{TWD} Blueberry Cornmeal Loaf-lets

Many years ago I learned a nifty trick from my sister-in-law for dressing up a plain box of Jiffy Cornbread mix: add blueberries and make muffins. I've served the blueberry/cornmeal muffins at brunches and luncheons, and they are always popular. When this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, Cornmeal Fruit Loaf came along, I knew exactly which fruit I wanted to try.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- We can thank Caitlin of the blog Engineer Baker for choosing this week's breakfast treat; click over to her post to find the recipe.

- Dorie's recipe calls for a mixture of dried and fresh versions of the same fruit. She suggests apples (dried + fresh) or pears (dried + fresh) At the time I baked this recipe, I had fresh + dried blueberries which I was excited to use, but in the future I'd try fresh + dried cherries.

- I made half a recipe. My pan collection has lots of cute little rectangular loaf pans that would have worked for the scaled-down recipe, but what caught my eye were some pretty flower-shaped baking molds that my daughter picked up for me when she traveled to Hong Kong. The batter is put together exactly like muffin batter, so I figured these would be perfect muffin-like loaf-lets. There was just enough batter in the half recipe to fill the four little pans.

- This was a simple recipe, and baked up in 22 minutes or so.


the verdict:

These were a lot like corn muffins with fruit in them. The dried and fresh blueberries combined to produce an intense blueberry sensation with each bite. We thought they were a terrific addition to the summer breakfast repertory. One suggestion: if you tend to like your cornbread sweet, go ahead and put the full measure of sugar in, otherwise you could cut the amount of sugar a bit.

{TWD} Carrot Spice Muffins

When I signed up for the baking group Tuesdays With Dorie three years ago, there was a seemingly endless list of of names ahead of me in line to choose the weekly recipe from the book Baking; From My Home to Yours. But the day finally came for me to have a turn picking a recipe and playing virtual host to the group. I chose Swedish Visiting Cake, still one of my very favorite recipes in the book, and loved hosting the group for that week!

Never did I dream that I would have the opportunity to repeat the experience. But here we are, more than a year later, and there ended up being more recipes in the book than there are current bakers in the group. Through some sort of random selection process, some of us can choose a second recipe from among the remaining gems. It took me approximately a nano-second to select the Carrot Spice Muffins.

My husband and I (especially my husband) are huge fans of carrot cake (that was the flavor of our wedding cake 30 years ago!) and these muffins, according to Dorie, "have the spiciness of the all-American carrot cake...and...the cake's moistness" but in a breakfast-appropriate muffin version. Breakfast sweets are even more popular in our house than dessert ones - so this recipe had my name all over it!

I am thrilled to host this week and thank each person who baked the carrot muffins along with me. Sooner or later I will visit each of your blogs to check out the muffiny goodness.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- If you don't have Dorie's book, you are missing out on the best written, most deliciously conceived baking resource in print. Here's how you can get a copy of this book for your own kitchen:

Buy at Amazon
Buy at Barnes & Noble
Buy at Borders
Buy Indie

- You can scroll down to the bottom of this post to find the recipe for these muffins.

- No matter how much I'd like to have baked this recipe exactly as the inimitable Dorie wrote it, I was baking one of my husband's favorite sweets and he despises coconut, so I omitted it in my muffins. I added a couple of spoonfuls of toasted rolled oats instead.

- Had I added coconut, I would have used unsweetened flakes rather than that sweetened shredded stuff, and toasted them before stirring into the muffin batter.

- I used some carrots from my farm box. In addition to the fabulous flavor of these farm-fresh carrots, I love the variety of colors in the carrot bunches. The purple ones are my favorite: they are bright orange inside!


- In addition to the recipe's cinnamon and ginger, I grated some nutmeg and a bit of black pepper in with the dry ingredients.

- For most of the oil I used a light-flavor olive oil, but I used an ounce or two of regular olive oil also.

- For those who like the hearty nutty quality of whole grains, I think this would be a great recipe to replace some of the white flour for whole wheat. I used all white flour this time.


the verdict:

I love Dorie's assessment of this recipe: "...these carrot muffins...have enough spice and sweetness to keep you coming back for more, but not so much that you think you're eating dessert at the crack of dawn."

