Vanilla Sugar Blog Tribute to Dawn with Blueberry Muffins and Lemon Crumb Cake!

This is not the way I'd like to be out of "retirement" in the blog world.  I haven't blogged since November of 2020.  It's a bummer to me and I can't tell you how much I miss the old days of blogging about the fantastic things I would bake and share.  Besides not baking like I used to, I'm reminded that typing up posts is my least favorite thing about blogging (as is probably true for most bloggers).  Over the years since starting my blog in 2008, I have made some wonderful friends.  I've been blessed to have met many in person and also have some great friendships with some I've never met--one of the things I love about social media!  There are so many wonderful people out there!

Dawn at Vanilla Sugar Blog was someone whose blog I started reading about 15 years ago.  We both started our blogs early in 2008.  I've always enjoyed her posts.  Besides her great treats and savory food and lots of recipes, I loved that she would do a "Friday Links" post every week with things she'd seen on the world wide web that she wanted to share.  She'd post thing like that on Facebook, too.

On June 8 of this year, I saw Dawn's husband Bob post that she passed away June 1.  What?!?  I never met Dawn and I'm not sure I would have ever made it to her hometown, but I did talk to her quite a bit on Facebook over the years.  She was always commenting on my posts, even just to take the time to say I looked great, my skin look great, etc.  We had some great DM conversations and enjoyed talking about our favorite tv shows from time to time.  Dawn lived on Cape Cod.  She loved seeing all the new candies and flavors of treats that would come out.  But being on Cape Cod she was always a bit dismayed that the new things we never ended up on Cape Cod.  They were never available there.  So I saved up the latest finds, new M&M flavors or others candies and cookies and I sent her packages a couple times.  She was thrilled!

She posted on Facebook often, sometimes quotes she liked, or photos, usually of the Cape, water or animals, birds, sharks, etc. or facts about one of her greatest loves--blueberries!  In January, I noticed I hadn't seen her post for a bit, so I messaged her to see if everything was okay.  She responded that she was just taking a social media break.  I replied, "Okay, that's allowed.  Glad that's all it is. Take care."  She then posted a couple times not long after that, but not as frequently as she had been before.  I didn't think anything of it.

Then her husband posted on her page about her sudden diagnosis with cancer in December of last year and that it took a turn for the worst and she spent the last month or so of her life in the hospital before passing.  My heart is so sad.  I didn't know him at all.  He seems pretty devastated, as expected.  He's posted a few times since then and my heart goes out to him and her family and loved ones.  I'm sad that I won't get to talk to her anymore.  

I haven't been able to get Dawn out of my mind.  Not really sure why.  What could I do?  There isn't anything, really.  I've known a couple food blogger friends who have passed away over the years and it's surreal and heartbreaking.  I guess it has made me realize how much we all need to make sure we are keeping in touch with our loved ones, telling our families and friends how much we love them and even talking to friends and acquaintances more often just to let people know we care and are thinking of them.  I'm glad I took those few minutes in January to message Dawn.  I told her someone said the word blueberry and it made me think of her.  I think of it this way--even when just a simple word makes you think of someone and you haven't talked to them for a while--take the time to do so!

I decided to make a couple things from her blog and share them here.  Since Dawn loved blueberries and knew all the facts about reasons why they are so good for you, I decided to make her blueberry muffins,  I followed her recipe and you can find her recipe on the link.  Okay, I lied, the only difference I made to her recipe was I used buttermilk instead of whole milk.  Dawn loved crumb topping!  So these muffins have a crumb topping.  She even suggested doubling the topping if you like it as much as she did.

Speaking of crumb topping--the other thing I decided to make from her blog was a crumb cake.  She LOVED crumb cake and would make every flavor imaginable.  It was never about the cake.  It was all about the crumb topping!

