Cranberry Zucchini Muffins

More zucchini bread experimentation as we harvest the plethora of plants that are taking over our garden. Dense would be a great adjective to describe this muffin. Heavy and chock full of cranberries and chopped walnuts. Filling the tin to the top is definitely the way to go. I love how the muffin tops are like large crowns popping up over where the muffin would normally end. I would recommend these as a great hearty muffin. Enjoy!    

Cranberry Zucchini Muffins
Source: Simply Recipes

1-1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups zucchini, grated
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons baking soda
pinch of salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350�F. In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts and dried cranberries.

Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin batter equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan, let cool another 20 minutes.

Makes 12 to 14 muffins

Cheese and Bacon Muffins

A savory variation of the raspberry muffins that I posted a bit ago. I would have to say that they kind of grew on me. First impression was that they were a bit bland even with the addition of cheese and bacon. Beyond the first one, and even into the second day, my opinion of them improved. Even with the improvement, my preference is definitely to use this batter with a fruit and venture onto the sweet side. When and if I use this recipe for a savory muffin again, I might decide to add some diced green chiles or something with a bit of pep.  
I did use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour like I used with the raspberry muffins so that might have made a difference. Also, I reduced the amount of sugar and added in shredded cheddar cheese and bacon. Enjoy!

Cheese and Bacon Muffins
Makes a dozen muffins

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked bacon, crumbled

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare muffin pan.

Stir flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar together. Make a well in the center.

Beat eggs with a fork. Stir in milk and melted butter. Pour into well in flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moist. Gently stir in the cheese and bacon.

Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Turn oven down to 400 degrees F before baking. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

I love scones, in case you couldn't tell! Any chance I get to make a baked good for breakfast my mind usually heads to scones first. Don't get me wrong, I love a good muffin or some sweet bread or even a coffee cake but there is something about a scone.

For this past weekend, which happened to be Father's Day, we were camping. I still wanted to have a special breakfast and since it is somewhat difficult to whip up a gourmet meal with just a few pans and a limited amount of space I decided that I would instead find a scone recipe to prepare ahead of time that we could just take along with us to enjoy with a side of fruit.

The original recipe for this was for white chocolate cherry scones but I didn't happen to have any dried cherries in my cupboard. I did have dried cranberries though (a staple in our household) so I checked with hubby to see if he would be agreeable to that substitution. As you can see from this post, he was.

I whipped up a quick batch while finishing packing for our camping trip. I stuck them in the freezer to cool them a bit faster so I could store them in a bag before putting them with our other non-refrigerated foods. And that is where they stayed our entire camping trip. Yep, that's right. I left them in the freezer right next to the chicken breasts, chicken nuggets, and chicken and apple sausages I was also supposed to bring. Good plan, poor execution. He did get to enjoy one the day we came back into town, and since it was only one day after Father's Day it wasn't too long of a wait. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Cranberry Scones
Source: Adapted from My Baking Addiction

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate.

In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth; stir in vanilla.
 
Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)

Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles (or other desired shape); place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.


If desired, drizzle with melted white chocolate after the scones have cooled.


Optional:
Add a light egg wash to the top of the scones and a sprinkle of coarse sugar before placing in the oven.
Add in a variety of ingredients to make your signature scone, think chocolate chips, nuts, espresso powder�endless possibilities!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Who would have ever thought that a slight change in baking and the addition of a crumb topping could make the same muffin batter look so completely different. I was so surprised when the second batch of muffins came out looking so golden brown with a crunchy top. I began to think of the pale ones as representing the great Pacific Northwest where most are a pasty white, and the darker ones as representing Southern California where many are golden brown and crispy.

This recipe is actually similar to a banana bread recipe and it makes muffins that are very dense. You could weigh these puppies on a scale and they would definitely register. For the first batch of muffins, I baked them in cupcake liners and I chose to bake them naked with no crumb topping. They tasted great, like a slice of chocolate chip banana bread in muffin form. For the second batch I ran out of cupcake liners so I just baked them right in the muffin pan and I added the crumb topping. Holy cow! These were incredible. The naked ones make a great healthier muffin but if you want something with pizazz then the crumb topping is the way to go. Enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 
Makes about one dozen muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Crumb Topping (optional):
4 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your muffin pan (either line with liners or spray with oil).