Even though Dorie was careful to design the recipe so that it would not be dessert for breakfast, my husband turned it around and had breakfast for his dessert. I baked these late in the day and when he came home from work they were cooling on the counter. Warm and fresh muffins make for a fine after-dinner treat!

Even with the extra spices I added, the muffins are lightly spiced. If you prefer a bolder flavor, you could probably double the quantity of spices.

And now, here's my husband's guest verdict:

First time I bit into one of the carrot muffins (warm from the oven, after dinner), a perfectly balanced taste and texture made my palate glow with a smile. Same thing even a couple of days later, if you store them correctly. These are not too dry, not too moist, not too greasy, not too sticky, not too sweet, but instead deftly walk a fine line though the minefield of mistakes that can yield unfortunate carrot related outcomes. They are my favorite.

I am thrilled to host this week and thank each person who baked the carrot muffins along with me. Sooner or later I will visit each of your blogs to check out the muffiny goodness. If you need the recipe, scroll down!



the recipe:

Carrot Spice Muffins
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
makes 12 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup flavorless oil, such as canola, safflower or corn
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrots (about 3, peeled and trimmed)
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/3 cup moist, plump currants or raisins
1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted, cooled and chopped

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pans, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough - a few lumps are better than over-mixing the batter. Stir in the carrots, coconut, currants, and nuts. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Serving: These muffins are delicious warm, but they're even better after they've had at least half an hour to cool. Like many sweets with spice, their flavor intensifies with time.

Storing: These are best the day they are made, but still good (and even a little spicier) 1 day later - just keep them well covered overnight and, if you'd like, give them a quick warm-up in a 350-degree-F oven, or split them and pop them into the toaster. You can also wrap the muffins airtight and freeze them for up to 2 months; rewarm them the same way.

{TWD} Chocolate Chunk Muffins

The bakers of the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group had an intriguing assignment this week. The chosen recipe was for Chocolate Chunk Muffins which sound - and, from the picture in the cookbook, look - a lot like cupcakes. But Dorie Greenspan calls them muffins, and placed the recipe squarely in the middle of the "breakfast" section of the book, so we got a chance to see how a recipe with a bunch of chocolate nevertheless could be considered muffins.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- This week's muffin recipe was chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles, and you can click over to her muffin post to get the recipe, along with a short course on the difference between cupcakes and muffins.

- I made half a batch of these muffins in my silicone 6-muffin pan.

- The recipe is easy, and the muffins came together quickly. I used dark cocoa powder and Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate baking pieces.

the verdict:

As the saying goes, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating," and after a personal taste test, my verdict is definitely "muffin." They were fluffy, tender, and on the cakey side of the muffin spectrum, but their open crumb, minimal sweetness and unmistakeable tang from the buttermilk ensured that they did not stray into cupcake territory. The random pockets of melted chocolate pieces were welcome little rewards. The muffins were perfect for breakfast or along with a cup of afternoon tea.

{TWD} Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins

Although Spring is just around the corner, this year's chilly weather needs a bit of a push. Enter this week's assignment for the TWD bakers: Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins. Not only do these muffins promise some sunny warmth, they deliver it first thing in the morning when it will get your day off to a bright start.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- Lauryn of the blog Bella Baker chose the muffins for us to bake this week. If you'd like to bake them, you can find the recipe on Lauryn's post.

- I had some whole wheat flour left after milling it for the Buffalo Barn Raisers bread that I baked earlier in the week, so I used it in these muffins. The whole wheat flour made up a little less than half of the total amount of flour in the muffins.

- The last time I stocked up on currants, the ones I found were extremely tiny, and I knew they would be perfect for muffins. I plumped the currants by letting them soak in warmed orange juice for about 10 minutes.

- My silicone muffin tins are dark in color, so I reduced the oven temperature a bit. My muffins baked 360 degrees for 18 minutes

- When the muffins came out of the oven they were flat-topped, just as Dorie described in the recipe.

the verdict:

Warm from the oven, these muffins were a taste of a bright sunny day, even in the middle of late winter chill - fresh and citrusy with a little shot of intense sweetness from the currants. They had a perfect balance of sweet and bright in a moist, muffin crumb. When the last muffin was gone it was like a little shadow fell over our kitchen.

