Carrot Spice and Honey Muffins

I always make a few carrot dishes for Rosh Hashanah. It's tradition!

Most often it's soup, sometimes a side dish.

This year I baked carrot muffins. Big breakfast winner for everyone, especially the grandkids.

Freezable too, so you can have them on hand whenever you might have a need. Like Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving weekend.

Carrot Spice and Honey Muffins

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, yogurt, honey, cooled butter and vanilla extract. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and stir gently just until blended. Fold in the carrots and raisins. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the muffins are golden brown. Let cool in the tins for 2-3 minutes, then remove the muffins to a rack to cool.

Makes 12  

Zucchini Muffins

This summer I was finally able to grow tomatoes. I had lots of them and there are still more to come!

I feel as if I finally did it right because I have failed every year up to now.

It makes me confident about next year, and not just about tomatoes. I might try to grow peppers and string beans and all sorts of things.

Maybe even zucchini. Now's the time of year that several people I know are harvesting their zucchinis, and some are gigantic! I'd like to see those in my garden.

For now I have to rely on my neighbors' and friends' generosity!

Here's what I did with zucchini this week. These muffins are not too sweet so you can have them for breakfast as well as snack.

 

Zucchini Muffins

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 1 cup raisins, optional 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. In a large bowl whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl combine the vegetable oil, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until well blended. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in the zucchini and optional raisins. Spoon the batter into the tins. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Invert the muffins onto the rack to cool completely.

Makes 12

Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

A few weeks ago I bought about 60 pounds of apples.

That's a lot of apples.

And even I can hardly believe that after making many pies, a few cakes, some baked apples, apple crisps and apple brown bettys, mounds of applesauce, a couple chicken-apple recipes, including a salad, all my apples are gone.

Oh no! 

I still have a pancake recipe to try! 

Hard to believe I'll have to buy another few pounds. 

But before I ran out of apples, I did get to try these Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins which are gorgeous and delicious and such a welcome, seasonal treat (with cider or coffee or tea) for Hallowe'en or Thanksgiving or simply for breakfast or coffee break.

 

Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Streusel:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut in smaller pieces, or coconut oil

Muffins:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups chopped apples

To make the streusel: place the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and mix to distribute the ingredients evenly. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture looks crumbly. Set aside.

To make the muffins: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk until the ingredients are evenly distributed. In another bowl, combine the pumpkin, vegetable oil and eggs and blend thoroughly. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the apples. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the streusel. Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are browned and crispy and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Makes 12

Pumpkin Spice Corn Muffins

It's October, almost Hallowe'en, which means you're going to see "pumpkin spice" everything. Cake. Ice cream. Latte. Whatever.

I decided to get in on the act. Especially because I have been experimenting with mashed pumpkin for a variety of recipes and have (actually, had) loads of it in my fridge.

These Pumpkin Spice Corn Muffins are among the tastiest results.

Corn muffins are some of my favorite breakfast breads but sometimes they're too dry or too grainy. I have several good recipes though. 

Adding mashed pumpkin and autumn spices to the batter gives the corn muffins a warm and comfy flavor. In addition, the muffins are dense, moist and tender. Not dry, not grainy. 

Pumpkin Spice Corn Muffins

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1-1/4 cups cornmeal 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon until well blended. In another bowl mix the egg, milk, pumpkin and cooled butter until well blended. Pour the liquid into the cornmeal mixture and stir to blend the ingredients. Spoon equal amounts into the muffin cups.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 10

Oat Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

Oat Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

Having company for the Labor Day weekend? 

Need a breakfast bread for the back-to-school crowd?

Brunch item?

These banana muffins will suit so many needs.

Oat-Topped Banana Brown Sugar Muffins

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 small very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin tins. Mix the flour, 1/2 cup oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together in a bowl. In a second bowl, mix the banana, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just to bend ingredients. Spoon equal amounts into the greased muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the 2 tablespoons oats. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 12

Tips on Salt Free, Plus Blueberry Muffins, salt free and vanilla-y

Salt Free Blueberry Muffins

Everyone pokes fun at the "old folks" who talk about their "conditions" and "ailments" and pills.

But it's okay because sometimes it makes serious stuff easier to handle if you can joke about it, as long as you actually take the serious stuff seriously.

So before our annual new year’s festivities, when our cousins come for a few days, we went over whether there were any new dietary restrictions.

There was: no salt. (I mentioned it last week when I talked about serving India-style shakshuka instead of the usual herrings and smoked fish for brunch on New Year’s Day.0

We joked about our conditions and ailments and pills. And understood that we weren't talking about our grandparents or even our parents, but about ourselves. 

We had become them.

When did that happen?

Don't laugh youngsters. If you're lucky, this will happen to you too. It's one of the costs of growing older.

On the other hand, from a food point of view? Not lucky. No salt is a real UGH.

Salt is the salt of the earth. It's what makes so many foods taste so good.

Food without salt is, well, not as tasty. Let's just admit it and move on.

