Caramel Apple Oatmeal Muffins

 Inspired by the salted caramel chips at Trader Joe's, we had these muffins for breakfast this morning. Apple and caramel are one of my favorite flavor combinations and apple is my transition food between Summer and Fall. 😋🍎🍂

I was so nervous about how they would turn out, I only baked 6 as a trial. But they were moist, apple-y and sweet, but not too sweet. Next time I'll throw some pecans or walnuts in my half of the batch... 😜

Preheat oven to 425. Grease or place 12 muffin papers into standard sized muffin tin. You may make more or less depending on how full you fill them.

First mix 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in a small bowl. 

Next grind 1/2 cup of rolled oats in food processor or blender until they have a flour-like consistency. Then pour them into a new mixing bowl.

Add:

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

3/8 cup or 6 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.

Grate a cored and quartered apple until you have 1 cup. You don't need to grate it first, but you can if you want.

Add:

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

1 beaten egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

the sour cream/baking soda mixture

Stir until mixed but don't over mix or the muffins will become tough. Stir in grated apple and 1/4-1/3 cup caramel chips.  Gently fold them in, making sure they are both well incorporated.

Spoon into prepared muffin tin. The batter will be very thick.

Bake for 5 minutes at 425. Then turn off the oven and turn temperature to 350. Do not open or remove the muffins from the oven. Just continue to bake for 10-14 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes before removing. Continue to cool on rack or enjoy while warm. 😊

Pumpkin Butter Muffins

 I really love this muffin! I know this sounds strange, but I was inspired by this soap I bought at Bath & Body Works. Don't worry... It doesn't taste like soap. LOL

It was also my first time using my new silicone muffin cups, which, by the way, work great! 

These taste a lot like mini pumpkin coffee cakes. They stay moist for days and have a hint of coconut... You know, the soap. ;) 

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour mixture. 

2 cups pumpkin butter (or pumpkin puree)

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (can substitute with vanilla)

/1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk the wet ingredients together and pour into the flour well. Mix until just combined.

Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.

Combine brown sugar with a little white sugar. Mix with pumpkin pie spice, to taste.

Sprinkle generously on top of muffins.

Bake at 425 for 5 minutes. Then lower oven temperature to 350 and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean. 

Cool in wire rack. 

These are good warm or at room temperature. 

Blackberry Orange Muffins

After many many years of eluding me, I think I have finally found the perfect berry muffin recipe. They even have a nice round top! :)  Next I will try it with blueberries and lemon and we'll see...

I took some bits and tips from several different recipes and put them together to make these:

Preheat the oven to 425.

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and sprinkle them with sugar to coat.

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix 2 cups of flour and sugar in large mixing bowl. Mix the last 1/2 cup flour and remaining dry ingredients in small bowl. Then sieve them into the flour/sugar mixture. Mix well.

Make a well in the flour. Pour in the following ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
grated zest from 1 orange

Stir just until mixed.

Gently stir in 1 - 1/2 cups small fresh blackberries.

Spoon into greased/sugared muffin tin.

Sprinkle tops with coarse sugar and top each one with 1 small blackberry.

Bake for 5 minutes at 425. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 350 and bake for about 10 more minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Remove from tins immediately, running a knife along edge to help get them out.

Cool for a few minutes on baking rack before eating.

Applesauce Muffins

Made these muffins for supper tonight. I confess they aren’t the best muffins I’ve ever had or even the best muffins I’ve ever made. But they were quick, easy, moist and could have any number of tasty variations that I will be trying in the future. So, here’s the recipe: mostly for my own reference, but feel free to try them yourself…

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup applesauce

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg, vanilla and applesauce. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.

Spoon into greased or papered muffin tins. Makes about 15 muffins.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Variations:

*apple cider glaze on top

* stir in chopped fresh apple, dried cranberries, raisins, chopped nuts

*top with streusel topping 

Blueberry Lemon Streusel Muffins

This is a simplification of a recipe I found on Pinterest. I am going to write it in steps so that no one will be as confused as I was when I made it. It has quite a few steps (but still less than the original recipe) and dirties quite a few bowls but, thankfully, it was worth it in the end… My quest for the perfect blueberry muffin may be over???

 

Step one: Combine 1/4 cup sugar and the zest of 1 lemon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Step two: Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup flour in a bowl. Mix in 3 Tablespoons melted butter until it turns into pea-sized pieces.

Step three: Mix 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

Step four: Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 1/8 cups sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup melted butter and whisk until combined. Whisk in 1 cup buttermilk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Step five: Take the lemon/sugar combination and sift out the lemon zest through a fine sieve, reserving the sugar for topping the muffins. Stir the sugary lemon zest into the flour mixture.

Step six: Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the egg/sugar mixture. Mix until it is just combined. The batter will be very lumpy. Don’t worry, you don’t want to mix it too much!

