Pumpkin Spice Scones

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To most,I would imagine, the day after Labor Day has no real significance. Yes it means back to school or work and maybe the vague sense of a slight shift in the universe, indicating summers imminent end. Nothing really changes. It was still 90 degrees here in Alabama that day. Still the same summertime weather as the days leading up to the day after Labor Day. Only now it's after Labor Day and we all know what that means... Right? The much anticipated return of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes!! Of course I had to have one, in spite of the very summer-like temps and humidity. I've been craving that pumpkin spiced drink since it went away last year and it was BACK! Ok so maybe I broke a sweat and had to turn up the air in my car just so I could drink it, but whatever...totally worth it! Anyway as you might have guessed my love for pumpkin and spice runs deep.

While I was getting my PSL from Starbucks, I saw that they also sell pumpkin spice scones. I guess I've been living under a rock or something but I've never had a pumpkin scone. I did not buy one of those but did come home and look to see if I could find a recipe to make them. Apparently I was living under a rock. How had I missed these scones? Eaten along with a cup of hot coffee, it's quite possibly my new Fall obsession! 

I usually change a few things here and there in recipes that I make. I didn't change much on this one with one MAJOR exception: The original recipe said that the spiced glaze frosting was "optional"...umm I had to change that to mandatory!!  

Pumpkin Spice Scones

SOURCE: Tasty Kitchen
YIELD: 8 SCONES

FOR THE SCONES:

2 cups all purpose flour 

1/3 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 

1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 stick unsalted butter, frozen

 ½ cups pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling

 ½ cups heavy cream 

FOR THE ICING: (MANDATORY)

 1 cup powdered sugar 

½ teaspoons cinnamon 

¼ teaspoons ground ginger  

2 teaspoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla 

heavy cream, just enough to thin the icing to a honey like consistency 

½ cups toasted, chopped pecans 

METHOD: 

In a small bowl, mix the pumpkin and cream, keep in the fridge until you use it. In a large bowl mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and  nutmeg. Add the frozen butter by grating it with a cheese grater over the flour mixture. Work quickly so the butter doesn't have time to soften. Quickly mix butter curls into the flour mixture with a fork. Pour the pumpkin and cream into the flour/butter mixture. Fold with a wooden spoon just until flour is moistened well.Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and gently knead over a couple of times. Pat the dough into a circle about 1 inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 sections, like you would to slice a pie. Separate scones and place onto a cookie sheet. Put the scones in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Bake at 400ºF for about 25 minutes or until just firm and golden around the edges. Let cool to room temperature. 

While the scones cool; Mix together the powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger powder, corn syrup, and vanilla. Add heavy cream in small amounts at a time, stirring until icing reaches the consistency of honey. Use a large spoon to drizzle the icing over the cooled scones. Immediately sprinkle the toasted pecans over the tops.Store scones in an air-tight container.

Hot Cross Buns

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I have had this recipe for hot cross buns stuck in a notebook that I use to save recipes I want to make sometime. It's been in there for several years now, a relic from the days when I'd print off recipes I wanted to make and keep them in a notebook. Thank goodness for Pinterest, now I can save recipes that I may never make and not be haunted by a notebook full of wasted paper! Anyway, I did finally get around to making the hot cross buns. Now only several hundred more recipes to go...plus all my new pins...

This was my first attempt at making hot cross buns. They are lightly sweet, spicy bun, containing dried fruits  such as raisins, and marked on top with a cross. Traditionally these buns where made to be served on Good Friday, The cross was made on them to represent the Crucifiction.

I was pretty satisfied with the results. I did make a few minor changes to the original recipe, mainly replacing the candied lemon and orange peel, with zest of each instead. I'm not a fan of candied peels and also they can be difficult to find in the grocery stores in my area. Which means I would have to make them if I wanted to add them to this recipe and since I don't care for them much, zest was a good sub. If you want to use the candied peels, then by all means go ahead and use them in your buns.