I decided to make Dawn's Lemon Crumb Cake.  As much as I'm a chocolate lover, I'm really liking lemon things lately.  I was easily sold on how much lemon was in this cake.  Lemon zest and juice in the cake.  Zest in the crumb topping.  And more lemon zest and juice in the icing drizzle.  I could get behind this cake.  I did only make a half recipe of it and used an 8x8 pan instead of a bundt pan (I think she made a bundt cake since my birthday is on National Bundt Day, November 15.  Yes, I'm sure that's it.) 😉 She also mentioned using a 9x13 pan, so since I was halving the recipe, I used an 8x8 pan.

Besides quite a bit of zesting and juicing, the cake is pretty simple to make.  I followed Dawn's recipe exactly!  That's saying a lot for me since I'm known for never sticking to a recipe.  Making just half the recipe, I used five large lemons to get the right amount of zest, so plan accordingly if you're going to make the full recipe or half.  It's worth it to make this cake sometime!  I did taste the cake and it's fabulous.  With me trying not to eat much gluten and sugar, my new goal is to make my own version of this gluten free and with different sugars.  I'll do it for Dawn.  She'd like it if I did that.  Facebook life won't be the same without Dawn commenting on all my posts and I'll miss her posts and our chats now and then.  

I will forever think of Dawn when I'm doing anything with blueberries or even see them somewhere.  I will and always have for years thought of her when I see any crumb cake and I'm sure I'll make a number of her other crumb cakes--she's made at least a dozen different flavors over the years!  Dawn is to crumb cakes 🎂 and blueberries 🔵 as Katrina is to chocolate chip cookies 🍪and chocolate 🍫.  Sending love and prayers to her husband and her family and friends.  I know everyone thought the world of her.  I did.

Hug your loved ones.  Check on family and friends.  Let them know you're thinking about them.

I'm doing well, by the way.  It's been two and a half years since I've blogged.  Life is crazy and busy and somewhat day-to-day life as usual, but I am super blessed with pretty good health since I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2013.  Family is growing way too fast.  Kevin spoils me rotten.  Maybe I'll try to blog more often.  I hope to.  I want to.  We shall see.  

 

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe and Zucchini Lemon Cranberry Walnut Muffins Recipe

This original post from 2009 disappeared from my blog.  Not sure how or why.  But here’s a new current repost of it---It's that time of year.  You practically have them growing out your ears.  I'm talking about zucchini.  Some of them are huge.  They aren't quite as good for savory cooking when they get too big.  But they make a dang good killer chocolate cake!  Bah--look at this!

Yep, believe it or not, there is zucchini in there!  I know.  I hear ya.  You just would NEVER know it's there.  So this means this cake is healthy, right.  Well, we can pretend anyway.  Sigh. 

Yeah, it's not healthy.  But for goodness sake, it's delicious!  (Dad--it's chocolate cake!)

After buying two giant, cheap zucchini at the farmer's market last week, I went on a Google search for just what to do with them.  I already shared with you my zucchini ("apple") crisp.  I knew there were all kinds of quick breads and muffins out there with zucchini and I even knew there were zucchini snack cakes.  But THIS cake, it's not just your run-of-the-mill "snack".  This is big time dessert here.  Kevin was even a little bummed that I didn't have any ice cream to serve with it.  (I know, me, slacking on the ice cream making! ;)

I found this beauty on Em's blog,  The Repressed Pastry Chef.  I actually didn't even know she was a fellow TWD baker.  (What?  I can't read them all.  I wish.  But after finding this cake on her blog and browsing around a bit, I've added her blog to my reader.)  Em found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website.  I halved the recipe and baked it in an 8x8 inch baking pan.  I made some minor changes, so here's the recipe as I made it, but please when you're done with me, go look at Em's!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake, adapted by Katrina from The King Arthur Flour Company and Em at The Repressed Pastry Chef (halved)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup canola oil

6  1/8 ounces granulated sugar (1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/4 cup buttermilk (original recipe calls for sour cream or yogurt)

1  1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1  1/8 ounces Dutch-process cocoa

(optional 1 teaspoon espresso powder)  I did not use it

1 cup zucchini, finely grated (middle/seeds removed)

1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chips  (I used 58% cacao Ghiradelli chips)  (I didn't halve the chips)

Ganache Icing--

3 ounces heavy cream

4 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (I used the Ghiradelli chips)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with foil.  Spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Beat in the egg.  Scrape sides of bowl. 

