Plum Muffins

Tags

cinnamon, cream cheese, muffin, plum, yogurt

A few weeks ago, I was dog/house sitting for my parents while they went on a trip to Hawaii. Lucky them! I therefore had a lot of time on my hands. I was at my parents, an hour and a half from my place, with nothing to do and noone to hang out with other than my parents’ dogs! Needless to say I had a LOT of time on my hands. So what’s a girl to do? Why not make muffins! Lots of them! Some of what I made was by request, and the rest was based on what I had on hand and what would expire before my parents go back, such as the strawberry muffins.

As for the plums that went into these muffins, there is a large tree in the backyard that had so many ripe plums just waiting to be picked. Normally, I just eat plums straight. They’re so good and so hard to resist as a quick snack, but I was determined to find some ways to use them in recipes. I found many options and I didn’t have a chance to try everything I wanted to. Thankfully, I had a chance to make these muffins. Again, I used what I had on hand and I had part of a cream cheese block leftover after making creamy taco mac so I substituted that for some of the butter and yogurt. Cinnamon added a hint of spice to give the muffins a little something extra. They came out wonderfully and were a big hit with the neighbors, who to sample the variety of muffins made! 🙂 So if you ever find yourself with some plums laying around, why not make muffins! And don’t worry, there will be one more muffin recipe on the way soon. 😉One Year Ago: Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Plum Muffins
Yield: 18 muffins

3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1½ cups chopped plums, about 5 plums
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling tops (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray with cooking spray; set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until blended and smooth. Add sugar and mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the yogurt, beating until incorporated; batter will be thick. Gently fold in the plums.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops lightly with coarse sugar, if using. Bake for 8 minutes and then decrease oven temperature to 375 degree F and bake for about 12 more minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing and cooling completely.

Source: Adapted from  Strawberry Muffins

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Muffins, and an Anniversary!

Tags

cinnamon, cream cheese, muffin, Pumpkin

As seems to be the trend for the last few months, I’m behind. Apparently I hit one year of blogging last week! Whoops, but yay! It’s been quite an adventure… and I must say I didn’t have a good start. Somehow, I thought that people would somehow find my blog all on their own and I just had to sit back and write posts. Oh how wrong I was, and how much I’ve learned! I’ve met so many amazing bloggers over the last year, and I want to thank all of you for your support and kind words. Before I post a new recipe, I want to do a little recap of some of the top posts over the last year.The most popular post was this awesome Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread with Spiced Glaze, which was derived from the very popular cinnamon sugar pull-apart breads that swept the blogospere.Surprisingly enough, the second most popular post was the very first post I ever made, these Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream. Just goes to show how great it is! It’s also the first recipe that was shared on another blog!Third is Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade Barbecue Sauce, because who doesn’t love pulled pork!And fourth is Blueberry Sour Cream Pie, which was another surprising hit. I think I assumed this post was a more unique recipe and hence wouldn’t be as sought after, but maybe that was it’s appeal!

Now before I bore you all to death, I just want to share a couple of my own favorites from this past year, which you might have overlooked or missed.Mango Bread. Tropical, moist, and oh so delicious!Croque Monsieur/Madame. Classic French food which makes for a simple yet indulgent meal.Broiled Shrimp with Tomatoes and Brie. Nuff said. You gotta try this!!

Anyways, on to the main attraction! It may not be a very celebratory food, but I do love me some muffins! Yes it’s pumpkin, and yes it’s spring, but I believe I’ve mentioned before that I eat pumpkin year round. It’s a super tasty superfood! I made these muffins once before, following the original recipe exactly and making my own vanilla glaze. They were very good, but the muffin was a little too tender for my liking, and the glaze didn’t quite match up as I wanted. So, on to take two and I was in heaven! I used my go-to family recipe for pumpkin bread, which is a little sturdier of a bread. Topping was the same, since that was perfect the first time around. As for the glaze, a vanilla glaze didn’t quite seem right for a cinnamon roll muffin, so this time around I made a cream cheese glaze. Yum!

So in conclusion, try these muffins and hurray for my first year blogoversary!!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Yield: 15 to 16 muffins

Muffins:
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
½ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup water
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Topping:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.

To make the muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground ginger; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, oil, water, eggs, and sugar. Slowly add the dry ingredients; mix until smooth. Split batter equally between prepared muffin tins, filling about ¾ of the way full.

To make the topping: In a small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Crumble on top of uncooked muffins and swirl into the batter.

Bake the muffins for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Move muffin pan to wire rack and cool for 5 minutes, then remove muffins and finish cooling on wire rack.

To make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk or beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Stir in the vanilla extract; stir in 1 tablespoon of milk, checking the consistency and adding more milk as needed. Drizzle the cooled muffins with desired amount of glaze.

