Small Batch Apricot-Oatmeal Muffins

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The last few years, I've made these simple muffins for our Thanksgiving breakfast. I must admit I initially selected the recipe, which comes from the Pillsbury test kitchens, because I didn't want to add a dozen muffins to the already groaning board in my dining room. Small quantity recipes are hard to come by, so I always welcome the opportunity to give them a try when I find them. Chances are you have all the ingredients needed to make these in your pantry and refrigerator. They are simple to make and a great way for a couple or small family to start the day. I do hope you'll be able to give the recipe a try. Here is how the muffins are made.

Small Batch Apricot-Oatmeal Muffins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Pillsbury test kitchen

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup finely chopped dried apricots

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of 6 regular-size muffin cups with shortening or cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups. If using paper liners, spray interior with cooking spray.
2) In medium bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup oats, baking powder and salt. In small bowl, mix brown sugar, milk, oil, vanilla and egg with fork or wire whisk until blended. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Fold in apricots. Divide evenly among 6 muffin cups. Sprinkle each with about 1/2 teaspoon oats.
3) Bake 23 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cool. Yield: 6 muffins.

      

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Quick Challah Muffin Spirals

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I caught the recipe for these rolls while visiting my youngest daughter in Connecticut. It was was developed for the Associated Press by Alison Ladman and when I saw the color of the rolls I knew I had to give them a try. I've just transferred them to my freezer where they will stay until Thanksgiving Day. I am going to recommend these rolls, but it is with a caution. They are not that all easy to make. The soft dough is very sticky and it is hard to resist the usual solution of adding more flour to make it more manageable. Too much flour will make these rolls heavy and you will be disappointed. My solution was to let my mixer do the work, and I can honestly tell you these rolls were not touched by human hands until they had to be shaped. The finished rolls have a wonderful texture and eggy taste that many of you will find toothsome, but if you are a beginning baker or short on patience, you might want to try this recipe instead. If you love challah, throw caution to the wind and give these babies a try. Here is how they are made.

Quick Challah Muffin Spirals...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Alison Ladman and The Associated Press

Ingredients:
Muffins
2/3 cup warm water
4 whole eggs, room temperature
3 egg yolks, room temperature
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons instant yeast
4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Egg Wash
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Directions:
1) Combine water, 4 whole eggs, 3 egg yolks, oil, honey, salt, baking powder, yeast and 4-1/2 cups of flour in bowl of an electric stand mixer. Mix on low speed for six to eight minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough should be very soft and slightly sticky. If it feels too sticky, add remaining flour 2 tablespoons at a time.
2) Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
3) Dump dough out onto counter and divide into 16 even pieces. Roll each piece into a 12-inch long snake.
4) Spray 2 muffin tins with cooking spray. Spiral one dough snake into each muffin cup. Cover muffin tin loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place for another 45 minutes, or until puffy.
5) After dough has risen for 30 minutes, heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
6) To prepare egg wash, in a small bowl beat together egg and water until frothy. Brush gently over spirals, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool. Yield: 16 muffins.

      

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Apple-Oatmeal Muffins

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These muffins remind me of the ones my father enjoyed. His favorites were made with oatmeal and bran and they were gnarly enough to scare any self-respecting germ away. His pronouncement as he ate them was always, "Now these will grow hair on your chest." Imagine the effect that had on a literal-minded girl child. I was scarred for life, and to this day I can't look at a bran muffin, much less eat one. At any rate, these apple-oatmeal muffins are nearly as gnarly and almost as good for you as the ones my father loved, save for the fact they taste better and do not encourage hair growth. Better still, they are very easy to make. If you are looking for a healthy, fully loaded muffin, I think you'll enjoy these. Here is how they are made.

Apple-Oatmeal Muffins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Good Housekeeping magazine

Ingredients:
2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (1 to 2 medium) shredded Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 16 standard muffin-pan cups.
2) In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.
3) In a medium bowl, with fork, beat buttermilk, oil, and egg until well blended; stir in shredded apples. Add apple mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until flour mixture is moistened. Batter will be thick and lumpy. Stir in chopped walnuts.
4) Spoon batter into prepared muffin-pan cups. Bake 23 to 25 minutes or until muffins begin to brown and toothpick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean. Immediately remove muffins from pan. Serve warm, or cool on wire rack to serve later. Yield: 16 muffins.

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Marionberry Muffins

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These muffins are a great way to use those excess berries you've been accumulating. They are  a rich 2 bowl wonder that I know you will enjoy, and while I've used Marionberries, raspberries or blackberries can easily be substituted. Marionberries are unique to the Pacific Northwest and their name comes from the area in which they were first cultivated. Ninety percent of  the world's Marionberries are grown here in the Willamette Valley, which considers itself to be the caneberry capitol of the world. While many think the Marionberry is a cross between a raspberry and blackberry, the cultivar is actually a cross between two types of blackberries, one chosen for its sweetness, the other for its prolific growth. The climate here is such,  that berries grow almost effortlessly. Our native blackberry, the Himalayan, grows so prolifically that it is considered to be a weed. It grows on slopes and the sides of rural highways, and, at this time of year, it is not uncommon to see folks on the roadsides picking  Himalayan berries for their personal consumption. Though wild, they are edible, but their seeds and tart taste are off-putting to those who prefer sweeter berries. The Marionberry has become a local staple and you can't escape a visit to Oregon without sampling a Marionberry cobbler in the summer months. The berries have a rich deep taste that makes them perfect for old-fashioned  baking. They work really well in the recipe I'm featuring today. The combination of blackberries with orange juice and zest, is a marriage made in heaven, My only caution regarding this recipe is a warning about the ripeness of the berries you use to make them.  The batter for these muffins is thick, and if your berries are too ripe, they'll be crushed and you'll have damp blue-toned muffins that no one will want to eat. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the muffins are made.

