I thought this year would be a good time to make another scone recipe, so I threw in some chocolate chips and added a peanut butter glaze. What's more comforting than chocolate and peanut butter?

Not much.

These scones are moist, fluffy and oh-so good. If you're having a bad day, or just want a pick-me up, throw a tray of these your oven and you'll be set. :)


Preheat oven to 400 F and grease a large baking sheet. Coarsely chop the chocolate chips. In a large bowl combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir the chopped chocolate into the flour mixture.  Combine the egg, yolk and cream, then add to the flour mixture, stirring just until combined.

On a well-floured surface with floured hands, gently pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter).  With a sharp knife cut the round into thirds one way, then make perpendicular slices the other direction to make  diamond shaped scones.  Depending on how you slice them, you should get about 10-11 scones.  Use your hands to gently shape any leftover scraps into scones. Do NOT roll dough out.  Place scones onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Depending on your oven you may need to adjust baking time. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

For Peanut Butter Glaze:  In a small bowl combine the butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar and milk to reach your desired consistency.  Drizzle glaze over warm scones and allow to cool. Enjoy!

Did you eat too much over Easter? I know I did, but it was sooo worth it. Our family gathering had a delicious collection of pot-luck dishes, including this Pineapple Coffee Cake I decided to try from Better than Burger’s blog.

I loved how tall and moist this coffee cake turned out, and the yummy crumble topping was perfect. I also added a pineapple glaze to drizzle on top. I find with most coffee cakes that they taste even better the next day, after they’ve had time to settle a bit. This cake was no exception and was even more moist and flavorful the next day. What was your favorite Easter dish?

Pineapple Coffee Cake
Serves: 8         Printable Recipe

4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 T. baking powder (yes,  2 TABLEspoons)
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 egg
2 c. vanilla yogurt
1 c. oil
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. crushed pineapple (well drained) (reserve the juice)

Topping:
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2. c. butter
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Pineapple Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
reserved pineapple juice from crushed pineapple


In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl beat the eggs, yogurt, vanilla and oil. Add the wet ingredient to the dry ingredient and mix until blended. Fold in the WELL DRAINED pineapple. Don’t throw out that pineapple juice! Save it for the yummy glaze.  Pour cake batter into a greased 9x13 pan.

Topping:
Combine flour, sugar and butter. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Add chopped nuts and mix well. Sprinkle evenly over cake batter.

Bake cake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes OR until middle is set and cake is lightly browned. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

For the Glaze: Combine the powdered sugar and enough of the pineapple juice to reach your desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake. Serve and enjoy!

I brought home a pint of tasty little blueberries the other day, and had a very specific purpose in mind for them. These Lemon Blueberry Crunch Muffins. Just the name of these tasty sweet treats has my taste buds watering, and the crunchy topping really pulled me in. 

This is another great Tasty Kitchen recipe that didn’t fail to impress me. They are perfectly moist and delicate (the use of cake flour helps with this), and so packed full of blueberries it’s almost ridiculous….almost.  If that isn’t enough, they’re then dipped in lemon butter and rolled in a shameful amount of sugar. The regular granulated sugar gave a really pretty, delicate crunchy exterior. I’m sure using a coarser sanding sugar would make these a little more rustic looking, but just as delicious.

How are you usually woken up in the morning? Lately, my day starts with the pitiful voice of my 5 year old whispering in my ear, “Mommy, I’m staaarving….I’m about to die.” No, I don’t spend the day lounging in bed while I let my child starve. It just so happens my son has the appetite of a lumber jack lately. My empty cabinets and the quickly growing pile of his too-short pants can attest to that.

This morning, I decided to treat him to something outside his usual oatmeal, scrambled eggs or pancakes. I thought cinnamon rolls sounded good, but when you have a kid hanging on your elbow begging like Oliver Twist for food, you have to act fast.  I found this recipe for Cinnamon Roll Muffins and decided to give it a try. I gambled that it didn’t matter how good they were, my half starved monster would eat just about anything at this point.

