Honey Crunch Buttermilk Muffins

I really try and watch how much I swear and that's maybe because when I was 8 I was this tiny thing but went through this period where I swore like a sailor. Needless to say I learned the hard way that soap just doesn't taste very good. That said if there is one place it can't be controlled, it's the kitchen. Whether I've almost sliced off my finger, forgotten ingredients or burned the skin off my arm, profanity is very necessary and the louder the better!!

After a long day at work sometimes I like to unwind and relax by getting in the kitchen and baking something and this was one of those nights. After putting the muffins in the oven and setting the timer I turned around to clean up and saw my eggs still sitting on the counter. "Ah F*C%in Muffins!!" I rationalized that the batter tasted good so maybe they wouldn't be so bad and I really do think things happen for a reason. After tasting one I realized eggs really aren't needed in this recipe at all! Fluffy and moist they have a nice subtle sweetness from the honey and a satisfying crunch from what? Millet. Raw millet. Soo good, if only because it reminds me of cornbread.

In the corner of the first pic you can see kale which I was just about to steam. At the beginning of the week I usually pick a green, wash it, tear it in pieces, bag it and throw it in pretty much everything I eat that week. Below are a few of those meals.

Seedy toast from Purebread (from the farmers market) with white truffle oil, steamed kale, smoked salmon (farmers market), tomato and boiled egg. Side of overnight oats with mango, blueberry and toasted coconut

Sprouted grain quesadilla with kale, chicken, artichokes, aged cheddar, cilantro, butternut squash and red bell pepper. (Side of thick plain yogurt and salsa)

Coconut Chicken Curry w/ kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, carrots, yams, butternut squash and kale. Served with brown rice.


Honey Crunch Buttermilk Muffins
Adapted heavily from 101cookbooks
Makes 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup white flour
1/3 cup millet(raw)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp honey
1 Lemon (zest of whole lemon and 2 tbsp lemon juice) (optional)
Fleur de Sel and Raw Sugar (to sprinkle on top)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line muffin tin with liners
2. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and millet
3. In a separate bowl combine yogurt, buttermilk, vanilla, honey, melted butter, lemon
zest and lemon juice
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, fold gently, only until it comes together
*do not over mix!*
5. Sprinkle with a pinch of Fleur de Sel and Raw Sugar on each muffin.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden and toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin Muffins w/ Crystallized Ginger and Toasted Walnuts

From being in the kitchen I'm so used to having my nails short and not being able to wear nail polish that I still don't wear it. It was my brother's wedding last month and my mom and I went to get our nails done and after she spent a good while buffing them and whatever else they do, she asked me, so what color would you like!? Clear please! She looked up at me and said clearr? I said well after you do my nails I'm going home to bake 200 cookies so there's really no point....

I've been missing the kitchen lately and it's little things that bring me back, I'll be pan frying something and the oil will splatter up my arm and I like the burn, I'll be peeling beets and chopping garlic till my hands are stained red and I have that lingering smell of garlic on me and I really don't mind. I'll be leaning over the oven door to stick my hand in to see if the muffins are done and that intense rush of heat comes at me and I just breathe it in. Weeeird right? I know I know, bare with me while I go through this nostalgia. In the meantime make these muffins first thing in the morning for your co-workers like I did and your day (and theirs!) will be so much sweeter!

Pumpkin Muffins w/Crystallized Ginger and Toasted Walnuts
Yields 12

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup w.w pastry flour, ½ cup white flour)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup sugar (I used cane sugar)
1 teaspoon baking soda
few swipes fresh nutmeg (on the microplane/grater)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/3 cup melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts (or pecans)
1/2 cup crystallized ginger
1/4 cup cinnamon & sugar (used cane sugar)

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2.Mix together toasted walnuts and crystallized ginger, *reserve 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top*
2. Mix together all dry ingredients (includes sugar too)
3. Mix together all wet ingredients
4. Add dry mix into wet mix, don't overmix
5. Fold in walnuts and crystallized ginger
6. Scoop into muffin tin, sprinkle w/walnuts and ginger and cinnamon sugar mix.
7.Bake for 20-25 min or until pick comes out clean.