I also used golden raisins that I "plumped". Way back when I first started blogging, I made Sherry Yard's oatmeal cookies, which still the absolute best oatmeal cookie I've ever had. She says the secret to her cookies are "fat raisins". She has you boil the raisins with orange juice, rum, sugar and white wine. The liquid causes them to plump up, hence the name fat raisins. I've been using this idea in lots of recipes ever since I made those cookies. For this recipe I just squeezed the juice of one orange over the raisins and popped them into the microwave for just long enough for the liquid to come up to a boil. I just allow the raisins to cool in the liquid, drain and and use in the recipe. You could use just water if you don't have juice but I wanted to add a little more orange flavor to my buns so I used orange juice. Try these raisins in any of your baked goods calling for raisins, you won't believe how good they are!

For those of you that are wondering, yes, I did sing the Hot Cross Buns song while I made these buns. This recipe makes some big buns, definitely worth two a penny, I would think!
Truly traditional hot cross buns have candied fruit peels and the crosses are made from pastry, not sugar. I guess you can call mine hot cross-ish buns...but that's harder to sing!

Hot Cross Buns
SOURCE: Country Living Magazine (adapted)
PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup milk, warmed to 110°F
1 package dry active yeast
3/4 cup sugar plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup raisins, regular or golden, plumped*(optional)
1 heaping teaspoon lemon zest
1 heaping teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs

Egg Wash
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Glaze

2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

*Plumping raisins, place raisins in a microwave safe bowl, add about a half of cup of liquid, water or orange juice or a mixture. You could also use a couple of tablespoons of rum or brandy, in place of some of the water or juice. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, or until the liquid boils. Allow the raisins to soak in the liquid for about 10 minutes, drain any excess liquid, and use in the recipe.

METHOD:

Coat a large bowl with oil and set aside. Mix together the 1 cup warmed milk, yeast, and the 1 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl and let stand while you do the next step. Combine the flours, 3/4 cup of sugar, raisins, lemon and orange zest, salt, and spices in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir the dry ingredients together. Add in the butter, eggs, and the milk/yeast mixture. Mix using the dough hook until all the flour is mixed in and a sticky dough is formed, about 3 minutes. **Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until smooth, about 5 minutes. Dusting your hands with flour or rubbing a little vegetable shortening on them will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands as much. The dough will be sticky, just keep lightly sprinkling it with flour. I used about a tablespoon or less worked it in until the dough stuck to my hands then sprinkled lightly with flour again, just until you get a nice smooth dough. The dough is sticky but don't go crazy with the flour or you'll end up with heavy buns. 

 Form the dough into a ball, put it into the oiled bowl, turning to coat all sides with the oil. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in volume, about 1 hour.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Punch the dough down, transfer to a lightly floured surface, and knead for 3 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces, about 3 1/2 ounces each. If you want small buns, divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. (You will probably need two baking pans for 24 buns) Shape each piece into a ball and place the balls about 1 inch apart in four rows of three (for 12 buns, use two pans for 24) on the prepared pan. Cover and let rise until the buns double in volume and touch one another, about an hour or so.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees about 30 minutes before you plan to bake the buns.

When the buns are done rising,make the egg wash. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the mixture on the top of each bun. Place buns in the lower third of the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 20  minutes (check at 12-15 minutes, if you made smaller buns). Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Allow buns to cool slightly, about 10 minutes, drizzle a horizontal line across each row of buns followed by a vertical line to form a cross on the top of each bun.

**I followed the original recipe's instructions for kneading the dough, but next time I think I'll leave them in the mixer to knead because the dough was a bit too sticky for hand kneading, in my opinion.