Stir in the buttermilk alternately with the flour.  Then add the cocoa.  Mix until well combined.  Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.

Pour and spread the batter evenly in the baking pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes (mine took 32 minutes), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake on a wire rack.  Remove the cake from the pan using the foil edges.

Prepare the ganache by heating the cream to a simmer.  (I actually used the microwave and it worked great, just do it in 20-30 second intervals and stir in between.)  Pour the cream into a bowl with the chocolate chips.  Let sit a minute or two.  Stir the melted chocolate and cream until combined and smooth.  Spread over cake evenly with an offset spatula.  See how long you can wait before cutting slices of the cake and eating it.  (The ganache hardens as it sits, but doggonit it's good right away! ;)

You know you want a bite.  I'm not kidding, there's zucchini in there.  (You would never in a million years know it, Bob!)

__________________________________________________________________________________

Now after all that, take a deep breath, it's going to be okay.  Breathe.  Okay.  I kind of feel like these poor little muffins will take a huge back seat to that cake, BUT just keep in mind, sometimes you feel like a muffin and sometimes a little cake and the muffins really could be considered somewhat healthy and a great grab and go breakfast or perfect snack and they are also delicious if I do say so myself.   You'll have to try them and give them the credit they too deserve just as much as that cake.  Again, in my Googling around, I ran across this Low Fat Lemon Zucchini Bread on about.com.  These muffins were inspired by that bread, but I changed many things and came up with these darn-tootin' good muffins.

Zucchini-Lemon Cranberry Walnut Muffins, by Katrina

1  3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or could use all purpose)

1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)

1/4 cup coconut oil (or any vegetable oil)

1 large egg

1 egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup low fat buttermilk

1 cup zucchini, seeded and finely grated

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

turbinado sugar for sprinkle over top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper liners (this made 14 muffins). 

In medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Whisk together and set aside.  In another bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest, combining it together with your fingers until the sugar is moist, yellow and fragrant.  (I got this idea from Dorie Greenspan and love it.)  Combine the zesty sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk until well mixed with a wire whisk.  Stir in zucchini.  Add the dry ingredients with the wet and fold together just until moist.  Fold in nuts and cranberries.  Fill each muffin cup with a good sized scoop of batter.  Sprinkle each with turbinado sugar.  Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.  Set pan on wire rack and cool for five minutes.  Remove the muffins from the tin and cool to room temperature on wire rack.

There is some nutty, berry-sweet goodness hiding in there and a wonderful lemon flavor!

You've seriously got to try these.  Coming soon--more zucchini!  I bought two giant ones remember.  These two recipes didn't even use one whole one.  Did you know you can grate the zucchini and freeze it in plastic bags?  It will last a couple months in the freezer.  Run to your gardens, neighbor's gardens, farmer's markets, grocery stores now and stock up!  You'll for sure want to make this cake and these muffins over and over again! ;) 

Grain Free Blueberry Muffins (Gluten Free and Refined Sugar Free, too)

Sometimes I miss a good muffin.  You try to make a perfect one gluten and refined sugar free.  I realized I had some organic blueberries and that muffins should and could be made.  I checked out a number of different recipes online and went with a grain free one made with almond flour.  I am super happy with how these turned out.

My favorite part (besides the blueberries) is the coconut almond topping.  These were so easy to make.

