Sweet Corn and Honey Muffins

Last “catch up” post from last week — and this one will be posting while I’m on my way back to my hometown for the weekend!

No fancy stories, no funny quirks, just a darn good corn muffin recipe. Thank you, Food Blogga, for this deliciousness.

Sweet Corn and Honey Muffins

(Susan at Food Blogga)

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup medium coarse stone-ground cornmeal

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup buttermilk (I used a combo of regular milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons honey

1 cup fresh corn kernels (I omitted — fresh corn is becoming out of season here)

Directions

– Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees Farenheit

– Spray a 12-mold regular size muffin pan with cooking spray

– In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt

– In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, butter, buttermilk, eggs and honey

– Add to the flour mixture and stir quickly until well combined

– Fold in corn kernels

– Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 muffin tins

– Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean

– Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from the tin and placing on the rack to cool (or just eat them after the 5 minutes — like we did!!)

Quick Cinnamon Roll Muffins

When I saw this recipe over at Joy the Baker I got excited — quick cinnamon rolls?! In muffin form?!

Awesome!!

These were tasty, but unfortunately, I have to admit they’re not as good as a real cinnamon roll. At least not in my opinion.

Still a very tasty muffin, though! Because of the yeast, these are a much denser and more bread-like muffin — they’re not light and fluffy. The consistency of the batter also made it hard for me to swirl the cinnamon mixture in. It would probably taste more “correct” if I’d taken the time to figure out a way to mix that cinnamon mixture evenly throughout the dough.

Quick Cinnamon Roll Muffins

(Joy the Baker)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp active dry or rapid rise yeast

2/3 cup warm milk (100-110F; low fat is fine)

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

Filling/Topping

3 tbsp butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground cardamom (I omitted)

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp milk or cream

Directions

– In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt

– Dissolve the yeast in a measuring cup filled with the warm milk, then stir the milk mixture, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and egg into the flour mixture

– Mix well until very smooth

– Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes (Joy’s instructions mention swapping it to a “prepared pan” but her instructions don’t include anything more about it. I left it in the bowl and it was fine)

– While the dough rests, mix together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a small bowl using a form until all the butter has been incorporated into the sugar and mixture is crumbly

– Divide the batter between 12 greased muffin cups

– Sprinkle the sugar/butter/spices mixture evenly on top of the rested dough and press the mixture down into the dough with your fingertips (or swirl in with a spatula)

– Place pan into a cold oven, then set the oven temperature to 350 degrees F

– Bake for about 20 minutes, until bread is lightly browned at the edges and the center of the bread springs back when lightly pressed. Some of the sugar mixture on top may still be bubbling

– Cool for at least 30 minutes before whisking the powdered sugar and milk together to form an icing and drizzling it onto the muffins

– Serve warm. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave

Edit: I’ve entered this recipe in Joelen’s Culinary Adventures blog event — Marvelous Muffins!

Banana Coconut Muffins

Coconut is one of those things that I go in and out of enjoying.

I also tend to forget it exists until it pops up again on my radar.

So when I saw the recipe for Banana Coconut Muffins (aka, Five Kinds of Awesome) over at the No Slivers Here blog, I figured it was time to re-incorporate coconut into my cooking.

And these.are.that.good.

I could’ve eaten them all as soon as they came out of the oven! YUM!

I swear, a little dollop of whipped cream on top, and these bad boys would taste like pie!

Banana Coconut Muffins

(http://www.epicurious.com/, by way of No Slivers Here blog)

Note: The recipe says it makes 8, 1/2″ deep muffins. But I never buy specialty sized muffins tins, so I used my standard 12-muffin tin. I got 10 muffins.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 very ripe bananas, mashed (3/4 cup)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

– Preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffin cups with liners.

– Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

– Whisk together bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut in a large bowl until combined well, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened.
– Divide batter among lined muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut.

– Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 25 minutes.

– Transfer muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

Edit: I’ve entered this recipe in Joelen’s Culinary Adventures blog event — Marvelous Muffins!

"To Die For" Blueberry Muffins — Almost

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When I saw this recipe on BrownEyedChef’s blog, I knew I had to try it. I’m batty for blueberry muffins, and I am continuing my quest to find the perfect one.

This muffin was VERY VERY close to perfect…I think my only real problem with it was the crumble mixture on top — mine didn’t crumble…and it had some issues. Or rather, I had issues with it (I think I just let my butter get too soft before I made the crumble mix)

I think next time I’ll just sprinkle with some large-granule sugar, and call it deliciousness. But, in the interest of the perfectionist that I am, I’ll continue trying blueberry muffin recipes to find the “perfect” one!

Apologies for the bad image — I was in a hurry on Sunday, and I knew if I didn’t get a picture right out of the oven that DH would have them all eaten before I could try.

Apparently, in addition to walking away from my butter and letting it get warm, I also had uneven muffins. Bah. Who cares, they taste good. 🙂

To Die For Blueberry Muffins
(BrownEyedChef’s Blog)
(Serves 8 according to BrownEyedChef — I got 9)

Muffin Ingredients
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumble Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Muffin Directions
– Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
– Grease muffin cups or line with baking cups
– Combine 1.5 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder
– Place vegetable oilin a 1-cup measuring cup, add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup (1/3 cup milk)
– Mix the wet mixture into the flour mixture
– Fold in blueberries
– Fill muffin cups right to the top and sprinkle with crumb topping

Crumble Topping Directions
– Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
– Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking

– Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly golden brown