Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Makes 12 muffins.

These are delicious for kids and adults alike!  Love the oatmeal in them... yum!
Slightly adapted from: Mom Foodie

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• ⅓ cup low fat buttermilk
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup peeled and diced Granny Smith apple (roughly 1 large apple)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together the egg, buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, salt and sugar.
3. Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.
4. Add the oats and apples, mix until evenly distributed. Allow to rest a couple minutes, then spoon into muffin cups. Fill almost full.
5. Place in oven to bake for 20 minutes. Remove and cool.

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins

Makes 18-20 muffins.

Here's a winner recipe -- a muffin that's healthy and the whole family loves.  Enough sweetness from the honey, yet plenty of healthy ingredients to start your day right.  The wee one loves these for breakfast and as an after-nap snack, and I love that I can make them, freeze them, and pull them out one by one for a wholesome, homemade treat.
Source: Fit and Healthy with Debbie

2.5 cups old fashioned oats 
1 cup plain low fat greek yogurt
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray tin with non-stick cooking spray or line muffin tins with silicone or foil liners.
Place the oats in the food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds.  Add remaining ingredients to the food processor. Process until everything is mixed together and oats are smooth.

At this point in the process, you can separate the batter into different bowls, adding dark chocolate chips, nuts, blueberries, or whatever you want to make a variety of muffins.  Or you can add one ingredient to the entire batter.  Or, like I prefer them, leave them plain!  They are still great!

Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 18-20 minutes (mine only took 14-15 minutes), or until toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips

Makes 12-14

It's October.  Bring some pumpkin into your life... especially when it's as easy as this recipe!
Source: Cupcakes! from The Cake Mix Doctor

1 package (17.8 oz.) chocolate chip muffin mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare muffin tin with liners.

Place the muffin mix in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center.  Place the pumpkin, milk, egg, and pumpkin pie spice in the well and stir the wet ingredients with a fork to combine and break up the egg yolk.  Stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon just until combined.  The batter will still be lumpy.  Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each prepared muffin cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. 

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.  Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins and allow them to continue to cool on wire rack.

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bran Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bran Muffins

Makes 6-8.

The original recipe calls for bran muffin mix, but, surprisingly, I couldn't find it at my local grocery store.  Instead, I substituted an apple cinnamon muffin mix, which worked out pretty well.  The result?  A just-sweet-enough muffin with bursts of flavor.
Slightly adapted from: Cupcakes! from The Cake Mix Doctor

1 package (7 ounces) apple cinnamon muffin mix
1 cup sweetened bran flake cereal with raisins, such as Raisin Bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare muffin tin with liners.

Place the muffin mix and cereal in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center.  Place the buttermilk, oil, and egg in the well and stir with a fork to combine and break up the egg yolk.  Stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon just until combined.  Let the batter rest in the bowl to soften the bran flakes, about 5 minutes.

Scoop 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup, filling it three quarters of the way full.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.

Allow muffins to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and allow to continue to cool on a wire rack.

Banana Baby Muffins

Banana Baby Muffins

Makes about 12 mini muffins.

These little guys are dense, and a little gummy, but the wee one loves them, and that's good enough for me!  And since they are so good for her, I let her have 2-3 some mornings.  :)
Slightly adapted from: The Iowa Farmer's Wife

2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oats
1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water
1/4 c water
1 mashed banana
1 tsp cinnamon (or nutmeg)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp plain yogurt (I used Greek)
1 tsp olive oil

*the original poster makes her own by grinding organic oats in a coffee grinder.

Mix dry ingredients. Add flaxseed and 3 tbsp water and mix well. Combine water, banana, yogurt and oil until you have a smooth consistency. Grease a muffin tin with organic butter or olive oil. Pour batter into muffin tins. Bake at 350˚ for 15-18 minutes.

Potentially the Healthiest Muffins Ever

Potentially the Healthiest Muffins Ever

Makes 8-10 muffins.

