Whole-Grain Honey Muffins

Muffins, muffins, where to start with muffins? Well, this post is part of my special "every third week" lineup. I personally think that muffins are underrated and definitely not made enough. The proof of this is that there are barely any muffin books when compared to cookie and cupcake books. What I like about muffins is that they can be sweet or salty, as well as eaten at any time of day. They fit into a daily diet perfectly.

The muffin book that I'll first be trying out is 100 Magnificent Muffins & Scones by Felicity Barnum-Bobb. My mom found this book for me at Barnes & Noble for only $7.98, so I think it was a good steal.

The first recipe in this book was Whole-Grain Honey Muffins. After looking at the main ingredient (malt or multi-grain flour), I was kind of iffy about it, but I just decided to make my own flour since I wasn't able to find neither of the two.

In this bowl, I mixed the "Stephanie" multi-grain flour, baking powder, and brown sugar (but the picture is before the mixing).

In this other bowl, I mixed honey, sunflower oil, egg, lemon zest, and milk (but again, the picture is before the mixing).

Here are all the ingredients poured in together...

...and here they are after mixing everything until well combined.

Only 9 lucky muffins made it to the oven. =)

Some of them came out oddly shaped at the top, and I can't figure out why.

Maybe it was because they were still hot that some were cone-y?

These were different. By no means does that mean that they sucked, but they do take some getting used to if you're not a whole-grain eater. I'm not used to feeling all the grains from the flour in foods, because I usually eat white flour things (don't kill me!!). After getting used to it, the flavor came out. The honey mixes in really well and really doesn't let these muffins be too sweet. The lemon zest brings a hint of citrus, which is welcomed.

Whole-Grain Honey Muffins
*makes 9 muffins*

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups malt or multi-grain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/8 cup dark brown sugar
3 tbsp honey
scant 1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 egg
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
2/3 cup skim milk

Directions:
1) Heat the oven to 400F. Line a muffin pan with 9 muffin liners.
2) Tip the flour into a large bowl. Add the baking powder and sugar.
3) Mix together the honey, oil, egg, lemon zest, and milk and pour into the dry ingredients in the bowl. Use a large spoon to fold everything together.
4) Spoon equally into the paper muffin liners and bake for 15 minutes, or until the muffins are well risen, firm, and springy to the touch. Serve warm.



Recipe from 100 Magnificent Muffins & Scones by Felicity Barnum-Bobb

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

The third recipe in 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson is Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Sadly, I wasn't able to make these this weekend because of the salmonella outbreak in peanut butter and peanut butter products. I didn't want to risk anybody getting sick or anything happening. Once the outbreak is over, I'll probably make them. If I don't get around to making them, maybe someone can make them instead and tell me how it goes! =)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
*makes 12 cupcakes*

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Line muffin pan with paper liners.
3) In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
4) In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together granulated and brown sugars and butter until well combined. Add peanut butter, beating until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Alternately beat in flour mixture and milk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of milk, beating until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.
5) Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

This recipe included one variation:
Omit the chocolate chips.

I would've topped each version with different frostings: the original with Peanut Butter Frosting, and the variation with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting
*makes enough to frost 16 cupcakes*

Ingredients:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
pinch salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp milk

Directions:
1) In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together confectioner's sugar, butter, and salt until creamy. Add peanut butter, beating well. Add milk and beat until smooth and creamy.
2) Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting
*makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes*

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
pinch salt
2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

Directions:
1) In a bowl, beat together butter, peanut butter, and salt until creamy. With mixer on low speed, beat in confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup at a time so that the sugar doesn't fly all over the place. Add cocoa powder, beating until very smooth and creamy.
2) Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes.



Recipes from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I came up with a new idea for this blog. Since my bakery offers cookies and muffins (apart from cupcakes), I'll be posting about them too. Every third week, I'll be posting cookie recipes on Tuesdays and muffin recipes on Thursdays. This won't change the Wednesday cupcake postings, so don't worry.

Out of the several cookie books that I have, I decided to start using Great Cookies: Secrets To Sensational Sweets by Carole Walter. I got this book for myself as a Christmas gift, and I think it's about time to start baking things from it.

The first recipe in this book is Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. The picture didn't look very much like the traditional cookies, but hey, I tried this recipe anyway.

Here's the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt (before mixing).