Marionberry Muffins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Driscoll's Berries

Ingredients:
1 cup marionberries or other blackberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cups sour cream or low-fat plain yogurt
1/3 cups canola oil
2 to 3 teaspoons grated orange zest (from about 1 orange)
1/3 cups orange juice
1 large egg

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or coat well with cooking spray.
2) Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl, breaking up any lumps of sugar.
3) Combine sour cream, oil, zest, juice and egg in a large bowl. Stir in flour mixture until partially moistened. Add marionberries and stir gently until evenly mixed. Batter will be thick, do not over stir.
4) Divide batter evenly between muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Bake 20 to 22 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan 3 minutes. Serve warm or remove to wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 12 muffins.

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Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'll spare you my rousing version of "It's A Small World After All", but I must admit I was taken aback and tempted to sing a chorus or two, when I found this recipe while having coffee in my daughter's Connecticut kitchen. I just wasn't prepared to find Cathy Pollak's recipe in a Hartford newspaper. I'm sure most of you know of Cathy, but on the odd chance that you have yet to become acquainted, I can bring you up to date. Cathy owns and operates Noble Pig, a vineyard and winery here in Oregon's Willamette Valley. She is also a freelance writer who really knows food and wine and you can follow her musings, recipes and food photographs at her blog, Noble Pig. Cathy, who apparently doesn't have a lazy bone in her body, has also started to write for the Statesman Journal, a newspaper headquartered in Salem, Oregon. The recipe for these chocolate and banana muffins caught my eye on a day when I was looking for something unusual to make, and the amount of chili powder and cayenne pepper in these muffins, certainly put them in that category. The muffins are spicy and may not be to everyone's taste, but if you are adventurous and like heat I think you are in for a real treat. The recipe makes a dense, intensely chocolate muffin that will not bore you. I made half a batch of Cathy's muffins and the Silver Fox and I really enjoyed them. I think you will too. Here is how they are made.

Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Cathy Pollak via Noble Pig

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (measured by lightly spooning into a cup)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1-1/2 teaspoons chile powder
3/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 large very ripe bananas
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, add flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, chile powder and cayenne. Sift together to combine. Set aside.
2) In bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar, eggs, and bananas. Blend until thoroughly combined. Add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk and ending with flour. Mix just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
3) Add 1/4 cup batter to each muffin liner and bake for 25 minutes or until done.
4) Cool for five minutes in the pan and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 12 muffins.








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Carrot Muffins

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From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you enjoy Morning Glory muffins I hope you will give this recipe a try. Long term readers of One Perfect Bite know that the highest accolade I give a recipe involves my socks rather than stars or other rating equivalents. I had one bite of these muffins, happened to glance down, and, sure enough, my socks were going up and down. These Texas-sized gems are really, really good. They are moist and lightly spiced and I hope that you will give them a try when you get some time to experiment. I found the recipe on La Belle Cuisine and made it exactly as it appeared there. Having tasted them, the only change I would make next time I make them, would be to cut back on the amount of orange zest called for in the recipe. I think a teaspoon would be fine. I used the large holes of a box grater to prepare the carrots, because I like a bit of texture in my muffins and I think the food processor grates them too finely. I do have one caution for those of you who plan to try this recipe. The instructions direct you to fill the muffin cups to the brim. If you do that I guarantee you will have spillover and the muffins will be difficult to remove from the pan. Filling the cups 7/8 full is a much better idea and it will give you one small additional muffin. These are delicious. Here is how they are made.

Carrot Muffins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of La Belle Cuisine

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups grated carrots
1 tablespoon minced orange zest
An 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:
(All ingredients should be at room temperature.)
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously spray 6 giant-sized muffin cups with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
3) In a medium bowl combine oil, egg, buttermilk, vanilla, carrots, orange zest and pineapple. Stir to combine.
4) Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and combine briefly with wire whisk. Stir in chopped nuts. Fill muffin cups to top. Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake for about 20 minutes longer, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Turn the muffins out onto a wire rack. When completely cool, store in an airtight container. Yield: 6 large or 18 standard muffins.










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Donut Muffins

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These are nice muffins to serve for a weekend breakfast or to tote to morning meetings. They're really easy to make and those of you who like cake-type donuts will enjoy them. The recipe comes from King Arthur Flour and the version that is featured in this post is their basic cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg combination. Simple changes, such as adding nuts, dried fruit or orange or lemon zest to the batter, will allow you to experiment with flavor combinations and come up with a version that is perfect for your family. The muffins take about 15 minutes to assemble, and another 20 minutes to bake, so this is a very doable recipe, even for sleepy heads. I think the muffins are best if eaten shortly after they are made, but they will keep for a day or two if they are stored in an airtight container. These muffins will neither make nor break your reputation as a cook, but they come together so easily that it's worthwhile to keep the recipe on hand. I hope you will try them. Here is how they are made.

Donut Muffins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:
Batter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 to 1-1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-2/3 unbleached all-purpose Flour
1 cup milk
Topping
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease 12 standard muffin cups, or line them with paper liners that are also greased to insure they can be peeled off without damaging muffins.
2) Cream butter, vegetable oil and sugar together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add eggs, beating to combine.
3) Stir in baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.
4) Stir flour into butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the flou, making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
5) Spoon batter evenly into prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.
6) Bake muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into center of muffins comes out clean.
7) Remove them from oven. Cool until they can be handled, about 5 minutes. While they cool, melt butter for topping. Mix cinnamon with sugar and set aside.
8) Use a pastry brush to paint top of each muffin with butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store for a day or so at room temperature. Yield: 12 muffins







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