Love these muffins for myself and for the wee one.  Although she's (still) a good vegetable eater, it never hurts to sneak in more!  These muffins are super moist, super flavorful, and a good way to treat yourself to something healthy.  I didn't name these, and it's true that they still have a fair amount of sugar, but they taste AWESOME, and I don't know you could keep the taste if you eliminated the sugar.  So these are good muffins for mom and baby to share.  If you're looking for a recipe for baby, and only baby, check out the healthy banana muffins I'll be posting later this week.
Notes and nutritional information at the bottom also from the source listed below.
Source: Ceci n'est pas un food blog

½ cup sugar*
1 egg
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
½ cup pecans, chopped
2 cups carrot, zucchini and/or apple, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin pan with muffin cups.
In a large bowl, mix the sugar with the eggs. Add the applesauce and mix well. Mix in flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. Stir in the nuts and vegetables. Ladle batter into prepared cups.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Nutrition Info (per muffin)**: 114 calories, 4 g fat (0.5 g saturated), 17 mg cholesterol, 17 g carbohydrate (2 g fibre, 10 g sugar), 3 g protein, 116 mg sodium. An excellent source of vitamin E and manganese.

*You may want to bump this up to ⅔ cup if not using apple
 **Incorrectly assumes an equal proportion of carrot, zucchini and apple

Honey and Granola Muffins

Honey and Granola Muffins

Makes about 3 dozen mini muffins or 15 regular muffins.

This is not typically a muffin recipe that would jump out at me.  But it seemed like a good muffin to try for my weekly breakfast group.  The cookbook actually calls it a cupcake, and suggests frosting it with a cream cheese icing, but I thought it was perfect plain, as a muffin.  Something about the way it tasted actually reminded me of a cake donut.  The sweetness of the honey, and the light crunch of the granola made for a perfect match.   Don't avoid this one if it "doesn't sound like something you would like."  You might be surprised.
Source: Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery cookbook

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. mild honey
2 large eggs
1-2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. 2% reduced fat milk
1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
1/4 c. low-fat plain yogurt
2 1/2 c. granola (pick out any large whole nuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter, brown sugar, and honey until the mixture is light an fluffy, which should take about 2-3 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together into a separate bowl. Mix the milk, vanilla, and yogurt together. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the milk mixture and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added. Fold in the granola carefully to incorporate evenly.

Carefully spoon the mixture into cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for about 24 minutes until golden brown. To check they are cooked, insert a wooden skewer in the center of one of the cupcakes – it should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave the cupcakes in their pans for about 10 minutes. Serve warm with butter and honey.

Sweet Potato Muffins

Sweet Potato Muffins

Makes 2 dozen traditional-sized muffins, or 4 dozen mini muffins (shown above).

What a great little muffin.  These surpassed my expectations and got rave reviews when I served them while hosting book club.  They're dense, yet not rich.  Sweet, yet not "sugary" tasting, and perfect for a cool autumn evening.
Source: Taste of Home: Simple & Delicious magazine, Oct/Nov 2010

Muffins:
2 c. self-rising flour
2 c. sugar
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 egg
2 c. cold mashed sweet potatoes (without added butter or milk)
1 c. canola oil

Glaze:
1 c. confectioners' sugar
2 T. + 1-1/2 t. milk
1-1/2 t. butter, melted
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon.  In another bowl, whisk the egg, sweet potatoes and oil.  Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.

Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm muffins.

A Note From The Little Lady: I assumed that baking in a mini muffin tin would decrease the baking time, so I started at 12 minutes.  After repeated checks, my minis needed close to the suggested 18 minutes of baking time.  I'm not sure if this will affect the baking time for regular size muffins, so don't be alarmed if you need to bake longer.  I'll also add that the density of these muffins caused them to "collapse" while cooling.  I was disappointed at first, but found it to be a good way to let the glaze pool on top.  Plus, you'll appreciate the density when you take that first, glorious bite.

Banana Muffins with Big Blackberries and Sugar Crust

Banana Muffins with Big Blackberries and Sugar Crust

Makes about 20 muffins.

Happy New Year's eve! These are great muffins... and freeze well too. Whip some up and start your new year right.