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Mix mashed bananas, egg, melted butter, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not over mix). Stir in chocolate chips.

Optional Topping:
Mix ingredients together and crumble on top of muffins before cooking. Just a little bit does it. Use judgment as to how wet or dry you want the crumbly top. More wet, less flour; drier crumbs, more flour.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake 25-30 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Raspberry Muffins

My little family of three had an early morning trip home from visiting my mom so in order to get out the door sooner I decided to make muffins that we could snack on in the car. I wanted to try a new muffin recipe and since I wasn't at home I knew it would need to be pretty simple, not requiring a bunch of special tools or ingredients.

I typed "best muffin recipe ever" into goog.le and this was the first one that came up. Just looking at the ingredients and directions it seemed easy enough. I read through many of the reviews and made a few adaptations to the recipe based on the comments. My husband chose the fruit for our muffins when he stopped by the store for me on the way back to my mom's from running errands and I was pleased that he chose to pick up raspberries (it was between blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries).

Yum! These muffins were so delicious! I really enjoyed the flavor of the raspberries and the moistness and lightness of the muffins. I will definitely be making these again, most likely trying out a different type of fruit the next time. Our 4 year old was very disappointed when I told him he couldn't have anymore as he was stuffing his third muffin in his mouth! Enjoy!  


Raspberry Muffins
Source: Adapted from All Recipes

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup raspberries, individual raspberries cut in half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare muffin pan.

Stir flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar together. Make a well in the center.

Beat eggs with a fork. Stir in milk and melted butter. Pour into well in flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moist. Gently stir in the raspberries so you don't smash them.

Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Turn oven down to 400 degrees F before baking. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

Strawberry Scones

Strawberries don't seem to last long, do they? I had about 3 cups of diced up strawberries that I knew I couldn't use before they went bad so I started searching for a scone recipe. I came across a few but settled on this one in the end.

I ended up making two batches, one for my mom and one for my family. I baked half of my mom's batch and froze the other half. My family's I just put right into the freezer and didn't pull them out until a few months later. I initially took them out for breakfast the next morning but I was craving some fresh baked goods and it was too late in the evening so I didn't want to start from scratch. Of the six I baked for breakfast the next morning we ended up eating three that night. The next morning I decided to spruce them up with a bit of icing.    

Strawberry Scones
Source: Confessions of a Tart

1 cup strawberries (cut into bite-sized pieces)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar + extra for sprinkling
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, in cubes, slightly softened
2/3 cup half-and-half or cream or cold buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle strawberries with 1/2 tablespoon sugar; set aside. Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter (you may want to use your fingers to be sure butter is evenly mixed into flour). Stir in strawberries; then add cream/half-and-half/buttermilk all at once. Use spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don't break up the berries and don't overwork the dough. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets sticky.

Form the dough into a circle 3/4 inch thick. If any berries peek out, push them into dough. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between them. Bake 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with sugar and bake 5-10 more minutes or until the tops are beginning to brown and spring back when you push them (keep checking on them - you do not want dry scones!). 

* You can add icing by mixing powdered sugar and water to the desired thickness.

Makes about 8 scones

Sausage Cheese Muffins

These little muffins were a tasty treat! I really had a hard time not continuously popping these things in my mouth. I made them for our "tea party" MOPS meeting where we bring dainty little finger foods, but I also ended up eating some on the way home from the meeting and for lunch that day. I'm not sure why they had an addictive quality for me, but all I know is that they did. Enjoy!

Sausage Cheese Muffins
Source: Quick Cooking Magazine

1 pound Italian sausage
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1/2 cup milk
2 to 3 teaspoons rubbed sage
3 cups biscuit/baking mix

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tin.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain. In a bowl, combine soup, milk, sage, and sausage. Stir in the biscuit mix just until moistened. Fill miniature or regular muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until muffins test done (less time for miniature).