This is the butter with the orange zest, before beating it.

I'm adding the brown sugar here. This picture didn't come out too good because I was taking it inside the mixing bowl (while it was still attached).

I'm adding the granulated sugar in this step.

This is the step that I think didn't make this the traditional recipe. Here, I'm adding molasses to the batter.

I like combining the eggs with the vanilla before adding it to the batter, so this is what the picture's showing.

I kind of missed a step here (photography-wise). Here, I'm adding the oatmeal, after having added the flour mixture.

I dumped the raisins and the pecans into the batter, and then folded them in.

They're ready to go in the oven (I was only able to make 10 at a time)!

Fresh out of the oven, they're waiting to be transferred...

...to the cooling rack.

They're ready to be eaten!

But first, here's an inside shot (taking inside shots is kind of my thing because I just like showing how they look inside after baking).

My verdict? I loved these. You can really taste the orange zest, and it meshes really well with the oatmeal and raisins. Since I had to go on a mission looking for the "navel orange" and ended up finding it in Whole Foods, my family jokes that the reason why the orange is noticeable is because it's organic. Who knows? But besides that, these cookies are chewy and just perfect.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
*makes about 4 dozen 3-inch cookies*

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned in and leveled
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 tsp grated navel orange zest
2/3 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark unsulfured molasses
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup broken, toasted pecans or walnuts
1 cup dark raisins, plumped, drained, and patted dry on paper towels

Directions:
1) Position the shelves in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat the oven to 350F. Moderately butter the cookie sheets.
2) Strain together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3) In the large bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, soften the butter with the orange zest on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute; add the brown sugar, then the granulated sugar and mix until light in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Blend in the molasses and mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and mix for 1 minute longer.
4) Reduce the mixer speed to low and pour in the dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing only to incorporate the flour, then blend in the oatmeal. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the pecans and raisins.
5) Drop by rounded tablespoons 3 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back toward the end of baking time. Do not overbake or the cookies will be too crisp and difficult to remove from the pan. Let cookies stand for 2 minutes, then loosen with a thin metal spatula. Cool on wire racks.



Recipe from Great Cookies: Secrets To Sensational Sweets by Carole Walter

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Alright, I've been waiting to post this recipe up since this weekend, especially after the reviews I received on Monday. I usually bake everything on Saturdays or Sundays, but then post the recipes on Wednesday. Why?? Because I figured, if someone wanted to look up something yummy for the weekend, they'd probably start looking it up during the week. Since Wednesday's hump day, it's a good day for posts because it's right smack-dab in the middle of the week! I hope that makes sense.

Ok, the second recipe in 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson is Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes. After making these this weekend, and after making most things, I take everything to my job in order to share the baking love. The lucky people that got to try these all gave me amazing reviews: how moist and flavorful these were, along with how these had to be the best kind of chocolate cake/cupcake they had ever tried. Sooo... here we go!

Here is the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt (before mixing).

Here is the sugar and oil in my mixer's bowl.

In a separate bowl, I mixed the cherry pie filling with the vanilla and almond extract (I kind of thought that by "marinating" the filling, the cherries would absorb the extracts and then be more tasteful in the final product).

This is flour/cocoa powder/baking soda/salt mixture, along with the cranberry juice cocktail (I couldn't find cherry juice at my local Publix, so I chose the cocktail instead).

Ok. Here's the batter, before mixing in the balsamic vinegar (Yea, I didn't think it looked very appetizing either, but once it was all mixed it looked great).

The baking cups are ready for the oven (I really filled the cups because I figured that since it had so much juice in it, that they might not rise alot).

They're fresh out of the oven...

...and now they're completely cooling off on the rack.

These were frosted with Chocolate Fudge Frosting, just like the Best Chocolate Cupcakes.

Here's one of the cupcakes split down the middle. Even though you can't really tell in the picture, in real life you can see the bits and pieces of cherry inside the cupcakes.

As I mentioned above, these received great reviews. One warning though: these cupcakes are for true chocolate lovers. I think it has to do with the cherry and chocoalte combination. The chocolate flavor is really brought out in this recipe, along with a cherry aroma and a great cherry taste. This leads to an extremely moist cupcake, which was also rather dense. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed them. Chocolate lovers will get a kick out of them too.