Carrot Cake Muffins

Hello blog world! I still get friends and family who ask, why haven't you posted anything new!? I'm shocked every time and say you still check out my page!? It's funny because I continue to take pictures of everything I eat, cook and bake and I think it's just become a habit to pull out my camera and take pictures every time food is put in front of me. Take these muffins for instance, photo taken this summer and I am just telling you about them now! I loove love carrot cake and I'm sure it's partly due to the cream cheese icing that comes slathered on top. These muffins have all the essential ingredients of a good carrot cake but of course I've made it healthier without sacrificing texture and flavor that a good muffin should have!

Carrot Cake Muffins

Makes 8

1 large carrot, grated

1 apple, grated

1/4 cup crushed pineapple

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (toasted)

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or whole wheat flour)

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice sugar (or white sugar)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup coconut oil (or canola oil)

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Combine:

1/2 cup softened low fat cream cheese

1 tbsp agave syrup (or honey)

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin tin and line tin with paper liners.

2. Combine all dry ingredients (including sugar) in a big bowl.

3. Combine oil and eggs and vanilla. Add to dry mix.

4. Fold in carrot, apple, pineapple, coconut, walnuts and pecans into batter.

5. Spoon batter 1/2 way up muffin cups, place 1 tbsp sweetened cream cheese into each. Fill

the muffin cups with the rest of the batter.

6. Bake for 20-25 min or until the top of the muffin springs back up or toothpick comes out

clean.

Mini Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

You can tell how stoked I am about these muffins because they were made just 15 minutes ago and already I am posting this recipe! It would have been even earlier then that but it took those 15 minutes to let them cool a tad, then devour two of them while my camera card loaded into my computer! I make it a habit to buy a couple more bananas then I ever really need so when I see them turn extra brown it gives me the perfect excuse to make banana bread. I also like to keep a small carton of buttermilk on hand for baking (perfect for cornbread, scones, pancakes and any other muffins). Living and cooking for myself I've wanted to have recipes that can make just two cookies or two brownies when you have that craving but dont want to eat consume the whole batch yourself! Well this recipe is perfect, it will either make about 4 regular size muffins or 12 mini ones. I'm also very wary when tweaking recipes to make them healthier because I find that when you cut out the fat, baking can lose that fluffy texture and almost have that dry heavy bouncy texture. Not the case with these!! They are soo fluffy, moist and satisfying. A good tip for making healthier banana bread or muffins is to let your bananas ripen until they are almost black brown, the more sweet the banana is the less sugar you need to add. With two of these muffins I folded rolled oats into the batter and they tasted so good! It gave the muffin a bit of extra texture and chewiness and makes the mini muffin last longer and feel more satisfying. Now if you will excuse me, I just might have to go eat another one...

I took a pic with my cell so you can see the size comparison

Mini Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

(Makes 12 mini muffins or 4 regular size muffins)

1/8 cup plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour

3/8 cup whole wheat flour

1/8 unrefined rapadura sugar (or brown sugar)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 cup mashed very ripe banana (1 large banana)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

1 1/2 tbsp buttermilk

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 cup dark chocolate chips (roughly chopped)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. In another bowl combine banana, sugar, olive oil, apple sauce, buttermilk, egg yolk and vanilla.

3. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Bake 12 minutes (for mini muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean.

*Note according to calorie counter one of these mini muffins equal 59 calories and one regular size muffin equals 176 calories*

Apple Ricotta Almond Muffins

I'm still on my ricotta kick and when I came across an Apple Ricotta Almond Muffin at this cafe called the Little Nest which I frequent when I'm in the area, I just had to try it! Still warm from the oven I got it to go but it didn't last very long! You know when you keep it in the paper bag and think ohhh I'll just have a little taste and save the rest for later..then u keep eating pieces of it until you realize you have eaten the whole thing and are extremely disappointed that there is nothing left in the bag!? Really though, is there anything better than fresh out of the oven baking! Even better was that this muffin had the BEST muffin top! This weekend I was on my way to the farmers market and was close by the cafe, so I called to ask if they had any Apple Ricotta Muffins, the girl said why yes we have one left...! I asked her if she could put that muffin on hold for me and she laughed and said uhh okay...! Serious addiction here people...! I did realize if I keep eating these I too, will have a muffin top!! So I decided to make my own rendition of them at home. Incorporating apples fresh from the farmers market (it's apple season and the variety of apples at the farmers market is ridiculous!), whole wheat flour, unrefined sugar and buttermilk made these muffins moist, sweet and taste just like the ones from the cafe! My only regret is not filling them enough...so if you make these, forget the rule to fill the batter 3/4 full, and go ahead and mound the batter into the muffin tin, this makes the best muffins in the world because it creates that crispy muffin top which we all know is the best part!

