Carrot Oat Bran Muffins
These muffins are really good for you, but they taste like a treat. I was never a big fan of bran muffins made with wheat bran. I didn’t like the flavor. But I love the way these muffins taste.
I prefer the taste of oat bran over wheat bran. I find it has a natural sweetness. With the addition of carrots and raisins these muffins are moist, light and slightly sweet. They remind me of a cross between a muffin and carrot cake. Vanilla and orange zest makes them fragrant and tasty, too. With plenty of oat bran, they also provide healthy dietary fiber. I make these often, then freeze some for later. They make a great breakfast and an easy snack.
Carrot Oat Bran Muffins
1 c. milk or buttermilk
1 c. oat bran
1 egg
1/3 c. oil
3 T. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 t. orange peel
1 c. shredded carrots
1 c. flour (all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour)
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ c. raisins
In mixing bowl combine oat bran and milk. Add egg, oil, sugar, vanilla, peel and carrots. Beat well. Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl and mix well. Gently fold into bran mixture. Divide batter in 12 muffin cups that are either greased or lined with paper cups. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12.
Pear and Oatmeal Muffins
It is pear season. While apples seem to get more attention, pears are a wonderful, versatile fruit.
Pears will ripen off the tree and are often picked unripe and allowed to ripen after harvest. Unlike a lot of other fruits, pears do not suffer from being picked before they are ripe. As they ripen, pears become very sweet.
I like to pick out both ripe and unripe pears at the local market. That way, I’ll have ripe pears over a longer period of time.
I had some ripe pears and wanted to do something with them. Since I had a friend coming for over breakfast, I thought muffins. It’s always nice to have an easy breakfast option on hand.
I started with a basic muffin recipe, and added some diced pears, cinnamon, orange zest, nutmeg and a cinnamon sugar topping, to make them special. And yes, you could substitute apples for the pears!!!
I was really happy with how they turned out. Not overly sweet, moist and tender. Here is the recipe.
Pear and Oatmeal Muffins
1 ½ c. flour
1 c. rolled oats
1 T. grated orange peel
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. each nutmeg and salt
½ t. baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1/3 c. honey
1/3 c. oil
¼ c. orange juice
1½ cups of peeled, diced pears – 2 or 3 pears should do it
2 T. melted butter, optional
cinnamon sugar, optional
Combine flour with the dry ingredients. Set aside. Combine egg with the honey, oil and juice. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until flour is just moistened. Fold in pears. Batter will be thick. Divide batter among 12 greased muffin cups. Bake in a preheated 375- degree oven for 20-25 minutes. While the muffins are warm, dip tops in melted butter and then dip in the cinnamon sugar, if you like. They are tasty, with or without the cinnamon sugar topping, but I like to add this last step. Makes 12.
Peach Streusel Muffins
I can’t get enough of peaches these days. I have been eating them fresh, making preserves, freezing peaches and cooking with them. This recipe is one of my favorites.
I hadn’t made them in a long time, so I decided today was the day. Now I remember why I liked them so much. Perfect crumbly texture, not too sweet, and that streusel topping.
They can be for more than breakfast, too. Split, topped with sweetened fruit and ice cream, these muffins make a great “shortcake” dessert.
While they are really great warm from the oven, these muffins are still fine the next day, or even the day after that, assuming they last that long. They freeze, well, too.
Peach Streusel Muffins
Streusel topping:
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. brown sugar
½ t. nutmeg
4 T. cold butter
Batter:
2 c. flour
½ c. sugar
¼ c. brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. salt
½ c. cold butter- 1 stick
2 eggs
¾ c. half and half or buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
1 c. finely chopped fresh peaches, about 1 large
½ c. finely chopped pecans, optional
Heat oven to 375. Line 15 muffin tins with paper liners or grease them. Set aside. Make streusel by mixing together flour, sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl. Use your fingers, or a pastry blender, to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside. Make batter: In medium bowl combine flour with sugars and other dry ingredients. Mix well. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In small bowl beat eggs and add half and half and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture and fold in until just mixed. Mixture will look lumpy. Fold in peaches and nuts, if using. Scoop batter into prepared tins, filling about ¾ full. I get more than 12 from this recipe- normally about15, but it depends on how full you fill them. Sprinkle the tops with streusel. Place muffin tins on a baking sheet and bake for 20 or until golden brown. Cool a little before serving, if you can wait.
Classic Corn Muffins
Corn muffins are a classic, old fashioned recipe. I love them, but I like to shake things up a little, too. Below is my recipe for corn muffins with eight recipe variations. We made the confetti variation in class the other night. They came out great.
Pictured: Confetti Corn Muffins are a great side dish for chili or stew. I like them with melted butter and a little honey. They make a nice addition to breakfast. For this variation we added corn, sweet peppers and pepper flakes to the batter. It makes them just a little special. The recipe follows along with the classic version and the other variations.
Corn Muffins
1 c. flour
¾ c. cornmeal
3 T. sugar
4 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
¼ c. butter
1 c. milk
2 eggs, beaten
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or paper line 12 muffin cups. In medium bowl combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Combine milk and eggs and add all at once to dry mixture, stirring until flour is just moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pans and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 12.
Variations
Bacon, Pepper and Tomato
Add ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper to dry ingredients. Add ½ cup cooked, crumbled bacon (regular or turkey bacon) and 8 oz. can tomatoes, well drained and chopped to milk mixture.
Confetti
Add ½ cup whole kernel corn, ¼ cup minced green or red sweet pepper and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper to milk mixture.
Ham and Swiss
Add 1 cup fine chopped Swiss cheese and ½ cup ham or turkey ham to milk mixture.
New England
Add 2 tablespoons molasses to milk mixture.
Sausage
Add ½ pound cooked, crumbled bulk sausage to milk mixture.
Sesame
Add 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds to dry ingredients.
Southland
Add 1 cup cooked rice and 1 t. hot sauce to milk mixture.
Chilies and Cheese
Add 1 C. shredded Cheddar cheese and 1 (4 oz.) can chilies, chopped and drained to milk mixture.
Applesauce Fruit and Nut Muffins-Vegan
Applesauce Fruit and Nut Muffins
I had a request from a friend recently for more vegan baked goods. Came up with this recipe today and they came out moist and light. I also have a LOT of applesauce that I canned so looking for things to do with it other than just eating it.
Applesauce Fruit and Nut Muffins
2 c. applesauce- I used unsweetened
1/2 c. oil
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour Note: You can use all purpose, I used whole wheat pastry flour.
1 c. rolled oats
2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking powder
1 c. dried cranberries or raisins
1 c. chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners or grease lightly. Set aside. Combine applesauce with the oil and stir in sugar and vanilla. Add flour, oats, soda, cinnamon and baking powder. Stir to mix well. Stir in fruit and nuts. Spoon batter in to muffin cups filling just over half-full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Makes 24.