Source: Christmas with the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook

Vegetable oil cooking spray, for misting the pans

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 small banana, very ripe

3 c. self-rising flour

1-1/2 c. buttermilk

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. large fresh blackberries (about 12), rinsed and drained

Coarse sugar, for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mist the bottom of 20 muffin cups with cooking spray. Set the pans aside.

Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs and beat again until the mixture lightens and is lemon-colored, 30 seconds. Slice the banana into the bowl. Add 1-1/2 cups of the flour, 1 cup of the buttermilk, and the nutmeg. Stir the ingredients just until combined, 10 strokes. Add the remaining flour and buttermilk and stir with the spoon to just combine the ingredients, 10 strokes more. The batter will still be a little lumpy. Fold in the blackberries.

Spoon 1/3 cup of the batter into each prepared muffin cup, filling it three-quarters full. Sprinkle the tops with the coarse sugar and place the pans in the oven.

Bake the muffins until they are lightly golden and just spring back when they are lightly pressed with your finger, 21-23 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven; immediately remove muffins from pans by running a dinner knife around the edges of the muffins.

Healthy Banana-Berry Muffins

Healthy Banana-Berry Muffins

Makes 8 muffins.

These are healthy. They don't taste like a muffin you'd get at your local bakery. Or a muffin you'd get at Costco, Starbucks, or Caribou. They taste... healthy. But they also don't have the calories, fat, and sugar content of the retailers named above. I almost didn't blog about these, because, let's be honest, most people want a muffin that tastes like at least slightly cake. But if you have little ones at home, this could be a great recipe for you. To a child's taste-buds, I think they would plenty sweet enough, and Mom will feel about offering a healthy snack!

1 very ripe banana, mashed

1 T. honey

1 egg

1 single-serve container of mixed berry yogurt (not mini, child-size)

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

Pinch of salt

1 t. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until just combined. There should be no dry spots, but don't be concerned if the batter is lumpy.

Prepare muffin tin by filling 8 spots with muffin liners. Evenly distribute batter between 8 liners. Bake for about 18 minutes.

Carrot Cheesecake Muffins

Carrot Cheesecake Muffins

Makes 12-14.

A semi-sweet muffin with a surprise in the middle!

Slightly adapted from: AllRecipes.com

Filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 T. sugar

Batter:

1/3 c. butter or margarine, softened

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

2 T. orange juice

1-1/4 c. finely grated carrots

1/2 c. raisins

1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, milk, and orange juice. Fold in carrots and raisins.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon; stir into creamed butter mixture just until moistened.

Fill muffins cups (that have been lined with paper/foil liners) with 2 tablespoons batter. Top each with 2 teaspoons of cream cheese filling. Top with remaining batter.

Bake for 23-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack. Store in refrigerator.

Morning Glory Muffins

Morning Glory Muffins

Makes 24.

A tasty, healthy start to your day. These muffins are full of all sorts of goodness.

Source: AllRecipes.com

1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1-1/4 c. white sugar

1 T. ground cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

2 c. grated carrots

1 apple - peeled, cored and diced

1 c. raisins

1 egg

2 egg white

1/2 c. apple butter

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 T. vanilla extract

2 T. chopped walnuts, optional

2 T. toasted wheat germ

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line muffin tins with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg whites, sugar, apple butter, oil, and vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together flours, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in egg/sugar mixture, as well as carrots, apples, and raisins. Stir until just moistened.

Spoon the prepared batter into muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine walnuts and wheat germ, if using. Sprinkle over muffin tops.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

Makes 14 muffins.

Please excuse my Christmas muffin liners. These are delicious muffins full of autumn flavor. Enjoy one in the morning while sipping hot tea, coffee, or apple cider.

Source: Cooking Thin with cookbook

For the topping:

1/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar

3 T. flour

2 t. cinnamon

2 T. cold butter, cut into tiny cubes

For the muffins:

1-3/4 c. flour

1/3 c. granulated sugar

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 large egg, beaten

3/4 c. apple cider

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1/4 c. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper baking cups; set aside.

Prepare the topping: In a small mixing bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a fork. Set aside.