And, moving on, if you have to cook without salt, you have to and that's that. So you have to come up with ways to make the food taste good without it.

Among the salt-free dishes I prepared over the weekend were blueberry muffins. 

What did I do to make sure they didn't taste like a box of Cheerios? (I don't mean the Cheerios, I mean the box.)

I added extra vanilla to my standard recipe. A good brand of pure vanilla extract — I bought it at Penzey’s), not imitation vanilla.

I could also have added 2 teaspoons of grated fresh orange or lemon peel but I knew this particular company would not have enjoyed that. 

I could have included 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts -- both of these nuts pack plenty of flavor, but I don't keep those nuts in my house because of allergies.

The tip here is to add powerful, flavorful ingredients that perk up the dish so you won't miss the salt.

We didn't.

Blueberry Muffins

• 5 tablespoons butter

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 large egg

• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange or lemon peel, optional

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 8 muffin tins. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Place the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, vanilla extract and orange peel (if used) in a second bowl and whisk to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix just until combined. Fold in the blueberries and optional nuts. Fill muffin tins evenly with the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 15 minutes. Remove the muffins and serve warm or let cool to room temperature.

Makes 8

Blueberry Almond Muffins

Although I absolutely am capable of eating one of those giant muffins that seem to be the norm in bakeries and coffee places these days, I do realize that smaller is better, healthier and less caloric. So, when I decided to bake some blueberry muffins recently, I calculated baking times and such with a recipe that yielded 8 muffins, but used it to make 10.

I also ran out of flour, so I substituted almond meal, which was lovely, and gave the muffins a vaguely sweeter, but not sugary, flavor. 

Here they are:

 

Blueberry Almond Muffins

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup almond flour (meal)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon peel
• 1 cup plain Greek style yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin tins. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and lemon peel in a bowl and mix thoroughly to distribute the ingredients evenly. Place the yogurt, egg, melted cooled butter and vanilla extract in a second bowl and beat to blend ingredients thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix just until combined. Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin tins evenly with the batter. Bake for about 18 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool slightly, then remove them from the pan. Serve warm or let cool to room temperature.

Makes 10

Pumpkin Muffins with Kefir and Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Muffins with Kefir and Pepitas 

As soon as I see that pumpkins have replaced the corn and tomatoes at the market I start hungering for food that’s autumn-like. Mostly pumpkin bread and muffins to snack on when I need a little something in the late afternoon with my last cup of coffee for the day. 

I don’t make pumpkin muffins as often as I do banana bread, but almost. This is my latest version, which has kefir because I happened to have some in the fridge. But buttermilk is fine too. 

Reheat leftovers in a toaster oven for a few minutes if you need a quick breakfast. 

Btw, I used to bake and mash the pumpkin insides to get the puree, but most of the time I use canned pumpkin or squash. NOT pumpkin pie mix. I want to mix in the spices of my choice, not theirs.

Pumpkin Muffins with Kefir and Pumpkin Seeds

• 3  tablespoons butter

• 1-3/4 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 cup mashed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

• 3/4 cup kefir

• 1/4 cup molasses

• 1 large egg

• 2-3 tablespoons crushed pumpkin seeds 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 9 muffin tin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, kefir, molasses, egg and cooled, melted butter. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix only long enough to combine. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin cups. Scatter the pumpkin seeds evenly on top of each muffin. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 9

Squash Muffins

It only took two months to gain about 10 pounds after I started my first full-time job.

Back then, even back then, in the dinosaur era, when the only yogurt you could find easily was Dannon (in maybe 6-7 flavors), I brought a yogurt to the office. I was a freshman attorney in a big, bustling law office on Wall Street. I was so clueless then I didn’t realize that the proper office hours were NOT from 8:00 a.m., when I liked to get in (so I could also leave early and have a life), but 10:00 or 10:30 (and then have dinner with the team and come home late).

I brought in my yogurt and ate it early, but then, when the rest of the lawyers came to work, they would bring like a full American breakfast: eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast.

So, in order to try to be part of the team and a little less clueless, I ordered in breakfast too. Usually it was a blueberry muffin and some juice. Those blueberry muffins cost me 10 pounds.

But I did learn three things. One, I could never consume an “American breakfast” at my desk. It always reminded me of how bad your car smells when you have french fries wrapped up in a paper bag getting all soft and steamy.

Two, that food writing pays a lot less but has been an infinitely better career for me than working day and night as a lawyer.

Three, that I love, love, love muffins. Blueberry muffins sometimes, pumpkin or squash muffins now, when the scent of autumn spices is so alluring.

Squash Muffins

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 cup mashed cooked squash

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 cup golden raisins, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin tin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a bowl. Place the buttermilk, squash, egg and melted butter in a second bowl and beat to blend ingredients thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix just until combined. Fold in the raisins if used. Fill muffin cups evenly with the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 15 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and serve warm or let cool to room temperature.

Makes 10