In English folklore, they believe sharing a hot cross bun with another is supposed to ensure friendship throughout the coming year, particularly if  you say,"Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be" before you eat them...Maybe I'll make up tune to go with that one and mix it up a bit!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

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If you've been a reader of this blog for any amount of time than you are already aware of my slight pumpkin obsession.  I can't resist a pumpkin based baked good. I've blogged about everything from my favorite pumpkin pie to pumpkin biscotti and pumpkin latte's. So it's Fall again and my obsession is back in full swing! 
A pumpkin roll (pumpkin sponge cake filled with a cream cheese filling) is one of my favorite Fall desserts. (I can't believe I haven't posted a recipe...soon!) These muffins have all the same components as a pumpkin roll, spicy pumpkin cake with a cream cheese swirl,  baked up in muffin form. Plus because it's a muffin it's now okay to eat  pumpkin roll it for breakfast, right?  

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Yield: 1 doz. regular sized muffins or 2 doz. mini muffins
PRINTABLE RECIPE
MUFFINS:
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
1/4 cup coconut oil or any vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350°
In a large mixing bowl, combine canned pumpkin, oil, and sugar together.
Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Stir in vanilla.
Stir the flour mixture to liquids, combining thoroughly and scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula until well combined.

Spray your muffin pan well with cooking spray. Fill each muffin about 2/3 full. Divide the filling evenly placing a large dollop on each muffin.

With a skewer or a knife, swirl the cream cheese mixture into the the pumpkin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes for regular muffins or about 18 minutes for mini muffins. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and remove from the pan.

*NOTES: If you want you could top the muffins with chopped pecans or walnuts.  

I made half the batch in regular-size and half mini-sized. The mini muffins are very popable!

Links:

Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

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Lately I've come across several recipes for pull-apart breads. I've had several recipes bookmarked and have been meaning to make a loaf but always seem to put it off. There was a picture for this cinnamon apple pull-apart bread in the King Arthur Flour catalog that came in the mail yesterday. It was the first one I've seen that had apples in it and I had to have it. Now! 
I'm not sure what I really need to say about this pull apart bread. Just look at it! It speaks for itself...and it's saying "you know you want me!" There are several steps involved in making the bread but it's completely worth the extra effort. Seriously what's not to like about apples, cinnamon, and pecans, baked up into sweet dough? All that's missing is a cup of coffee.

Cinnamon Apple Pull Apart Bread

Source: kingarthurflour.com adapted

Yield: 1 loaf, about 12 to 15 servings. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

For the filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium apples (about 2 cups), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

For the dough:
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
mix both ingredients together in a small bowl. Add more milk if necessary to get desired consistency. I like it to be the consistency of a thick syrup.

To make the dough:
Whisk together the butter, milk, water, eggs, and vanilla extract.
In the bowl mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast, then add the wet ingredients. Using the dough hook attachment mix and knead, until the dough is smooth. The dough will be quite soft. If it seems too dry add a little water, if it seems too sticky add just a little flour, up to a 1/4 cup.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
Gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased surface.*  Roll the dough into a 12" x 20" rectangle.
Stir the vanilla into the melted butter. Spread the butter mixture over the entire top on the dough, Use a pastry brush to get the butter even spread over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top, using your hand to spread it evenly over the butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon evenly over the dough. Add the apples, on top of the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on the nuts, if using.
Cut the dough crosswise into six 3 1/2" x 12" strips. Stack the strips on top of one another. Cut the stack into six pieces, about 2" x 3 1/2" each. This part is a little messy but it doesn't have to be perfect.
Turn the pieces on edge, and place them in the loaf pan one in front of the other from one end of the pan to the other, squeezing them in tight. I sprinkled any nuts or apples that had fallen off over the top of the dough after I put it into the pan.
Cover the pan and allow the loaf to rise for 30 to 60 minutes, until it's almost doubled in size. While the loaf is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the loaf for 45 to 55 minutes in the center of the oven, tenting it with foil after 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely.
While still slightly warm, spoon the glaze over the top of the bread.

Roll the dough into a 20"x 12" rectangle 

Add the filling

Slice crosswise into six even pieces

Stack the pieces on top of one another.

Slice the stack into six pieces.

Turn the pieces on their side and put them into the bread pan.

