buttermilk mixture

Mix well.  Roll out biscuits, cut with glass or biscuit cutter.  Dip in melted butter and fold. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 20 min at 400 degrees.

Can be placed on cookie sheet and kept in refrigerator with wax paper & saran wrap 1-2 days before cooking. Makes 2+  cookie sheets full (a lot)

Fresh Cranberry Muffins

The great thing about cranberries is you can freeze the bag and just use what you need. I have a couple of bags stashed in the freezer, so I made these muffins last week when we had overnight company.

Fresh Cranberry Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
• 2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/4 cup butter or stick margarine, melted
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Stir in cranberries; make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, butter, rind, vanilla, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 18 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pan immediately; place on a wire rack. Note: These muffins freeze well. Bake them ahead, cool completely, and store in freezer bags. To serve, thaw at room temperature. Reheat in aluminum foil at 300º for 10 to 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Honey Cinnamon Butter

This butter is really, really good! It would be great on a variety of holiday baked goods (pumpkin muffins, cranberry nut bread, Sister Schubert rolls, etc.).

Here's what you need:
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup honey
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Use an electric mixer to whip the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar, honey, and cinnamon. Scrape sides and whip until blended. Place in little ramekins, teacups, little jars, etc. and refrigerate. You could use 4 oz canning jars and give them as gifts!

Savory Mini Corn Muffins

These variations from Martha Stewart are genius! Of course her recipe is from scratch, but we started with a box of Jiffy and it turned out just fine!

Savory Mini Corn Muffins

So, start with a box of Jiffy and follow the directions to make the batter. Then, add your choice of the following to the batter to make delicious mini muffin appetizers.

1) Orange Rosemary Black Pepper

-1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

-1/4 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2) Jalapeno Cheddar

-3/4 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno chile (make sure to use gloves)

-1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated white cheddar cheese

3) Caramelized Onion-Bacon

-2 tablespoons caramelized onion

-1 1/2 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

Gently stir in add-ins, then spoon into lightly greased mini muffin tin and bake according to package directions.

Cinnamon Rolls

This was my second time to make Paula Deen's cinnamon rolls. This time, I baked them in a 9x13 baking dish (rather than on a cookie sheet) and they turned out quite well. I'm still working on perfecting the icing... we prefer a cream cheese icing, but the recipe I tried today was too buttery. We're hoping that the third time will be a charm!

Note: for smaller rolls, roll out narrower and longer (NOT thinner), and cut more than 15 slices.

Cinnamon Rolls

melted butter for bowl and pan

DOUGH:

1/4 oz package yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup milk, warmed 1 minute in microwave

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3 1/2 - 4 cups flour

FILLING:

1/2 cup melted butter (you could probably reduce this if you were trying to be healthy)

3/4 cup sugar (I used a combination of brown and white sugar)

2 tablespoons cinnamon

raisins/chopped nuts optional

ICING (adjust ingredients to your preferences):

cream cheese

butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

powdered sugar

milk

In a small bowl dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside.

In a large bowl mix milk, butter, sugar, salt, and egg.

Add 2 cups flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture.

Add additional flour until dough is easy to handle.

Knead on lightly floured surface for 5-10 minutes.

Place dough in well greased bowl, turning to coat all sides.

Cover bowl and allow to rise 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch dough down and turn onto floured surface. Roll into 15"x9" rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough, then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon. Starting with 15" side, roll up. Slice into 15 pieces. Place in well oiled baking dish. Cover and allow to rise 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes OR refrigerate to bake next morning. If baking next day, take out of the refrigerator while the oven is preheating, then bake 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread icing on top of slightly cooled rolls.

Sweet Cornbread Croutons

Last week I made a salad with these croutons on top. They were a great alternative to regular croutons. They would be good on soup also.

Sweet Cornbread Croutons

-1 batch of cornbread, Jiffy or Jiffy-like, for example, prepared the day before or a few hours earlier and cooled

-melted butter

Cut the prepared cornbread into 1" cubes. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet and brush with melted butter. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until beginning to brown, turning the cubes over halfway through. Serve over salad or soup. Store extra croutons in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze.

Just like Jiffy

As I mentioned before, I always used Jiffy cornbread mix in the US. I tried this recipe and it is JUST LIKE JIFFY! Even once we return to the US I think I'll keep making this and save a few cents!

Jiffy-like Cornbread

(this recipe equals one Jiffy box)

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

Combine flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well with whisk.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Combine above dry mixture with oil, then egg and milk.  Mix well.

Fill muffin tins 1/2 full.

Bake 15-20 minutes

Makes 6 muffins.

Or, pour batter into a small cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

This zucchini bread recipe turned out great! I was running low on nuts, so I just topped it with nuts instead of mixing them into the batter. I only wanted to make one loaf, so I cut the following recipe in half.

Zucchini Bread

(makes 2 loaves)

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini with peel

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Irish Soda Bread

This rustic loaf was really easy to make... it was a Bon Appétit recipe. It is a dense bread, good with a piece of cheese or toasted with a little butter or jam. It freezes well, too!

