Have You Seen Yellow Apples Before?

I haven't until a couple of days ago. It was weird, I actually thought they were pears when I saw them on the kitchen table the other day. They were not as sweet as the red ones, but not as tart as the green granny smith variety either. They were actually kinda bland. I knew then that a little sugary sweetness was all it needed.

Yes, another breakfast muffin! Apple Strudel Muffins to be exact. To be quite honest, I rarely bake with apples. My recipe collection for apples were not as extensive as banana baking. But I'm so glad I made these! They were gone in minutes the moment they came out of the oven. My family couldn't be happier. =) We all love the streusel/strudel topping with its crisp, sugary-cinnamon bite. The only request they had was to add more apples to it next time. I only used one, and I agree, it could use more. 

The recipe is supposedly good for twelve muffins, but I had a lot of leftovers. I placed them on a mini muffin pan, and I got around six. Ideally you should bake the smaller muffins in a lot less time than the standard size ones, but I completely forgot about it (too busy munching), so they came out crispier, but still good! This recipe is definitely a keeper. =) 

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P.S.

I'm confused though, what is the difference between a strudel and a streusel? =)

Breakfast Muffins

I've been wanting to make healthy breakfast muffins for a couple of days now, but my schedule has been erratic recently. =) I had time this morning, and when I checked the kitchen pantry, the only fruit available were bananas. I think I've lost count of the banana recipes I have -- from loaf breads, to muffins, to cake... So I just picked the easiest one, that only requires minimal ingredients.

For a healthier twist, I added half a cup of quick cooking oats to the original recipe, replaced the butter with margarine, and reduced the salt in half. It turned out dense (in a good way), not too sweet (which is perfect for breakfast), but still moist (which is great!). I was happy to see it forming the dome shape while it was baking, which rarely happens for me when I bake muffins, because usually it turns out flat on top. I might've luckily hit the correct oven temperature this time. =)

Banana Muffin 
(original recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter/margarine, melted
1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes.

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Strawberry Muffins

This a long over-due entry... Ü I've been so busy with the blur of life I didn't have time explore the net, let alone update my blog. When Richard came home from Baguio City a couple of months ago, he brought me a box-full of strawberries. My sisters devour almost all of them the moment it arrives... so before it completely disappears, I took more than a handful and made muffins out of it. I remember having a basic muffin recipe from the ever-reliable allrecipes.com that I've been wanting to try out. It turns out, to my surprise, that the strawberries melted when I baked them into the muffin. I could almost not taste it. Ü And the recipe didn't really turn out as "the best" as its name promised... it was too pale and a little bland. But in any case, strawberries are still strawberries, and I absolutely love them!

For the recipe, visit this link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Ever-Muffins/Detail.aspx

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Carrot Muffins

When I was just learning how to bake, I usually list down or bookmark recipes I wanted to try out. I've always wanted to make carrot muffins, but the cookies and brownies took precedence on my list than this healthier treat. I finally decided to make these darlings once and for all. I feel like every time I open my Willimas-Sonoma Bread book, these muffins always seemed to be staring at me, begging to be baked. ;o) So off I go to the supermarket to buy me some carrots. Unfortunately, the supermarkets here don't sell pre-shredded carrots so I had to shred them myself. But I'd say that it's the only hard part in this recipe. This could be prepared in less that twenty minutes and you don't even have to take out your electric mixer. I like the dome shape it produced. For me, it was a sign of a perfectly-baked muffin. :) The secret, I've discovered, is to not fill up the muffin cups with the batter all the way to the top; about 2/3 would do. This would allow enough room for the batter to rise and not spill over the rim when being baked, hence, you'll get a dome-shaped muffin. Now experienced bakers probably already knew this, but I've only had my fair share of muffin-baking, so this lesson was gold for me. :) This recipe called for either raisins or dries cranberries. Cranberries would've been to-die-for, but I made use of what's available: raisins. Though I'd probably substitute walnuts next time. My family isn't that crazy for raisins, they actually complained that I used too much! But for me, it was perfect... not too sweet, not too dense... just my kind of breakfast. ;o)

Carrot Muffins

melted butter for greasing
4 large eggs
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c all purpose flour
1 3/4 c sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp poppy seeds (optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 c shredded carrots (about 3-4 medium sized ones)
3/4 c dried cranberries or raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil and vanilla. Beat vigorously with wire whisk. In another bowl, stir flour, sugar, cinnamon, poppy seeds (if using), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture with the egg mixture and beat just until smooth. Fold in the carrots and the cranberries/raisins. Spoon the batter into muffin cups about 2/3 full.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until springy to the touch. Cool and then transfer onto wire rack.

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Photo note: I was having a hard time taking out the muffins from the tin, so I just tapped the tin upside down. Some muffins went down straight, head first, to the wire rack. That explains the indention on top of the muffin. ;o)

Banana Oatmeal Muffin

I got this from the May issue of Food Magazine. The mouthwatering photos of cakes & cupcakes on the cover page captivated my eyes and lured me to buy a copy. This recipe is entitled "banana cupcakes", but I find it too dense to be a cupcake... plus it calls for a cup of rolled oats, so I aptly named it "banana oatmeal muffin". :) I just made a little variation; I added about half a teaspoon of vanilla extract (since the recipe didn't call for it), and I sprinkled mini chocolate chips on top. It came out delish! As with most bread and pastries, this tasted better on the next day when all the ingredients have come to know each other. I used three large red bananas (that's what we have left over inside our fridge), so the cupcake/muffin came out chunky-licious! ;o)

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins

My first attempt of a muffin recipe. I got it from Allrecipes.com, one of my favorite cooking websites. The recipe calls for nuts but I didn't have any when I baked it, didn't miss it though. This turned out not very chocolatey but the chocolate chips somehow compensated for the lack of sweetness. I promised myself to do it again and modify the recipe a little, but I was too busy trying out new recipes that I didn't have the time. ;o)

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Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup whole almonds
4 tablespoons white sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In medium bowl, Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In large bowl stir in milk, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients to large bowl; beat well. Add chocolate chips and walnuts, stir well.
3. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Poke almonds into tops of unbaked muffins. Sprinkle muffins with sugar.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

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(Source: www.allrecipes.com)