The process for making these rolls is just like cinnamon rolls, without the hassle of yeast and rising time. Slathered with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, then drizzled with a vanilla glaze, these are a pretty good substitution when you’re short on time. Don’t expect them to be as light and fluffy as a regular cinnamon roll – that yeast is meant for something – but the little guy liked them enough to eat three!


Cinnamon Roll Muffins
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

Filling:
5 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla and egg. Add the buttermilk, then the flour. Stir until thoroughly combined. Note: the recipe calls for 3 to 3.5 cups of flour, I only needed to use 3 cups.)


Roll the dough into a log beginning with the wide side. Stretch the log slightly as you roll to keep a tight seam. Cut the log in half, then each half in half again.



At this point I scored each quarter with three cuts, to make sure my rolls would be even. Continue slicing until you have 12 rolls. Place them in a greased muffin pan, or muffin tins lined with cupcake papers.



Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the muffins to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove them from pans to a cooling rack. If you’re feeling extra naughty, you can drizzle some more melted butter over the rolls before the icing (I won’t tell.) Combine ingredients for glaze and drizzle over the top
.

A while ago, I was contacted about trying out and reviewing a new butter alternative spread called Melt Buttery Spread. I don’t usually do reviews, but this new spread caught my interest. It was free of the nasty stuff you usually see in fake butter spreads, and was made from a gluten free blend of non-hydrogenated healthy fats:

• organic virgin coconut oil
• organic flaxseed oil
• organic palm fruit oil
• organic canola oil
• organic high-oleic sunflower oil

Now, I like my butter – so I don’t usually seek out alternatives to this golden nectar from heaven. But like everything, too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing. So I decided to give it a try.

The company describes their spread as: “Rich & Creamy Melt® Organic, a butter alternative that is truly delicious. Melt® Organic is the perfect organic blend of the healthiest fats that supports healthy weight when replacing other fats in your daily diet. Each serving of Melt® Organic delivers an ideal combination of healthful saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fats for optimal nutrient content and absorption, weight management, thyroid function, heart health, and digestive health. Melt® Organic is certified organic and kosher, and is soy free, Trans fat free, and gluten free. Our products do not contain coloring agents or artificial ingredients of any kind and they never will. Our ingredients are Eco-social, fair trade, and non-GMO.”

I quickly received my sample and couldn’t wait to try it out. Upon opening the container, I was pleasantly surprised at the smooth, creamy consistency, and the mild coconut aroma. My first concern was it’s taste, I knew if it was too coconutty (is that word?) it wouldn’t fly in our house. But the taste was great. It did have a mild coconut flavor, but nothing that was over powering.


Since first trying the spread, I’ve buttered my toast with it, melted it in mac & cheese, sautéed vegetables with it, and the final test – I baked with it.  I decided to use it melted, as a substitute for vegetable oil in an apple bread recipe. The result was fantastic. I couldn’t tell any difference, and I felt good knowing that the fat was all healthy.

Now I just wish I could say the fat on my body was all healthy. You can learn more about the healthy butter alternative and it’s ingredients on their website.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for doing this review, other than the product I received from sampling purposes.

Apple Bread

Printable Recipe

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup melted Melt buttery spread (or vegetable oil)
• zest of one lemon
• 1 cup whole what pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1-1/2 cups chopped apples
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tbsp butter (or Melt spread)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil and lemon zest. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the apples. Combine the topping ingredients (the amounts are an estimate since I just threw together some ingredients to make a crumb topping). Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan, then sprinkle the topping on top.  Bake for 50-60 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before trying to remove from the pan.  Enjoy!

I picked up a new cookbook last week – not that I really needed one. Our local Borders store is closing, and everything has been marked down 70-90%.

I kind of felt like a vulture, rummaging through the shelves looking for a deal, while in the back of my mind I wondered about the jobs of the people who worked there.

I did find something to take home though – The Oprah Magazine Cookbook.  The bright shiny cover and beautifully photographed dishes drew me in, and as I fanned through the pages I knew I had to buy it.