Irish Soda Bread

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sesame, poppy, or caraway seeds (I used sesame seeds this time)

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

appx. 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly flour baking sheet. Mix flour, seeds, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix in enough buttermilk to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface and knead just until dough holds together, about 1 minute. Shape into 6 inch diameter round, about 2 inches high. Cut a 1" deep "X" in the top of the dough round, extending almost to the edges. Bake until golden brown, loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, and tester comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer bread to a cooling rack to completely cool.

Arlin's Biscuits

These are Arlin's famous biscuits... well famous around the Hendrix house. Doug watched him make them a few times, and then this weekend he decided to give it a shot. Success followed!

Here's the recipe (which Arlin often doubles):

Arlin's Biscuits

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup butter or shortening

dash of salt if using unsalted butter

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

Mix flour and baking powder. Cut in butter/shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg together with milk. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture all at once. Stir until dough follows fork around bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead about 20 times. Roll to 3/4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutter. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 425 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

Jamaican Banana Bread

This Sunday was a Caribbean-themed potluck at church. I made this recipe as a dessert.

Jamaican Banana Bread

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed overripe bananas
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon rum flavoring
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup flaked coconut

-Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
-Cream together butter and cheese; slowly add sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, banana, milk, rum, zest, and juice.
-In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
-In 3 parts, add the dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. Stir in pecans and coconut.
-Pour into loaf pan and cook for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack until fully cooled.

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

The last of my canned pumpkin got used in this yummy recipe:

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped apple

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 18 muffin cups or use paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Cranberry Nut Bread

This recipe is delicious sliced and toasted. It is pretty moist and rich... so only good every once in a while! For extra plump cranberries, I soaked the cranberries in the orange juice while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

Cranberry Nut Bread

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream butter and honey together in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, orange juice and orange zest; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and add to honey mixture in thirds, beating after each addition. Stir in cranberries and walnuts, then transfer batter to an oiled loaf pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until cooked through.

Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

• DELICIOUS muffins!! Made these yesterday...
• Pumpkin Raisin Muffins
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 stick butter, melted

1 tablespoon raw sugar, to sprinkle top of muffins

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in raisins. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine egg and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be very thick).

3. Spoon batter into muffin pans lined with cups, filling two-thirds full. Sprinkle raw sugar on top.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.

Blueberry Muffins

I made these this weekend and they were really good!

Blueberry Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for the top of the muffins
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, or 3/4 cup dried blueberries, soaked for a few minutes in water or juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with liners, or grease with butter. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

With an electric hand-held mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter, zest, and 2/3 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour in 3 parts into the butter mixture, alternating with the milk in 2 parts, until just combined and then fold in the blueberries. Do not over mix the batter. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin and sprinkle the tops with sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool muffins in the pan on a rack. Serve warm.

Golden Sweet Cornbread

I have always made "Jiffy" cornbread, so I had to find a recipe to make it here in France. I made this recipe for our chili supper last night and it was a big hit with all the guests. Here's the recipe:

Golden Sweet Cornbread

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Grease a 9" cake pan. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Gradually add the egg/milk/oil mixture to the flour mixture until just combined. Let sit for a couple of minutes before pouring into cake pan. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with chili or serve with butter and honey for dessert or brunch.

Plum Pecan Quick Bread

I have an abundance of plums, so I tried another new recipe... here's the original recipe.

Plum Pecan Quick Bread

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/4 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-zest of one lemon

-1 cup all purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-pinch of salt

-3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk stirred with a tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice)

-1 1/2 cup fresh plums, pitted and diced

topping:

-1 tablespoon sugar

-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine sugars, oil, and zest. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternate slowly adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the sugar mixture until smooth. Add diced plums and pour batter into a greased loaf pan.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Sprinkle topping on loaf.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and place on cooling rack until completely cooled.

***NOTES:

-In case you didn't notice, this recipe is eggless (yay Troy!)

-This recipe was very yummy, but...

-the diced plums sank to the the bottom of the loaf, so it was crunchy on top but mushy on the bottom... if I make it again, I'll probably pour half the batter into the loaf pan and then add the diced plums to the remaining batter and pour into the pan.

Banana Bread

This is my mom's banana bread recipe... I always make it when we have over-ripe bananas!

Banana Bread

1/3 cup butter, plus a little to grease the pan

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2-3 ripe bananas

1 ¾ cups self rising flour

A little orange juice

1) preheat oven to 350º (325º if dark pan), place loaf pan in oven while it is heating.

2) melt butter for 30 seconds in microwave (not fully melted)

3) Mix butter and sugar together, add egg. Mix until fluffy.

4) Place bananas in measuring cup, mash down and add enough orange juice to make 1 cup

5) Mix banana mixture with egg mixture and add self-rising flour until just combined.

6) Remove pan from oven, rub butter over hot pan

7) Fill pan, cook for 45 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

The hint of orange and the buttery edges make this recipe really tasty!