*Notes: I lightly sprayed a non-stick mat with cooking spray.
I kind of diced up my apples but after making the bread, I think sliced apples would be easier to keep on the pieces of dough as you stack them. (Which is what the recipe stated but I like to do things my aka the hard way!)
The long pieces are hard to move on top of one another. I kind of rolled the ends of each slice inward toward the center to make them easier to pick up to move. I had to spread the nuts and apples back into place but it made it easier for me to get the pieces stacked. Don't freak out if your apples and nuts fall off (they will!) just put them back on the dough after you've moved it onto the stack. (Hopefully these instructions will make sense when your actually making the bread!) I cooked mine the full 55 minutes. I probably could have taken it out at about 50 minutes.

There's no need for a knife with this bread. It really does just pull apart!

Chocolate Banana Bread

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Move over plain ole banana bread, you've been replaced! Traditional banana bread is good enough but if you're a chocolate lover like me I'm sure you'll agree, chocolate makes everything better! In this case, I think chocolate makes it much better.

Most of the time when I bake with bananas it's to use up ones that have gotten overly ripe and started turning black. Not so, this time. When I came across this recipe from Savory Sweet Life, I intentionally bought overripe bananas just so I could make this banana bread. I was not disappointed. It reminded me of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream, but in bread form.  Moist, chocolaty, not too sweet, this bread will have you hoping you've let your bananas get overripe!

Although it's completely unnecessary, I highly suggest serving this bread topped with a large dollop of Nutella.

Chocolate Banana Bread
source: Alice, Savory Sweet Life June 18, 2009 (adapted)
(printable recipe)
Ingredients:
1 stick of salted butter, softened to room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 large ripened bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. espresso powder
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbl. cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)

Method:
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan, or 2 mini pans with non-stick baking spray. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Stir in egg, mashed bananas, sour cream, espresso powder, and vanilla until well blended. Add baking soda, cocoa, and flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using). 
Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes – 1 hr for the 9x5 loaf pan or 35 to 40 minutes for the mini loaf pans. Insert a tooth pick into the center of the loaf and check to see if it comes out clean.
Remove from heat and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes. Invert the loaf pans onto a cooling rack. Great served warm, topped with Nutella.

On second thought, I feel the Nutella is a totally necessary part of this bread!

Pumpkin Apple Pancakes

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Did you feel it? Summer has slipped away and Fall is creeping in to take its place. If you're looking to enjoy the last day of summer, look elsewhere!! I'm in a autumnal state of mind. I love the change of seasons not just because of the change in weather but also because it signals a change of flavors in cooking as well. Each season brings with it new flavors and it's own seasonal produce to enjoy and savor. When I think of Fall, visions of pumpkin, apple and spice dance in my head. I've been anticipating all sorts of wonderful things; pumpkin or apple or pecan pies, or maybe roasting marshmallows over a fire while wearing a sweater.

Oh wait... I live in the deep South. Although the temps have dropped from the scorching mid 90's to the balmy low 80's, we're nowhere near sweater and fire weather. Oh well I guess it's time to crank down the air conditioning, turn on the coffee pot, grab a sweater and pretend!  I couldn't wait any longer so I made these pumpkin apple pancakes as sort of a celebration of all the things I love about Fall.

Pumpkin Apple Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbl milled flax seed

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp canola oil

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup peeled, diced apple

Preparation:

Whisk flour, sugar, flax, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Combine egg, oil, milk, apple and pumpkin in a small bowl. Stir pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients. Let  stand for five minutes. While you let the batter stand make the caramelized apples.
Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter on to a hot griddle or nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Turn pancakes when bubbles appear and edges are cooked, after about 2 minutes. Cook for about 1 1/2 minutes on second side.  Top with caramelized apples and warm maple syrup.

Caramelized Apples 

1 apple, sliced thin
2 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl. brown sugar
Melt butter in a skillet. Add brown sugar and apple slices. Cook stirring occasionally until apples are soft and slightly golden, about 8 minutes.
  