Source: Adapted/inspired from The Teenage Taste

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Tags

breakfast, cake, cinnamon, coffee cake, Pumpkin, streusel

I lied about not posting sweet stuff, and for that I apologize. But this was just too good to not post sooner versus later. Besides, it’s breakfast not dessert, so that makes it a little better, right? 😉I’m a fan of pumpkin all year long. I love the color it adds to food, and of course the flavor! As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. And I have a few cans of pumpkin I stashed away that are just waiting to be used in something tasty! Unfortuntaely, the post mentioned that this was a very good coffee cake, but it wasn’t big on the pumpkin flavor. Thankfully, that was easy enough to remedy by replacing the sour cream with more pumpkin! This coffee cake is delicate and pumpkiny with a delicious layer of streusel on the top and in the middle of the cake. It was a huge hit with my little nephews, too, which is always a plus! 🙂 If you’re a year-round pumpkin lover looking for a delicious breakfast treat, this coffee cake is perfect for you!Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Streusel:
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Cake:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup pumpkin puree

Glaze:
½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon whipping cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the streusel: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter, and use a pastry cutter to work it into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside while you make the batter.

To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the pumpkin puree and beat until incorporated. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing at a low speed just until combined.

Spread half of the batter in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel mixture over the batter. Dollop the remaining batter over the streusel and use a spatula to spread it as best you can. Top with the remaining streusel.

Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes then remove the sides of the pan and let the cake cool completely.

To make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl until the consistency is thick, but pourable; add more cream if a thinner consistency is needed. Drizzle over the top of the cake. Let the glaze set before serving.

Source: Adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Buttercream

Tags

buttercream, Christmas, cinnamon, ginger, gingerbread, molasses

I love the flavors of this season. While gingerbread isn’t one of my favorite flavors, it’s so traditional for this time of the year, I couldn’t resist! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy little gingerbread men and whatnot, just in small doses. And these cupcakes are little cake versions of those tasty seasonal cookies. Cream cheese frosting is such a common pairing with gingerbread, and I know it’s what some people would want and expect. And who am I to disappoint! But at the same time, I saw so many unique frostings paired up with other gingerbread cupcakes, and I really wanted to try a less traditional flavor.I couldn’t decide between the two frosting options, so I asked at work and on Facebook. I didn’t really get a clear winner there, either, though one person recommended putting both frostings on one cupcake! As good as that sounds, I took their suggestion with a sort of twist… I made both frostings and one batch of cupcakes, so now I have extra frosting already made for when I make another batch of cupcakes!! Win-win for me and everyone who gets extra cupcakes! Hehe. The frosting went wonderfully with the cupcakes, and all the flavors complimented each other perfectly. If you are a fan of gingerbread, you’ll absolutely love these cupcakes!Gingerbread Cupcakes with Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Buttercream 

Cupcakes:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon salt

Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons cream

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and salt; set aside. In another small bowl, stir together the boiling water and baking soda until dissolved; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. Slowly beat in the baking soda water. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture; mix until just combined.

Spoon the gingerbread batter into the prepared cupcake tins. Bake about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to the wire rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Add the cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar; beat at medium-low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated. Add the cream 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting is smooth and fluffy. Frost cupcakes and decorate as desired.

Source: Adapted from The Culinary Chronicles, who adapted it from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices

Pumpkin Pie

Tags

Christmas, cinnamon, cream, evaporated milk, pie, Pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, Thanksgiving

I had a very fun and successful day of holiday baking with my mom yesterday! We made our traditional array of cookies and goodies, including some new ones that we added this year. We made sugar cookies, cinnamon swirls, chocolate cherry thumbprints, melting moments, and pumpkin oatmeal cookies with cranberries and white chocolate. I have a list of cookies and candies I want to try this year, and hopefully they’ll be good enough to make the list for next year!

In the meantime, I wanted to share my favorite pumpkin pie recipe. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my family has pumpkin pie for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m not a big pumpkin pie fan, unless it’s this pie. I discovered this recipe a few years ago, and have been making it ever since. It’s pumpkin-y, lightly spiced, and creamy, all of which makes for a delicious and perfect pie! The random amount of sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk are kind of inconvenient, but just save the leftovers for fudge or another pumpkin pie!Pumpkin Pie

1½ cups pumpkin puree
½ cup brown sugar
⅔ cup heavy cream
7 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
6½ tablespoons evaporated milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch ground clove
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
Pastry for 1 pie dough, or 1 prebaked pie crust

To prepare pie crust: Place rolled out pie crust in pie dish, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Ease dough into the plate by gently lifting the edge of the dough with one hand while pressing into the plate bottom with the other hand, making sure to not stretch the dough. Trim overhang to ½-inch beyond the plate rim. Fold overhang under itself onto the flat rim of the plate, and use a thumb and two index fingers to flute the crust. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove pie pan from the refrigerator and prick with a fork. Line the crust with 2 pieces of foil, and fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for 5 to 10 minutes until crust is golden brown and crisp.

To make the filling: Lower the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine the pumpkin and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the majority of the water has evaporated and the mixture has thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream, milks, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and salt. Add eggs and yolk, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake until set, about 45 to 55 minutes. Cool and serve.

Source: Adapted from Food Network