{TWD} Slightly Less Corny Corn Muffins

The selection for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie baking group is Dorie Greenspan's Corniest Corn Muffins. Ever since I've joined this group I've heard rave reviews of these corn muffins, so I was definitely interested in trying them out for myself. Since they are kin to cornbread, there is the inevitable North/South/West divide as to the amount of sweetener that is appropriate. Luckily I sidestep all those differences of opinion and eat my cornbread any way that it is served to me. Except, however, with kernels of corn in it. If I chop the corn kernels when adding them to corn bread or muffins they will pass muster, but whole kernels are pretty much unacceptable.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The muffins were picked for the group this week by Jill of the blog My Next Life. If you don't happen to have the book, you can visit Jill's blog for the recipe.

- I love honey alongside my corn muffins, so this time I decided to bake it right into the muffins. I substituted 5 T honey crystals for the recipe's 6 T sugar. Next time I think I'd cut at least one more tablespoon.

- For oil I used light tasting olive oil rather than corn oil, because that's what I had handy.

- I omitted the corn kernels.

- The batter filled the muffin cups about half way. As they baked, they rose nicely and filled the muffins cups to the top.

the verdict:

These muffins lived up to their hype. They were fluffy and moist, lightly sweet, with a subtle crunch. My daughter JDE tasted one and observed: "these are really nice." They definitely beat out the box muffins from Jiffy!

{TWD} Honey Maple Great Grain Muffins

I began baking with whole grains years ago because of their touted health benefits. Somewhere along the way I realized that I liked the flavor of whole grains. A lot. In fact, in most basic breads I prefer those with some whole grain to the plain white flour varieties. I've even gotten used to the dense heavy texture that can come with whole grain baking.

When it came time to bake this week's Tuesdays With Dorie baking assignment, the Great Grain Muffins, I was curious to see how Dorie Greespan would handle a recipe with significant whole grain presence.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The recipe this week was chosen by Christine of the blog Happy Tummy. You can find the recipe by checking out her muffin post.

- Dorie's recipe has all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, corn meal, and rolled oats. I played with it a little bit and substituted 1/3 cup of oat flour for an equal amount of the white flour in the recipe. My final grain amounts were 2/3 whole grain and 1/3 white flour.

- As if there weren't enough ingredients and flavors going on in these muffins, I used half honey crystals, half sugar for the white sugar specified in the recipe

- To emphasize the maple flavor I used Grade B syrup.

- Dorie gives a lot of latitude to stir in any nut or dried fruit - or none, if that's what we choose. I added some chopped toasted pecans and chopped dried cherries

- I baked the muffins in 12 individual silicone muffin molds. The batter filled the muffin cups. I was a little concerned that I'd have overflow issues, but the muffins crested the edges of the molds without running over. They were just the slightest bit rounded on top, or maybe that was my wishful thinking.

- Even when fully baked my muffins were a bit pale, maybe because I lowered the oven temperature 25 degrees to compensate for dark silicone muffin molds.

the verdict:

There were just two of us at home the morning I baked these muffins, so I pulled out a container to freeze most of the muffins. Over the course of breakfast, however, the dozen quickly dwindled as we popped one after another of the still-warm fresh muffins onto our plates. By the time the meal was over, there weren't enough muffins left to freeze. I knew that we'd be excited to see them for breakfast the next morning, and that they would then be gone!

I'd venture to say that these were the best muffins I've ever baked. Despite the quantitiy of whole grains, the muffins were light and tender, and were filled with the kind of flavor that's just right with a cup of coffee, tea, or even orange juice. A perfect breakfast muffin!