This recipe included one variation:
Add 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips along with the vinegar.

These tasted phenomenal. They had a kind of brownie-like feel to them, but that's due to the chocolate chips. These received just as great reviews as the original ones.

Whichever one of these (either the original or the variation) is great, so I'd go with either one!

Here are the featured recipes:

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
*makes 12 cupcakes*

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup canned cherry pie filling (not canned cherries in juice)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup cherry juice or cranberry juice cocktail
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Line muffin pan with paper liners.
3) In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4) In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and oil. Mix in cherry pie filling, vanilla, and almond extract. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and cherry juice, making three additions of flour mixture and two of juice, beating until batter is smooth. Mix in vinegar.
5) Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 22 to 25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
*makes enough to frost 12 to 18 cupcakes*

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp chooclate cream liqueur
1 tbsp strong brewed coffee or milk
pinch salt

Directions :
1) In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, butter, chocolate liqueur, coffee, and salt until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary.
2) Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes.



Recipes from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

Best Chocolate Cupcakes

Since this is my first post, I'll explain myself and my goal for this blog. I'd like to go through as many cookbooks as possible, and try every single recipe in them. I then want to recount my attempts to everyone, and then inspire them to try the same recipes. That'd be great, wouldn't it? I'll be going one cookbook at a time, giving you all the chance to see the recipe being done before you attempt it.

For the first cookbook, I chose 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson. I'll be going recipe by recipe, including the variations that are given and the frostings that are suggested.

The first recipe in this book was the one for Best Chocolate Cupcakes.

Here is the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt (before mixing).

Here is the sugar, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla (in a separate bowl).

This is the flour/cocoa powder/baking soda/salt mixture, as well as the buttermilk.

This is the amazing-looking batter, before stirring in the chocolate chips, and also before scraping down the sides (woops!).

Yummy! The batter ended up being enough for 12 cupcakes, just like how the recipe says.

A little cracked at the top, but they look good anyway (cooling in the pan).

Ahh! Can't wait! They're cooling on the rack now.

Here they are frosted with Chocolate Fudge Frosting...

...and here's a cupcake split down the middle.

I think these look great, both on the outside and the inside. They were nice and well-textured. They were moist and rich, but not too rich (which is perfect for me). The chocolate chips in the actual batter give these cupcakes an extra oomph!

This recipe included two variations:
1) German Chocolate Cupcakes: Omit the chocolate chips in the batter. Frost with Coconut Pecan Frosting.

2) Substitute white chocolate chips for the chocolate chips (I frosted these with Cookies and Cream Buttercream).

I think all three look great, and the batter is very versatile. It can be made with chocolate chips, and without, as well as it can be paired with many different kinds of toppings.

Here are the featured recipes:

Best Chocolate Cupcakes
*makes 12 cupcakes*

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Line muffin pan with paper liners.
3) In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4) In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.
5) Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 22 to 27 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
*makes enough to frost 12 to 18 cupcakes*

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp chooclate cream liqueur
1 tbsp strong brewed coffee or milk
pinch salt

Directions :
1) In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, butter, chocolate liqueur, coffee, and salt until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary.
2) Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes.

Coconut Pecan Frosting
*makes enough to frost 16 or more cupcakes*

Ingredients :
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
pinch salt
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup loosely packed sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
1/3 cup semisweet chocoalte chips (optional)

Directions :
1) In a heavy saucepan, whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly whisk in evaporated milk until cornstarch is dissolved. Add butter. Butter will be lumpy, but don't worry, it will melt from the heat.
2) Place saucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk continuously until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut and vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
3) Cover coconut mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or until chilled and thick. When cold and thick, stir in pecans and chocolate chips, if using. Spread frosting over cooled cupcakes. If not serving cupcakes right away, keep cupcakes refrigerated until ready to serve or for up to 1 day.

Cookies and Cream Buttercream
*makes enough to frost 12 or more cupcakes*

Ingredients :
1 1/3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
pinch salt
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 chocolate sandwich cookies, broken into pieces

Directions :
1) In a small bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat together sugar, butter, and salt until well combined. Increase speed to high, beating until light and fluffy. Add cream and vanilla, beating until frosting is smooth. Add broken cookies, beating until mixed.
2) Spread icing on cooled cupcakes with a knife.



Recipes from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

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