(Print Recipe)
 

pet peeves

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People that don't use turn signals.
People that read over my shoulder.
People that turn every conversation into one about themselves.
Bad grammar.
People that write checks in the express line at the store.
Wal-mart-pretty much everything about Wal-mart annoys me!
Junk mail.
Slow computers
Telemarketers.
The term semi-homemade??!!??
Sandra Lee- I'm sure she's a wonderful person...she annoys me.(see previous pet peeve)
People that leave their shopping cart in the parking lot rather than walk a few steps to put it where it belongs.
Men in too short shorts.
Know-it-all's.
People with no sense of humor.
We all have them, those little things in life that just make you crazy. These are just a few things that annoy me. I could go on but I wanted to keep this post to a reasonable length.
What brought on this little rant you ask? I made chocolate muffins a couple of days ago and was reminded of one of the things that really gets under my skin. I get really annoyed me when I'm reading through recipes on websites that have reader reviews and someone writes a review of a recipe that they completely changed and then complain about how they didn't like it. I'm all for using a recipe as a guide and changing it up to suit your personal tastes. Writing a review and sharing the things you changed is fine. I find that very useful. However when someone completely changes a recipe by making substitutions, additions, etc.. that don't work out, it's not the recipes fault. You screwed it up! Please don't rate and review a recipe you didn't make.
Then there are those reviewers that start the review with "I don't like ...but I thought I'd make this anyway and I didn't like it." Okay.  If you don't like ginger and make ginger bread, chance are your not going to like it. Is it really  necessary to write a review?  Major pet peeve! Anyway...

In my continuing effort to eat more healthful foods and sneak in fiber where possible, I bought some milled flax seeds. Flax is a great source of fiber, high in Omega 3's and helps lower cholesterol. All great things. Milled flax seeds can be used in baking and I'd seen a recipe for chocolate yogurt muffins. Mmmm chocolate muffins as health food. Perfect! As I was getting ready to make these muffins, I decided to make a few changes and substitutions to the original recipe. I used Hersey's Special Dark cocoa powder in place of regular cocoa. The darker the chocolate the better for you it is, right? That was a good substitution. The recipe called for vanilla yogurt, I used plain yogurt and added 1 tsp. vanilla. A little less sugar, also good. Everything was fine up till this point. Just as I was measuring out the dry ingredients, I saw the bag of King Arthur half white half wheat flour I'd just bought. Oh yeah a little wheat flour and these muffins are officially in the health food category. It can't hurt to add wheat flour...umm yeah, not the best baking decision. The muffins were still okay but the wheat flour made them too heavy and really changed the flavor. The flax already adds a bit of a nutty flavor but combined with the wheat flour it was just too much. I'm not saying they were throw out terrible just less good then they would have been. Totally my fault. I made a substitution that just didn't work well. Actually I made them a couple of days ago and they tasted better a day or so after later than they did straight out of the oven, or they've just grown on me. So here's the recipe as I made it but except for the flour change.  Without that mistake these muffins would be quite good. And that's my review!

Chocolate Yogurt Muffins

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/3 c milled flax seeds
1/2 c cocoa (I used the Hersey's Special Dark cocoa powder) 
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 
3/4 c sugar 
1 c yogurt 

1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c vegetable oil 
1/4 c milk 
1/2 c chopped nuts

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or grease.

In a large bowl, blend dry ingredients together. In another bowl, blend yogurt, vanilla, oil, and milk. Add nuts and chocolate chips to dry ingredients and pour in liquid stirring until just blended.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups filling about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 18 - 20 minutes or until done.

Yields 12 muffins using a regular size 12 muffin pan.

Banana Macadamia Nut Muffins

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I came across this recipe when I was searching for a recipe to use up my sad old bananas. I always buy bananas with the thought that we need more fresh fruit in our diet. Despite these good intentions, we rarely eat them after I bring them home. For whatever reason we'll eat one or two and the rest just sit there. I hate to waste food so I usually try to use them in baking. So these bananas became banana macadamia nut muffins, which pretty much defeats the purpose of buying bananas so that we eat more fresh fruit. It's the thought that counts right??!!