Step seven: Gently fold in 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen, toss them with 1 Tablespoon of flour before folding in.

Step eight: Fill 12-15 prepared muffin cups. Top each with streusel and a bit of the lemon sugar. Bake at 425 for 17-20 minutes or until the tops are firm and golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and another 5 minutes on wire rack. Eat warm.

Apple Cider Muffins

These muffins are moist and sweet with the perfect light texture, but are also filling and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea for a quick and easy breakfast. We like ours tossed in sugar but they’d also be good plain…

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 egg

2/3 cup brown sugar (I prefer dark)

1/2 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup apple cider

1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

2 Tablespoons oil

Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Mix remaining ingredients (including sugar) in a small bowl until well combined. Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t worry about lumps!

Fill greased muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Let cool on rack for 10 minutes. Remove and toss in a bag of white sugar.

Best Banana Muffins

These banana muffins are a just about perfect. They are moist, sweet, tender, light, banana-y… With a cup of coffee in the morning, they can even brighten up a dull rainy day. Yeah, I really like these muffins! If only I could find the perfect blueberry muffin…
The first trick is that you want 2 cups of wet ingredients. I measure them into my 2 cup Pampered Chef measure-all cup.
These are the things you MUST have:
1/3 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons water
Then add 2-3 mashed ripe bananas.
Fill the rest of the measuring cup with sour cream.

In a large mixing bowl add:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient in the bowl. Stir only until combined. (Think of it more as folding the ingredients into each other) You don’t want to overmix quick breads! Don’t worry if the batter isn’t smooth.
Grease and sugar muffin tins (about 15-18) or use muffin papers. Fill 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with sugar.
Bake for 5 minutes at 425. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 350 and bake for about 10 more minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

I found a recipe for easy pumpkin muffins on Pinterest but was rather disappointed that the recipe did not call for any spices at all… None! Pumpkin, in my book, must have the warm and spicy blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg… So, while I liked the idea of the ease and simplicity of the muffins, I had to change it!

Then, yesterday we made a stop at a Wal-Mart just south of us and found their holiday baking display full of baking chips that I had never seen before but HAD TO HAVE! I can’t believe I spent $12 on baking chips, but I knew they will be worth every penny! The cinnamon chips inspired me to make one more change to the recipe. And this morning’s muffins proved I was correct!

Here is my version of easy pumpkin muffins:

1 box yellow cake mix

15oz pumpkin puree (see how to make fresh pumpkin puree HERE)

1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (here is the recipe for my blend)

1/2 cup of cinnamon chips (see picture above)

Mix cake mix, spices and pumpkin together. Stir in cinnamon chips. Spoon into muffin tin and bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes, or until pick comes out clean.

They are moist, light and just the thing to go with a pumpkin spice latte!

Banana Blueberry Streusel Muffins

I got this recipe from one of the moms in our homeschool co-op. They sounded so good (I love streusel-topped muffins) and I happened to have ripe bananas and blueberries, so I gave them a whirl. I didn’t follow her recipe exactly but it was pretty close, so I’ll give you the one I made… Thanks Kristin!

Preheat oven to 375'.

Muffins:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 medium ripe bananas

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 tsp vanilla

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

3 T white flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 T butter, cut in small cubes

1)In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.

2) In a small bowl, beat eggs, sour cream, butter and bananas; stir into dry ingredients just till moistened.

3) Fill greased muffin pan or paper cups  3/4 full of batter.

4) Fold in blueberries.

5)For streusel, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter. Sprinkle over muffins.

6) Bake at 375' for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. (Mini muffin pans take about 13 minutes)

Makes about 18-24 muffins, depending upon how full you fill the cups

Pumpkin Muffins

I got this recipe over 10 years ago when Zack was in preschool. They made them as a class and the teacher sent everyone home with the recipe. They are great for a fall breakfast or snack, as well as a nice dessert when topped with homemade maple flavored cream cheese icing. Mmmmm!

Andy helped me make these, and they turned out great!

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1. Preheat oven to 425

2. Cream butter and sugar

3. Stir in pumpkin, milk, eggs and vanilla

4. Add other ingredients and stir
5.Spoon into prepared muffin tin.

6. Bake 5 minutes at 425. Reduce heat to 350, without opening oven, and bake another 10-13 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Donut Muffins

Making these muffins this morning was like taking a trip down Memory Lane. I used to make these quite often when the boys were little, but I can't remember the last time we ate them. After breakfast, I couldn't figure out why I stopped making them.

1/3 cup shortening or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
*melted butter
*cinnamon sugar
Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin tin. (it may make more)

Cream shortening and sugar; add egg. Beat well. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; add alternately with milk to egg mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove doughnuts from tins and dip tops in melted butter and cinnamon sugar.