Today I decided to make the Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins, and was happily dumping flour and spices into my butter mixture, when I realized that I had just thrown in the entire can of pumpkin puree – rather than the 1 cup it called for.

I had visions of dense, gooey muffins…not a desirable trait in a muffin. So I panicked and wondered if I should try to double the recipe to salvage it, then realized that this would call for another 4 eggs, 2 cups of sugar and whole stick of butter. At this point, I decided to bite the bullet and just go with it.

I mean, brownies were invented from a botched recipe right?

Well, my decision paid off, since these muffins turned out to be perfectly moist. No soggy dough bricks here. 

So that is how Oprah’s Pumpkin Applesauce muffins turned into my Double Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins. I will write the recipe as written in the cookbook, but if you’re feeling a little adventurous, don’t worry if you decide to use the entire can of pumpkin – in fact, I recommend it.


(recipe from The Oprah Magazine Cookbook)

(prep: 15 min; bake: 20 min; yield 21 full muffins)

1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
3 1/3 cups all-purpose
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup canned mashed pumpkin (or the whole can like I did!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup apple juice, cider, or orange juice (I used orange juice)
1 1/2 cups raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 12 half-cup muffin cups with melted butter. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until cream, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, applesauce, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Add the dry ingredient alternately with the juice, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Mix until smooth, but don’t over mix. Gently fold in the raisins.

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup all the way. The fuller you make your cup, the higher domed your muffin will be. Bake on center oven rack for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool in the pan for several minutes. Turn muffins out onto a cooling rack. Sprinkled with powdered sugar if desired and serve warm or at room temperature. Repeat steps 1 through 3 with any remaining batter. If you don’t have enough batter to fill all 12 cups the second time around, just put a little water in any empty cups. Enjoy!

Are you feeling neglected? I think my kitchenaid mixer is.  My blogging neglect had a good reason though…I promise. I kinda-sorta got the itch to redecorate my kitchen at the last minute.  My house has very little light (a constant headache in my photo taking world); add to the mix the dark colors that my walls were painted, and you get the idea – dark and gloomy. I wanted bright and cheery. I wanted wake-you-up-make-you-feel-good-put-a-sparkle-in–your-smile colors.

So I embarked on a journey.  A journey filled with numerous trips to the paint store, a selection of what I thought was the perfect color, and a realization that is was NOT the perfect color.

This led to another trip to the paint store, another paint color selection, and repainting the walls – again. Did I mention my husband had the patience of a saint?

My kitchen walls are finally done, and I love the final color. Now we’re tackling the living room today.  Don’t worry – I picked up THREE paint sample jars to make sure we (when I say we, I really mean my husband) get the color right the first time.

To reward my husband for his patience and hard work, I made these Cinnamon Bubble Buns for him this morning. A miniature version of monkey bread, made in muffin tins.  They are delicious and just the right size.

Cinnamon Bubble Buns
(Prep: 1 hour 45 min; Bake: 20 min; Yield: 12 buns)

For the dough:

• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 3 tbsl unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

For the cinnamon-sugar coating:

• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the vanilla glaze:

• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, sprinkled the yeast over the water and let it stand until bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the butter, sour cream, sugar, egg, and vanilla.

2. Beat in 2 cups of the flour, the salt, and the baking soda until combined.

3. Add the remaining 1/2 cup flour and continue mixing until a smooth, soft dough forms.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour surface (keep your mixing bowl handy) and knead it until smooth, about 3 minutes.  As you knead, add more flour if the dough is sticky, no more than 2 tbsp though. Place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan, then flour the cups and tap out the excess.

6. In a small bowl, blend the sugar and cinnamon for the coating. Place the melted butter in a small dish and set aside.

7. Gently punch down the dough to deflate it. Form it into a long cylinder and divide it into 12 equal portions. Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, divide each of the 12 portions into 6 equal pieces, then roll each piece into a ball.

 

8. To make a bun, dip six of the balls in melted butter (be generous with the butter), then roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Arrange five of the balls in the bottom of a muffin cup. With your fingertip, make a small well and press the sixth ball in the center. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Loosely cover the buns with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place until they’re puffy and double in size, about 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F.