Banana Macadamia Nut Muffins
Bon Appetit, June 1991

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 cup unsalted macadamia nuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with muffin papers. Sift first 4 ingredients into large bowl. Combine bananas, both sugars, butter, milk and egg in medium bowl. Mix into dry ingredients. Fold in half of nuts. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining macadamia nuts. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack and cool.
These muffins are very tasty. I love the crunch of the nuts on top. Next time I make these I think I'll throw in a little coconut as well.
(Print Recipe)

What could make these muffins even better? Nutella!!! Now we're talking... I think I'll buying more bananas soon!

Carrot Muffins

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I somehow ended up with two large bags of carrots in the vegetable bin in my fridge. Don't really know how. Carrot fairies maybe??
Anyway I needed to use some of the carrots right away. These muffins seemed like the perfect use for excess carrots! While not as healthy as the oatmeal banana muffins, they have lots of fruit and a little oatmeal, so I tell myself they're kinda healthy. Well health food or not they are tasty little muffins!

Carrot Muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups grated carrot, squeezed mostly dry
1 lg Granny Smith apple peeled, grated, and squeezed dry
1 (8-ounce) container crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup walnuts roughly chopped (optional)
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liner or use a silicon muffin pan.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Add carrot, apple, pineapple, oats, and walnuts, mix together until well combined. In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and vanilla. Pour egg mixture into the fruit mixture and stir until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan filling muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake until wooden toothpick comes out clean about 35 minutes. Remove from pan and place on wire rack to cool completely.

Need a bite of Spring? Try these Lemon-Ricotta Fritters with Strawberry Curd

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Okay as promised,I continued on my strawberry curd quest. Here's yet another strawberry curd recipe and I've got to say this one is pretty terrific! I thought the strawberry flavor was more prominent in this curd than in the first one I tried. This curd can be used just like you'd use a lemon curd, but is a nice change from the traditional lemon.
During my search for curd recipes, I came across a recipe from Martha Stewart for lemon-ricotta fritters that she paired with lemon curd. So I decided to make them to go with my strawberry curd. A.MA.ZING! It took all my will power not to snarf down the entire batch. Lemon and strawberry...yum! Really, I mean should I let Martha know how awesome her fritters are with strawberry curd?? Probably not...haha
Anyway the fritters are light and lemony and with the strawberry curd, they're like taking a bite of spring. Perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast or brunch.


STRAWBERRY CURD
1 pint fresh strawberries
finely grated zest of 1 orange
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
8 TBS unsalted butter, cubed
4 eggs

Wash and dry the strawberries,then hull them. Purée the berries in a food processor
Put the strawberry purée in a double boiler, or in a bowl which will sit over a pan of simmering water. Add the orange and lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the butter. Beat the eggs and add them to the mixture.
Cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then continue cooking, stirring often until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and strain the curd through a sieve.
Cover the curd with plastic wrap pressed down on the top to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold at least one hour.

LEMON RICOTTA FRITTERS
source: Martha Stewart Living

4 cups vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
4 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 pound ricotta cheese, drained
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Heat oil in a medium saucepan to 350 degrees. Sift flours, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl.
Mix together eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl until just combined. Add ricotta, lemon zest, and vanilla, and stir until well combined. Add flour mixture, and stir until smooth.
Using an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, carefully drop a few balls of dough into oil. Cook, turning 2 to 3 times, until golden brown on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes total. Adjust heat as necessary to maintain temperature of oil. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining dough. Place on a plate, and dust with confectioners' sugar. Transfer curd to a serving bowl, and serve with fritters.

Betcha can't eat just one!!

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One of the things I love best about having Hubs home is having someone to cook for and with. He likes to cook as well, so occasionally I get a meal made for me. We picked up some smoked salmon shortly after he got home. The next day I got this for breakfast. *bliss*...sigh... The next 6 months are going to be long...