{TWD} Lemon Poppyseed Muffins - Guest Post

Earlier this month my oven suddenly failed. I quickly ordered a new one and arranged a delivery date. Then we had 6 inches of snow, followed by too-cold-to-melt-things temperatures, making delivery impossible. It has finally thawed around here and my new oven is scheduled to arrive at dusk this evening, that is, after I could photograph the muffins. I was faced with the prospect of a missed or delayed Tuesdays With Dorie posting, but luckily my daughter Allison, previously known here as A.L.E., agreed to bake and photograph the muffins and write a post for me.

Allison is an artist, writer, entrepreneur, and cook/baker. She chronicles it all on her blog, Friends and Hammers. I'm her mom, so I'm biased, but any time I need a smile or a laugh I head over to her blog.

Here's her post:

My mom asked if I could bake these lemon poppy seed muffins for her, since she's in oven limbo right now and, while you can fry an egg on the sidewalk in Atlanta in the summer, you can't bake muffins on the sidewalk in Atlanta in the winter.

They're super easy and I could do the (few) dishes as I went along. I had all the ingredients except for sour cream, so I used yogurt. You'll notice that my poppy seeds were seriously antique, and I didn't taste them beforehand per Dorie's recommendation, but they were fine.


Best of all, we had guests staying over last night and I was able to greet them with a big basket of baked goods. I like to be able welcome guests with food, especially if they're coming in from a road trip. (I think I get that from my mother!) My usual "impress visitors with minimal effort" standby is Dorie's Swedish Visiting Cake, but these muffins might just become my alternate.

the verdict:

Guests loved the muffins. Roommates loved the muffins. I loved the muffins. They were like fluffy muffin-shaped clouds of perfect lemon flavor.


The muffins were chosen for TWD this week by Betsy, of the blog A Cup of Sweetness, who has posted the recipe here.

{TWD} Coffee Break Muffins

This week's assignment for the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group might be the most unusually-flavored muffin I've ever baked. Dorie calls these Coffee-Break Muffins, not just because they are a wonderful little treat to enjoy as part of a mid-morning breather, but because coffee - and lots of it - is baked right into the muffins.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The muffins were chosen by Rhiani of the blog Chocoholic Anonymous.

- Sometimes I find all-butter baked goods to be a little dry, especially after the first day. For this recipe I used half butter/half oil for the fat component to make sure the muffins were good and moist.

- For a true shot of coffee flavor, the muffin recipe calls for both brewed coffee and espresso powder. I brewed up some decaf coffee but the espresso powder was the full-caff version.

- I was a little concerned that the muffins would taste overwhelmingly of coffee. I didn't want to add anything into the muffin batter because I wanted to evaluate the recipe (pretty much) as written. So I sprinkled the top with chocolate covered sunflower seeds, figuring that I could eat them with the muffins for texture and flavor, or I could eat the muffins without the topping. Unfortunately the seeds cracked in the oven's heat, and colored coating bled onto the muffins. Furthermore, by the next day the seeds had lost their crunch. I think that cocoa nibs, either plain or dark-chocolate-covered might be a better choice for the muffins.


the verdict:

I loved the crumb on these muffins, it was dense but tender and moist. Surprisingly, the coffee taste turned out to be fairly subtle. The muffins were even better the second day when the flavors mellowed out and the crumb softened. The seeds were a nice crunchy addition on top of the muffins the first day, but really, the muffins were lovely without any topping at all.

{TWD} Allspice Crumb Muffins

The Tuesdays With Dorie assignment this week was Allspice Crumb Muffins, chosen by Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table. I "met" Kayte pretty early in my TWD days, and I liked her immediately. How could I not? She's fun, kind, and truly interested in everything and everyone around her. What's more, we have a lot in common - we're nearly the same age and share interests, including cooking and baking for our families.

When the October TWD recipes were announced, Kayte explained her choice to me: "I figured you could use them for Muffin of the Month for 'Mom!' Tell her I picked them out just for her!" That's the kind of friend that Kayte is. She remembered that I had a project of baking muffins this year for my mother, and she picked this recipe partly so that my baking would serve double duty: TWD participation and m.o.m. all rolled into one!