9. Bake the buns on the center rack until golden, about 20-22 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack placed over a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil to cool for about 5 minutes. Now tilt the pan and gently tap it on the counter to release the buns. If needed, you can use a knife to release them from the pan. Place the buns on the wire rack.

 

10. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the glaze and stir until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, you can thin it out by adding 1 tsp water at a time. Brush each bun with the glaze. Serve immediately or at room temperature.


Eat and enjoy!  I’m off now to start painting the living room, oh yeah, and I’m going to buy my first sewing machine and attempt to tackle some kitchen window treatments…eeek

I didn’t want to make another bread, so I decided to adapt the theme into muffins. These muffins are moist, tender, and topped with a crunchy streusel nut topping.

Instead of shredding all of the apple like the bread recipe calls for, I combined the shredded apple with some diced apple. I think I like the texture of the diced apple better, so next time I would do all diced apple.

Adding a swirl of the cinnamon streusel inside the muffins would be great too!

Now when I make muffins, I’m a domed muffin snob. Give me a mile high, fluffy muffin over the flat variety any day. The secret of making sky-scraping muffins has eluded me for a long time, but I recently learned a few tricks that have paid off.

1. Fill your muffin tins full. Not 1/2 way, not 2/3 way. TO THE TOP. Filling only 1/2 to 2/3 full is not enough batter to give you a high-domed muffin. Your recipe that yields 12 regular muffins may only make nine or ten high-domed muffins. If so, fill any empty tins half full with water.

2. You need a thick batter. If you fill your tin with a thin batter, it will flow all over your oven before setting. Your batter should be “spoonable” not pourable.

3. Get your oven hot! I’m talking 425F. Preheat the oven to 425F, then when your muffins have been in for about 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 375F. If you leave the temperature high, the muffins will bake too quickly, and may become crusty. This initial high temperature will create a burst of steam, which will cause the muffin tops to lift and set.

That’s it! Once you have these tricks under your belt, you’ll never go back to flat muffins again.

Apple Pie Streusel Muffins
prep: 15 min; bake: 25 min; yield: 12 muffins

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons low fat plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 cups shredded or diced apple (peeled and cored)

Streusel:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2-3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

2. For the Streusel: In a small bowl combine the 1/4 brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Using a fork cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped nuts, set aside.

3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the milk, sugars, yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla,baking powder, salt and baking soda.
5. Fold in flour, stirring just until incorporated. Gently fold in the apples.

6. Divide the batter between 12 muffin tins, making sure each one is filled to the top.

7. Sprinkle the streusel topping over each muffin.

8. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
     

I had the motivation last night to decide I would make muffins for breakfast today.  Probably due to the massive amounts of caffeine I drank before bed, bad idea.  As a result, I didn't fall asleep until almost 3:00am.  At least I had the foresight to measure all my dry ingredients out and have everything ready for this morning.  Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies, and I thought it would be fun to make a muffin version that is dipped in a cinnamon sugar mixture.  They turned out nice and moist, with the same crunchy, crackle effect on top that the cookies have.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

2 sticks butter, unsalted
1 Cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/4 Cup buttermilk
1 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
3/4 Cup whole wheat pastry flour (or whole wheat flour)
1 Cup sugar mixed with 2 Tbsp cinnamon in a small bowl, for rolling

Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees.  Cream the butter and sugar together until soft.  Add the vanilla and almond extracts.  Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing after each one until incorporated.  In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, and nutmeg.  

Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk alternately to the butter mixture, starting with the flour and ending with the flour.  Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.  Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the batter and drop in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Sprinkle the sugar all over the batter, then drop into a greased muffin pan. 

Lower your oven temperature to 375 degrees, and immediately bake the muffins for 18-20 mins, until the tops are golden.  Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Do not over bake.  Remove the pan and let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes.  Carefully remove.

Tip:  When you put muffins in a very hot oven and immediately drop the temperature, you help create the high peaks that make them attractive.


Source: adapted from culinary concoctions by peabody