Prepare the batter: In a medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small mixing bowl, combine egg, apple cider, diced apple, vanilla extract, and oil; add all at once to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. (Batter should be lumpy.)

Spoon about 1 tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon topping. Fill evenly with remaining batter. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining topping. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pan; cool slightly on racks.

Harvest Muffins

Harvest Muffins

Makes 18.

Happy birthday to my beautiful Mom! In the midst of autumn, there's nothing better than waking up to a homemade muffin full of apples, raisins, and autumn spice.
Slightly adapted from: Keeping Good Company cookbook

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

2 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. allspice

dash of cloves

1/2 t. salt

3 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 milk

1-1/2 t. vanilla

1 c. chopped apples

1 c. raisins

1/2 c. chopped pecans, if desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients. In another bowl beat eggs; add oil, milk and vanilla. Mix well and stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in last three ingredients.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes or until done.

Big Bad Chocolate Muffins

Big Bad Chocolate Muffins

Makes about 28 muffins.

A rich way to start your morning, a satisfying addition to your afternoon coffee, or a post-dinner dessert. However you choose to eat it, you'll enjoy it.

Source: Cupcakes! From the Cake Mix Doctor

28 muffin/cupcake liners

1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix

1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix

1 container (6 oz.) low-fat vanilla yogurt

3/4 c. water

1/2 c. vegetable oil

3 large eggs

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (1 "regular" size bag)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line muffin tin with liners.

Place cake mix and pudding mix in a large bowl; mix together and make a well in the center. Place the yogurt, water, oil, and eggs in a small mixing bowl and stir with a fork to break up the egg yolks. Pour the yogurt mixture into the well of the muffin mix. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon to just combine, about 30 strokes. Fold in the chocolate chips and stir another 10 strokes until just combined.

Spoon batter into each prepared muffin cup, filling it about three quarters of the way full. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

Good-For-You Banana Muffins

Good-For-You Banana Muffins

Makes 24 muffins.

Another new option for The Mr.'s breakfast routine. This is a moist muffin (thanks bananas!) and fairly healthy (thanks whole wheat flour and oat bran!). It's even got your glass of O.J. already mixed in. I eliminated the suggested 1/2 c. vegetable oil in hopes of making it even better for you. And guess what? It worked! The original recipe also included 1 T. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, and 1/4 t. allspice -- feel free to add those to the dry ingredients if you are looking for a muffin with a warm, spicy taste.

Adapted From: www.AllRecipes.com

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. oat bran

2 t. baking soda

2 t. baking powder

2 eggs

1 c. orange juice

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with 24 liners.

In one bowl, mix together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oat bran, baking soda, and baking powder. Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients; add eggs, orange juice, and both sugars. Within the well, mix wet ingredients together. Then, incorporate into dry ingredients, but don't overmix. Fold in mashed banana.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way full; bake for 15 minutes.

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12, 18, or 36 muffins.

A moist muffin with bursts of blueberries and a sugary top.

Source: Ohio P.E.O. Cooks II cookbook.

For 12 servings:

1-1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/4 c. butter or margarine

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

1 c. blueberries (preferably fresh, but frozen work too)

brown sugar

For 18 servings:

2-1/4 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

3 t. baking powder

3/4 t. salt

6 T. butter or margarine

2 eggs

3/4 c. milk

1-1/2 c. blueberries (preferably fresh, but frozen work too)

brown sugar

For 36 servings:

4-1/2 c. flour

1-1/2 c. sugar

6 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

3/4 c. butter or margarine

3 eggs

1-1/2 c. milk

3 c. blueberries (preferably fresh, but frozen work too)

brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill a muffin pan with liners.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter or margarine into the flour mixture, using a pastry blender (See note). Mix together the egg and milk and then add to the flour mixture. Stir until just blended. Add blueberries. Do NOT overmix - batter should be lumpy. Fill muffin cups and top each muffin with brown sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

A Note From The LL: If you don't have a pastry blender, use a knife and or fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Some small chunks are okay, and actually preferable.