 Grain Free Blueberry Muffins (Refined Sugar Free), by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/4 cup (56 grams) coconut oil (the oil I used was already melted, it’s summertime)

1/4 cup (84 grams) raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 tablespoons full fat coconut milk

2 large farm fresh eggs, room temperature

2 cups (224 grams) almond flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and set out in an even layer to dry

2 tablespoons chopped almonds (or pre-sliced)

2 tablespoons unsweetened flaked coconut

*Optional, 1 teaspoon lemon zest would be great added to the batter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a muffin tin (only 9) with coconut oil, just put a couple drops of coconut oil in each one and rub it around evenly with your fingers.  Set aside.  In a medium sized bowl, add the coconut oil, raw honey, almond extract, vanilla extract and coconut milk.  Whisk together until well combined.  Whisk in the eggs.  Add the almond flour, baking powder and salt and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined.  Fold in the blueberries.  Fill each of the 9 muffins cups using a medium sized cookie scoop if you have one.  Combine the almonds and coconut together and sprinkle some on the top of each muffin.  Bake for 14-16 minutes.  Let sit for a few minutes in the tin, then carefully remove each just using your fingers.  None of them broke when I removed them from the pan.  If you tip them upside down out of the tin, you’ll lose a lot of the topping.  Let cool on a wire rack until you can’t stand it any longer and have to eat one…..or two.

These have a perfect slightly crisp outside and are tender and muffin-y on the inside.

The raw almonds and coconut toast perfectly on top of the muffins.  Sliced almonds would be great, but I didn’t have any.  Chopping whole almonds worked just fine!

Gluten Free Banana Muffins

I hadn’t had a banana muffin for over six months.  I was sad.  I used to make pretty healthy whole grain ones all the time.  The boys love them and I loved them.  So I decided I needed to make some gluten free, refined sugar free ones.  I think these turned out great!  As soon as I have some more overripe bananas, I will be making them again, sorry boys, these are mine.

This recipe made 14 muffins.  You could probably fill 12 each a little fuller and not have the extra two, but 14 worked for me.  I used coconut oil instead of butter and coconut sugar with a little molasses instead of brown sugar.  I might have baked them a couple minutes too long, but I loved the crusty outside and they were still perfectly moist inside.  I used my newly favorite Premium Gold Gluten Free Ancient Grains Flour.  I wrote about it here in this post for Individual Microwave Chewy Brownies.  Ooh, brownies……wait, I must finish telling you about the muffins first.  (Sorry, it doesn’t take me much to get off track.)

Gluten Free Banana Muffins (Refined Sugar Free), by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

3/4 cup coconut palm sugar

1 teaspoon molasses

1/4 cup coconut oil

3 medium, overripe bananas, mashed (I like to puree them in a food processor)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups gluten free flour (I used Premium Gold Ancient Grains Flour Blend)

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Brush  muffin cups with coconut oil.  (I just use my fingers, you could use a pastry brush though.)  In a medium sized bowl, combine the coconut sugar and molasses and mix together with a fork.  Add the coconut oil and stir until combined.  Stir in the bananas, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk until well combined.  Add the flour, baking soda and salt and stir until well mixed.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  (This can all be done with a wooden spoon.)  Using a cookie scoop, fill each muffin cup with batter until 2/3-3/4 full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Makes 12-14 muffins.

The number of muffins I ate the day I made them shall remain untold on the grounds it might make a glutton out of me.  There’s nothing quite like warm muffins fresh from the oven……….except maybe brownies.  hehe

Lucky Leaf Pie Fillings—Delicious Treats and a Giveaway!

Blueberry Meyer Lemon Cream Meringue Cups

So many treats, so little time to tell you about them.  But you must know, so here it is. 

The folks at Lucky Leaf were nice enough to send me more canned pie filling—and a couple other things, too.  I had fun playing around with different recipes to use the fillings.  One of my favorite things about their pie fillings is that they are not made with high fructose corn syrup.  So they are kind of like me making a similar thing from scratch at home.  Sometimes we just need a little less fuss in life and sometimes I want to make a really yummy treat to share, but don’t have the time to turn fresh fruit in to pie filling.  Another thing I love about the Lucky Leaf premium pie fillings is that you can use them for SO much more than pie!

In fact, with the fillings they sent me to try out, I didn’t make pie with any of them.  As you can see in the first picture, I used the blueberry filling to top some fancy, but super easy meringue cups filled with Meyer lemon whipped cream.  The meringue cups are so simple and are fat free and gluten free.  So besides the dollop of real whipped cream, flavored with Meyer lemon, they are a great, indulgent treat without too much alarm for ruining your new year’s diet resolution.  Loved these!  I love their recipe for Baby Blueberry Pies, which are similar to the mini blueberry pies I made last time they sent me some fillings.

Applesauce Spice Muffin with Apple Pie Filling and Whipped Cream

Next up I made some simple homemade muffins with applesauce and spices, perfect for cold weather!  These were topped with some whipped cream, Lucky Leaf apple pie filling (which I really like and was filled to the brim with apples) and a drizzle of caramel sauce.  Lucky Leaf sent me some recipes for ideas to use with their fillings, like this one, I got the idea from their Apple Spice Babycakes which are cupcakes made with a boxed spice cake and topped with vanilla ice cream and the apple pie filling.  While I’m not against boxed mixes and have used them plenty of times in my life, I wanted to try to make things that were from scratch.   The boys ate these up!

Finally with some strawberry pie filling, I also made something similar to a recipe they suggested for some Strawberries & Cream Chocolate Muffins.  Instead of making these with a chocolate cake mix, I made my favorite healthy, whole grain, no egg banana muffins, then I swirled in some strawberry pie filling and some Nutella to kick them up a bit!

Strawberry Nutella Banana Muffins

Check out all the recipes at Lucky Leaf!  I got the recipe for the meringue cups from Holly at Phemomenon.  She made them with a Meyer lemon custard, I just stirred some Meyer lemon juice into some whipped cream.   The muffins were my own recipe.

If you want any of the recipes I have made, let me know and I’d be happy to send them to you.  I need to finish up this post and offer a giveaway to you from Lucky Leaf!  They sent me along with some pie filling a bunch of other things for giving away treats to loved ones and they want to send a reader of my blog some, too.   There’s recipe cards and bags and cupcake holders and all kinds of things for you to be able to give away some goodies.  I love the Lucky Leaf slogan—Good Things Come to Those Who Bake.

If you’d like a chance to win, leave me a comment telling me what you favorite kind of fruit pie is.  For a second chance to win, leave me a separate comment after visiting the Lucky Leaf Recipes Page telling me which recipe you’d make first.  This giveaway is only for U.S. residents (or with a U.S. mailing address) and will end on Wednesday, February 13 at 6 p.m.  A winner will be chosen at random from the entries and notified that evening, so make sure you have a way to be reached in your comments.

Check out their Twitter page and all the yummy things at #LuckyLeafLuckyMe.  You can also like them on Facebook and for even more deliciousness, follow them on Pinterest.  Hey, you can follow me on Pinterest, too, at Baking and Boys!

Dried Cherry Pecan Quinoa Muffins—Secret Recipe Club

I loved browsing around my Secret Recipe Club blog these last few weeks.  What great looking food and recipes.  As always, I had a difficult time choosing.  This month my assigned blog was Mellissa’s blog, A Fit and Spicy Life.  Check out her About Me page, but she summed up herself well saying, “I strive to find a balance between healthy foods and the occasional treat, eating healthy food, most if it cooked at home.  You will find me around the Twin Cities (and sometimes world) trying new restaurants, working out, enjoying wine and rarely making the same dish twice.”  She sounds like a great person!  I love finding new-to-me blogs.

Mellissa shares a love for quinoa as do I.  Now if I could just convince the rest of my family how good it is.  Working on it.  In my search of Mellissa’s blog, I found these Quinoa Raisin Muffins and was convinced that is what I needed to make.  Although as soon as I can get my hands on some macadamia nuts, I’m going to make these Paradise Macaroons—coconut macaroons covered in chocolate and sprinkled with chopped macadamia nuts.

I loved the quinoa muffins.  Instead of raisins, I used dried cherries and some pecans.  Before committing to two cups of quinoa, I decided to make just half the recipe.  I will surely make them again, but will probably stick with the half recipe, since I’m the only one here who will eat them.  I enjoyed the muffins for 3-4 days.

Dried Cherry Pecan Quinoa Muffins, by Katrina, Baking and Boys! adapted from Mellissa at A Fit and Spicy Life

1 cup (185 grams) cooked quinoa

2 tablespoons (48 grams) canola oil

1/3 cup (73 grams) light brown sugar

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) skim milk

1/2 a large egg (25 grams or 2 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (120 grams) whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup dried tart cherries, chopped

1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  If you don’t already have some cooked quinoa, follow the package directions and cook enough for one cup of cooked quinoa, making sure to rinse it well before cooking (about half a cup of dry quinoa).  In a medium-sized bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, milk, egg and vanilla.   In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir the dry ingredients in to the wet mixture and mix well.  Fold in the quinoa, cherries and pecans.  Divide the batter in to 8 muffins in a tin sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake for 20 minutes. 

These are especially good still warm from the oven with a little butter (I use Smart Balance) or reheated.  Get on the quinoa bandwagon! ;) 

Healthy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins—Secret Recipe Club

I made muffins from my Secret Recipe Club blog, Veronica's Cornucopia this month.  In fact, I liked the muffins so much that I’ve made them twice and they are now definitely a go-to for overripe bananas for me.  Veronica’s blog was another new-to-me one to get as my secret blog this month.  It was really fun to read through her blog and see all the things she has posted over the years.  It was a fun way to feel like I got to know her.  If you haven’t seen her blog before, check it out.  She’s married and can sing great and has a cute dog that loves to be in pictures with them. ;)  Not only does she make and post some great things, but I enjoyed her writing.

Just like usual, I had a hard time deciding what to make.  I’d marked a few things that were possibilities and started with these Double Chocolate Banana Muffins.  I made a few minor changes to them and LOVED them.  The first time I made them, I made six large muffins tops with my muffins top pan.

I’ve had the muffin top baking sheet for a while, but this was the first time I’d actually made muffin tops with it.  I’ve only used it for cookies in the past.  Sam ate one of the big muffins tops one morning and declared they were the best thing I’d ever made!

Taylor ate one after school that day and also loved them!  (These pictures were taken Christmas morning with my new iPhone that Kevin is in love with.)

With that first batch, I made six of the big muffin tops and 11 mini muffins.

That batch of muffins was eaten in no time.  I actually found myself impatiently waiting for the bananas on the counter to ripen so I could make them again.  You know, usually you turn around and find bananas overripe.  This time it seemed like waiting for a pot of water to boil!  But as soon as I had more bananas, I made the muffins again.  I really only made a few changes from Veronica’s recipe.  She used some all purpose flour and some whole wheat flour, but I decided to use all whole wheat pastry flour.  You’d never know!  I like that these muffins have no sugar (ok, besides the chocolate chips, but you could easily leave those out!).  The only sweetener, besides the natural sweetness from the bananas is agave nectar!  These muffins are so moist they could easily be used as a healthy cupcake with just a little frosting on top. 

Healthy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Veronica’s Cornucopia 

1  1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (180 grams)

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (41 grams)

1 tablespoon ground flax

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed overripe bananas (about 3 medium)

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup low fat buttermilk

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (and more for sprinkling on tops)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffins tins (or muffin top baking sheet) with cooking spray.  (Since there isn’t a lot of fat in these muffins, I decided not to use paper liners, as I find they usually stick.  Veronica did line hers with paper liners and didn’t mention they stuck.)

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, flax, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and whisk together to sift.  In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the banana, agave, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry just until moistened.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Divide evenly between muffin tin cups.  Bake the mini muffins and/or muffin tops for about 12 minutes.  Regular sized muffins take about 20 minutes.  Remove from muffin tins when cool enough to handle.  Let cool completely on wire rack.

The second time I made the muffins, I made them all mini size and put three big, dark chocolate chips on top of each.  Made for a fun look to the muffins!  These made a great snack or preworkout little energy boost for me.  Most of the boys really like them, too!  My little non-chocolate liker, Parker, didn’t even try one.  Sigh. ;)

I just happen to have three more overripe bananas ready to be turned into some great chocolaty muffins right now!

 

 

 

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Mini Muffins

We had a number of family activities over the last few weeks.  Kevin had a birthday.  My mom came to visit (and help me organize my house!  Thanks so much, Mom!!!!).  Taylor turned eight years old, which means he was baptized into our church on Saturday.  Afterwards, we had family over for brunch.

A little photo interlude, since people keep telling me I haven’t had enough people photos lately. ;)

My family! 

Taylor with Grandma and Grandpa Scott

 

Taylor with Grandma and Grandpa Smith

Taylor with Kevin and our family friend, Bob Gross.

 

We’re happy for Taylor’s decision to be baptized.  He’s such a great kid!

Back to the donut muffins!

These muffins were such a hit!  I’d made an apple crisp, homemade granola for yogurt parfaits, fresh fruit salad, apples with caramel dip and these muffins.  The muffins were definitely the hit of the feast.  I have seen these Cinnamon Sugar Donut Mini Muffins all over the internet for a few years and have always meant to make them, but hadn’t until now.    I suppose I’ll be make them again over and over as requested by a number of family members.  My boys often love donuts, but I don’t like making fried food or really buying it that much, so these are a good alternative for that.

I mentioned that I’ve seen these a number of places online, but the recipe I printed out a few months ago was one I’d seen on Tami's Kitchen Table Talk and she found them at Connor's Cooking who found them at….okay, it goes on and on and I really don’t know where to credit the official recipe.  You just need to make these because they are really good.  I doubled the recipe and got 32 mini muffin.  The recipe was easy to double, but I’ll give you the single recipe.

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Mini Muffins, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup milk

1  1/2 cups all purpose flour (180 grams)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

8 tablespoons butter (1/2 cup), melted

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and egg until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and oil and whisk together for another minute, until well combined.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk.  (Adding the flour in three increments and the milk in two.)  Whisk together until smooth.  (It is kind of a runny, like a cake batter.)

Fill eat mini muffin about 3/4 full.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove the muffins from the pan to a wire rack.  Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl or in a small saucepan on the stove.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and mix until combined.  Once the muffins are cool enough to handle, dip the entire mini muffin into the melted butter and then roll it in the cinnamon sugar.  Set them on a wire rack to cool completely.   Serve fresh, although they are still good the next day if kept airtight. 

How many do you think you could pop into your mouth?  They are just a bit sweet for me (and still rather fattening), so I just tasted one and would much rather dine on yogurt and granola and fresh fruit!  It was a great get together with family!  Thanks to all who came.

One last picture, can’t resist—here’s our doggy Chip next to the two pumpkins I grew.  The small one is about 20 lbs. and the large one—don’t know, but it’s huge!  Kinda fun that we grew it ourselves!  No pumpkin shortage here. ;)

Marbled Choco-Banana Muffins & Crumb Blog’s Granola—Secret Recipe Club

Come on in, sit down—have some breakfast—or a snack!

Amanda contacted me this morning about doing a fill-in post for a blogger who was left out of The Secret Recipe Club posts this month.  I agreed immediately to whip something up from Isabelle's blog, Crumb.  Check out the cute picture of her holding a parsnip in wonder over what in the world to do with it on the link with her name to her bio!  She has a wonderful blog that showcases her love of food!  Browsing through her blog, I came upon a couple recipes and had a really hard time deciding between the two.  Then it hit me—they are both breakfast foods, I’ll do them both!

So it is with great pleasure I present to you Isabelle’s Crumb Granola and her fantastic Chocolate Banana Marble Muffins (I’ve adapted the titles and the recipes every so slightly).

First up—I had just run out of granola, which to me is like having nothing to eat for breakfast.  I eat it everyday with some Greek yogurt and fruit (usually banana unless berries are in season)!  I liked everything about Isabelle’s granola recipe, which she titles Chewy Blueberry-Apricot Granola.  I just needed to make a few changes to the things I put in my granola as to what I had on hand, but this turned out GREAT.  I didn’t get this done in time for breakfast today, so I can’t wait for tomorrow morning to come!

 

Crumb Blog’s Granola, by Isabelle, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup quick oats (or just another 1/2 cup old fashioned if you don’t have both)

1/4 cups sesame seeds

1/4 cup shelled pistachios

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/3 cup dried tart cherries, chopped

1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup dry skim milk powder

2 tablespoons flax seed meal

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup canola oil

2/3 cup honey

pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat (foil works, too).  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, flour, milk, spices and salt.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the oil and honey and whisk together to combine.  Pour the oil/honey mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.  Turn the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet and use your hands to gently press the granola mixture into a large mound in the center of the pan.

Transfer the baking sheet to second from the top rack of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, gently break up the granola into large clumps (it will still be quite wet at this point).  Spread it evenly over the surface of the pan.

Return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes or until lightly toasted and brown, stirring the granola halfway through to ensure it browns evenly.  Allow the granola to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container (or bag or jar some up to give away!)

Variation—you really can add any nuts and fruit you’d like, just follow the amounts in total in the recipe. 

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I’ve never “met” a granola I didn’t really like, but this one is up there with one of the best I’ve made and tasted!

I’m also a sucker for all things banana (you might have known that already), so while I was looking through Isabelle’s blog at what to make, I also ran across these Marbled Choco-Banana Muffins and couldn’t resist making them as well.  I am so glad I did!  These are fantastic and perfectly moist and chocolaty!  They might as well be a cupcake with frosting, they are that good—but I even made a few healthy substitutions and am perfectly happy with how they turned out and they just don’t need that frosting!

   

Marbled Choco-Banana Muffins, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys! from Isabelle at Crumb

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Bestlife butter substitute, softened (you can use regular butter also)

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup mashed banana (2 medium-large bananas)

1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1  1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose) (180 grams)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s dark cocoa)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line it with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Add the mashed bananas, yogurt and vanilla.  The mixture will look curdled, but it’s okay.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir just until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Measure out 1  1/2 cups of the batter into a small bowl and add the cocoa powder.  Fold together gently until combined.

Spoon the batter into the pan, alternating between the two batters.  Swirl each with a sharp knife or a toothpick to create a marbled effect.  You don’t want to swirl too much or it will just mix together.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes or so before gently removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.

My four year old just ate one of these moist, delicious muffins for lunch and said, “When I grow up and get big, I’m going to make these all the time!”  Shh, don’t tell him there’s Greek yogurt and whole wheat flour in there! ;)  So glad I was able to bake from Isabelle’s blog, Crumb today as a fill-in for The Secret Recipe Club!

TWD—Cornmeal and Fruit Mini Muffins

For Tuesdays With Dorie this week, Caitlin at Engineer Baker chose the Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf on page 43 of Baking From My Home to Yours.  Caitlin will have the recipe on her blog.  Kind of last minute, I decided to cut the recipe in half and make mini muffins.  So instead of making a loaf, I made mini muffins, other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.  Well, I suppose I sprinkled some sliced almonds on top of each muffin.  But I used an apple and some dried apples as suggested. 

The muffins were just okay.  Kind of a bummer.  I wish I would have added more cinnamon and some walnuts inside or something.  They were also a little dry.  Maybe I baked them a couple minutes too long.  Oh well.  You can’t win them all.  Stay tuned, coming up next I’ll share some Root Beer Cupcakes I made that were REALLY good!

I do want to check out other Cornmeal and Fruit Loaves that others made over at Tuesdays With Dorie and see how they faired.

TWD—Carrot Spice Muffins

I’m late, I’m late!  Well, not really, since it IS still Tuesday.  But I usually post the night before at midnight.  We’ve had company.  I made the muffins.  The only change I made was using whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour.  And while the muffins taste great, they are the most crumbly muffins I’ve ever had or made.

I don’t know if it was the flour or that’s just how these are.  I wanted the crowns to dome up more, too.  Oh well.  Like I said, they taste good, but you just need to made sure you eat one over a plate at the table.

You can get the recipe from Nancy at The Dogs Eat the Crumbs.  Her muffins look great!

There are more muffins to check out at Tuesdays With Dorie.