Makes 4 dozen mini muffins or 2 dozen regular muffins

Maple-Oatmeal Scones

I love baking new varieties of scones! I was looking for something that didn't contain fruit since the last few I've baked have had cranberries and orange, but I also didn't want something savory. This was a great choice because it bakes up light and fluffy but it also has a bit of sweet with the maple glaze. We also enjoyed them later after they had been frozen, thawed, and reheated in the microwave. Enjoy!

Maple-Oatmeal Scones
Source: Brown Eyed Baker

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk, for egg wash
---
1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, oats, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Blend in the cold butter until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, and eggs and add quickly to the flour-butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.

Dump dough onto a well-floured surface and be sure all ingredients are combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough to 3/4 to 1-inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on baking sheet.

Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine only took 14 minutes), until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioner's sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes, and drizzle each scone with about 1/2 teaspoon of glaze. Sprinkle some uncooked oats on the top, for a garnish. The warmer the scones are when you glaze them, the thinner the glaze will be.

Orange Berry Muffins

I don't have much to say about this one. There can't have been many people who haven't had a blueberry muffin at some point in their life. Since I like trying out different blueberry muffin recipes, I figured I'd try this orange blueberry muffin. It was yummy, as are most blueberry muffins! Enjoy!

Orange Berry Muffins
Source: Brown Eyed Baker

grated zest and juice of 1 orange
about 3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries - fresh (preferably) or frozen (not thawed)
---
decorating sugar for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare your muffin pan by spraying or lining with paper liners.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup and then pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey, and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and gently, but quickly, stir to blend. Stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want the tops of the muffins decorated with sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have been baking for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffin will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pan.

Cranberry Orange Scones

I think this is the yummiest scone recipe I have made so far in all of my time baking. I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that the recipe calls for three quarters of a pound of butter, do you?. That can't be why they are so buttery and melt in your mouth good!

The only change I made to the original recipe is that I did not use the glaze on the batch of larger scones, but I did use it when I made the mini scones. They tasted great with and without the glaze so you can decide which way you want to eat them. Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Scones
Source: Barefoot in the Kitchen

4 cups + 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3/4 pound unsalted butter, cold, diced
4 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup heavy cream, cold
1 cup dried cranberries (or 2 cups fresh or thawed cranberries, quartered)
egg wash (1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water, milk, or leftover cream)
 
Glaze:
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest until combined. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of small peas.

Combine the eggs and heavy cream in a small bowl. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly pour egg mixture into flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended (the dough will look lumpy).

Combine the dried cranberries and the 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough and mix on low until well blended.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead. Divide dough in half. Roll half the dough in a 1-inch thick circle. Cut into 8 wedges, or use cutters or however you are dividing your portions. (I used a drinking glass.) Repeat with second half of dough.

Brush tops of scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes. Makes 16 scones.

For Glaze: Whisk together the confectioner's sugar and orange juice and drizzle over scones.

Quiche Lorraine Scones

Don't these scones look mouth-watering and delicious? What's not to love about a flaky crust, melting swiss cheese, and salty bacon. I had a desire to bake scones one weekend so I started searching for a new recipe to try. I originally started out looking for a sweet, fruit type scone but once I came across these I knew I had picked my winner. I had never made a savory scone before and these were a great introduction.

They were easy to make, easy to clean up, didn't require a mixer and tasted fabulous. The only drawback is that it did take a bit of prep to cook the bacon, cube the cheese, and slice the green onions but that was so worth it for the result. I will definitely make these again. Enjoy!

Quiche Lorraine Scones
Source: Brown Eyed Baker

4 ounces swiss cheese, cubed
3 green onions, thinly sliced
7 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups + 1 teaspoon all purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch cayenne pepper
dash nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold butter, diced
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 eggs
egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Prepare the cheese, onions, and bacon. Toss these ingredients together with one teaspoon flour; set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the butter is pea-size. With a fork, lightly beat the half-and-half and eggs and add to the flour mixture. Add the bacon, onion, and cheese mixture. Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together.

Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead gently for less than one minute. Pat dough to 3/4 to 1-inch thick and cut using 3-inch biscuit cutter (for large scones) or cut into square or triangles. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown.