Berry-Smashed Muffins

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'll be swapping coasts mid-May. Our youngest daughter, who despite her accomplishments and chronological age, will forever be known to her dad and me as "Baby Girl", is scheduled for surgery, so, I'll be heading East to provide an extra pair of hands till she's back on her feet. There is a silver lining to all of this. Her boys are squeezably sweet, and these old bones, like those of Faust, fully understand the need to say to the passing moment, "Stay, thou art so fair." Some of those moment will be spent in the kitchen and I've been searching for recipes that are workable for the little guys. I've stumbled on a children's cookbook, compiled by General Mills/Gold Medal Flour, that's called, The Rainbow Bakery: A Full Color Adventure Children's Cookbook Today's feature recipe comes from the book and I think you'll find that it makes a mean muffin, even for those over six. The recipe is simple and it makes a barely sweet breakfast or tea treat. If you like your muffins a bit more on the sweet side, I suggest sprinkling the top of the batter with a smidgen of granulated or cinnamon sugar before the muffins are baked. In young hands, these muffins will be messy to prepare, so have aprons and paper towels at the ready. The smashing of the berries can result in a scene worthy of an axe murder, so some supervision will be necessary. This, by the way, is a wonderful recipe for camp or cottage kitchens. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here's how the muffins are made.

Berry-Smashed Muffins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of The Rainbow Bakery by General Mills/Gold Medal

Ingredients
1-2/3 cups fresh strawberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
1) Heat oven to 425 F. Put a paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups, or grease just the bottoms of 12 muffin cups.
2) Slightly smash strawberries in large bowl, using fork. Stir in sugar, oil and eggs until mixed. Stir in other ingredients just until moistened.
3) Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown or toothpick poked in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of muffins from pan if needed, and take them out of the pan. Yield: 12 muffins.








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No-Bake Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Oatmeal Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It took longer to trace this recipe to its original online source than it did to make the cookies. The recipe, which is quite old, has appeared in many places over the years, but I think it was first published online by the Food Network in 2004. It ended up in my kitchen because I was on the prowl for recipes that could be made by children, and these cookies seemed perfect. Was I right? Kinda. While the cookies are no-bake, they are not no-cook. There is a point where a hot mixture containing sugar bubbles away on the stove, and I think some supervision is in order to prevent spills and serious burns. The recipe is definitely within the realm of possibility for kids over ten, but certainly not for anyone younger. The cookie, which is actually more of a confection, is delicious and, despite my concerns about hot sugar, it is very easy to make. There's just one trick; you have to make sure that the sugar mixture boils hard for at least one minute, otherwise the cookies will be sugary instead of creamy. If you are very patient, these cookies can be formed and set within cookie cutters, but I tend to follow the line of least resistance and simply dropped them on to waxed paper to cool. If you are looking for a rainy day project for children, this would be a perfect way to spend an hour or two. Here's the recipe.

No-Bake Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Oatmeal Cookies...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Helen Ostrosky and the Food Network

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions:
In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened. Yield: 24 to 36 cookies depending on size.








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