What's even more amazing is that my mom has a million food sensitivities and allergies, and Kayte managed to choose a muffin recipe that fits within my mother's narrow range of acceptable ingredients! For a long time I'd had my eye on the allspice muffin page in Dorie's book and I was hoping that somebody would choose the recipe soon so that I could bake it for my mom. Leave it to Kayte to read my mind!

n.o.e.'s notes:

- I made 1 1/2 recipe: 1 dozen for my mother and half dozen for us.

- It's always fun to use my spice grinder (coffee bean grinder in disguise) - I ground whole allspice berries. It turned out with some rather large bits, so I put some sugar in with allspice and it ground finer.

- In a bid to reduce the saturated fat in the muffins, I reduced the quantity of butter in half. for the other half butter, I used part oil and part plain yogurt.

- For the crumb mixture, I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour but I later wished that I'd remembered to use oat flour. The crumbs tasted great - the allspice took the buttery sugary goodness to a whole new level. I would have been just as happy to stop after the crumbs and serve them in a bowl with a spoon. By the way, for my fellow crumb-topping lovers, Sarah of Blue Ridge Baker just posted some sbrisolona cookies that are in effect entirely made of crumb topping.

- I substituted white whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour in the muffins.

- The muffins rose nicely in the oven (well, they should, with 1 T baking powder!) and made lovely "muffin tops". They would have been very hard to get out of the pan - without ruining the crumb top - had I not used silicone muffin molds. As it was, even with pushing from below and loosening the best I could, large segments of the crumb tops spalled off while I was trying to release the muffins from the pan.

the verdict:

My husband sampled a muffin that was fairly fresh from the oven. His reaction: "Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm. That's good, good, good!" And he added, "those are unconscious." (That's high praise in case you were wondering)

I loved the allspice in these, especially in the crumb topping. The muffins are simple, straightforward, delicious, and seasonal. I can see myself making them often in the cool-weather months, when warm spiced baked goods really hit the spot.

And Kayte, my mom liked them too!

You can find the recipe on Kayte's post or on pages 16-17 of Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

September m.o.m.- Rye Applesauce Muffins

I've always had a good variety of different flours in my pantry, but it's only been with my increased baking in the past year that I've worked with rye flour. To me "rye" had always brought associations of caraway seeds, toast with butter, or pastrami sandwiches. But there is more to this grain than NY deli rye bread. What I've learned is that rye flour produces some wonderfully soft and tender baked goods. In fact, I regularly add it to the bread that I bake for our morning toast.

For September's Muffin of the Month for my mom I was looking for an apple-based muffin. Nothing suits early Fall baking better than apples! I had several possible candidates in mind, but when I saw the recipe for Rye Applesauce Muffins in my Fanny Farmer Baking Book, I was reminded of the lovely Rye Apple Cake that I baked last year, with the added bonus that the muffin recipe calls for loads of autumn spices.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- I made a batch of homemade applesauce to use in these muffins: cut and peel 6 apples, place in a saucepan with 1 c. water and 1/2 c. sugar, simmer for 45 minutes, then mash. I like my applesauce pretty rustic, with nice pieces of apple, so I don't go crazy with the mashing. You can add cinnamon and/or finish the applesauce with a tablespoon or two of butter, but I left them both out, since the muffins had plenty of spice and butter. I ended up with a couple of cups of applesauce, so had leftover sauce after I measured out the amount needed for the muffins

the verdict:

Although the picture makes them look dry, these muffins were a perfect texture:
soft, chewy, moist, spiced, with wonderful pieces of apple - a delicious muffin for Fall!

the recipe:

Rye Applesauce Muffins

4 T (1/2 stick, or 1/4 c) butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 c applesauce (I used homemade, see notes above)
1 c all purpose flour
1 c rye flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup raisins (I omitted because my mom doesn't like them in baked goods)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the muffin pans or line them with paper baking liners (I used greased silicone muffin pans)

2. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and egg n a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Stir in the applesauce.

3. In another mixing bowl,combine the all purpose flour, rye flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and stir together with a fork or whisk to mix well.

4. Add the combined dry ingredients, the milk, and the raisins to the applesauce mixture, and beat just until the batter is barely smooth - about 20 seconds with a mixing spoon.

5. Spoon into the muffin pans, filling each one about 3/4 full. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and serve warm.