A dollop of ricotta in the middle of the batter makes these muffins soo good

I learned my lesson from the first batch, so on my second batch I filled the batter to the top to get a crispy muffin top

Apple Ricotta Almond Muffins (Makes approx 12 muffins)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/3 cup white flour

1/2 cup unrefined sugar (rapadura sugar)

1/2 cup white sugar (or 1 cup white sugar if u don't have unrefined sugar)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 egg whites

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup milk

1 1/3 cup ricotta cheese

3 tbsp canola oil

2 tsp vanilla

2 apples, small dice (I used Ambrosia and Gala)

Topping

1/8 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup almonds (sliced)

Icing sugar

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl or mixer combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In another bowl mix together eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, milk, 1/3 cup ricotta cheese, oil and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients just till incorporated. Stir in apples.

2. Fill muffin pan with liners and grease the top of the pan. Fill each cup 1/2 way with batter, add a dollop of ricotta cheese and fill to the top with more batter. Combine the topping of cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top. Follow with almonds. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. When cooled down, dust with icing sugar.

Apple Pecan Streusal Muffins

Oh man...I am addicted to these!! I usually try and stay away from muffins, since they're never as healthy as you think they are. Really its just a cupcake with fixins without the icing, so I mine as well go all the way and eat a really good cupcake! But these just might be the exception. A take on a healthier muffin, it's still loaded with all the flavor, fluffiness and cakey goodness a muffin should have. I had to freeze half the batch to keep from devouring all of them, but their good to have on the mornings when you are running out the door, just take one out of the freezer the night before, grab a piece of fruit and you're good to go.

Apple Pecan Streusal Muffins
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp firmly packed unrefined sugar
1/4 chopped pecans (toasted)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup spelt flour (or whole grain flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup natural unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 gala apple, cored, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners
2. Mix together 2 tbsp of brown sugar with the pecans and cinnamon
3. In another bowl mix together the two flours, baking soda and salt
4. In a mixer combine remaining 3/4 cup of brown sugar and oil. Add eggs
5. Add in applesauce and vanilla. Alternate adding flour and buttermilk until just combined
6. Scoop batter into muffin tins using an ice cream scoop and top with pecan brown sugar mixture.
7. Bake for approx 20 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Note: I made my own applesauce, just peel, core and dice 3 apples, toss in a small pot with a splash of vanilla and let the apples soften and release their juice. When they are soft use a potato masher to mash them into a puree. (Chunks are fine too).

Double Chocolate Banana Cookies aka MUFFIN TOPS

I told you I was on a banana kick...I think I went a little overboard and bought one too many, they ripen too fast before I can eat them all. Not a problem! All I had to do was google banana recipes. I was entrigued when I found a recipe for banana cookies, I like bananas! I loove cookies! SOLD.
Of course I like chocolate even more so I took the concept of the recipe and made up my own. After sampling them with a friend, I realized they aren't cookies at all! Yes, same cookie making procedure, but the end result tasted like a muffin top! Even cakier than a muffin too. What's better than a muffin top!? My friend was reminded of a Seinfeld episode about the muffin top, where the muffin top bakery gives away their bottoms to the homeless and they get offended. I had to youtube it to see for myself and ohh mann is it hilarious!! See for yourself. Top of the muffin to youu!

Double Chocolate Banana Cookies/Muffin Tops
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup agave syrup (or use maple syrup/honey)
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup Robinhood nutriblend flour (or 1/2 cup whole wheat, 1/2 cup white)
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup flaxmeal
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chocolate chunks, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Cream butter with sugars and agave until fluffy
3. Add in egg then mashed banana
4. Mix together dry ingredients and add into banana mixture, just until combined
5. Add in chocolate chunks and drop onto a lined cookie sheet
6. Bake for 12-15 min or until tops are set and aren't soft in the middle