Tag Archives: muffins

August 15, 2012 · 9:42 am

rainy morning muffins

In my humble hostess opinion, the best meal to invite someone over for is brunch. Breakfast/brunch is my favorite meal of the day, because it usually contains fruit, coffee, and some variation of either eggs, cereal, or yogurt. There are weeks when the BF and I have breakfast for dinner a couple of times a night. (Those kinds of nights were always my favorite at the dining hall in college too.)

Now, I know those of you who are not morning people probably will not agree with me on this one. Some people would much rather host at 5pm and serve cocktails & appetizers. Breakfast sometimes seems daunting, especially if you have to cook early in the morning. In that case, skip the eggs or fancy frittatas and spend a little time with your oven during the night before.

I love baking muffins; they are ridiculously easy to prepare, and require very little cooking time. Plus, if you use the little paper cupcake liners, there’s barely any cleanup once you pull them from the oven. When in doubt, find a shortcut.

Another reason why baking muffins is awesome: they make your kitchen smell amazing. Confession time. I was trying to clean our apartment a little this morning, and while emptying the coffee machine, I took note of the trash can’s fullness and realized it was time to probably take it out, except it’s raining outside (raaaaiiining, a la Zooey D), so instead of dealing with frizzy wet hair, I decided to bake some muffins and make our apartment smell like Paula Deen’s house.

Don’t judge.

Here’s the recipe so that you can also make your apartment smell divine. Oh, and these won’t wreck your diet either- they are made with greek yogurt, soy milk, and applesauce. You’re welcome.

Low Fat BlueBerry Muffins (makes 1 dozen)

You will need…

  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 6-oz container of nonfat Chobani blueberry yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup lite vanilla soymilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use white flour too, but I like the taste of WW)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/4 cups blueberries (preferably fresh but frozen would be ok- just make sure you thaw them first and drain them)

Method…

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk one egg with the sugar. Add yogurt, applesauce, soy milk, and vanilla. Stir to combine but don’t overmix.
  3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry to the wet, mixing until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries, trying not to break them.
  4. Your batter will be slightly thicker than usual muffin batter; that’s cause of the Greek yogurt, no worries. Fill cupcake liners in the muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until tops are browned and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy, and happy breakfast!

 

 

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July 15, 2011 · 2:47 am

do you know the muffin man?

Here’s something that I can never decide: is a muffin a breakfast food or dessert? Maybe it depends on the type of muffin. A whole-grain bran muffin with fruit is probably fitting for breakfast, but a muffin that is laden with chocolate and nuts? Most likely dessert. Then again, some people like a bit of sweetness first thing in the morning, in which case the answer might be “both”! I’ve never really been into the idea of extremely sugary pastries in the morning; I’d rather enjoy a scone or muffin in the late afternoon alongside a pick-me-up coffee. (I don’t think Boyfriend agrees with me on this one.) On the other hand, when I was younger, my favorite breakfast item was a frosted strawberry poptart, which probably has way more sugar than the muffin recipe listed below, so go figure.

Regardless of when it is “proper” to enjoy a muffin, they are sure fun to bake. Extra points for jumbo-sized muffins (come on- I’m right.) I like baking muffins because it is easy to experiment. Once you’ve figured out a solid “base” recipe- you can go wild, adding different flavors, fruits, nuts, etc. They also bake rather quickly, so it’s easy to bake a few batches. Give some as gifts, bring a surprise treat to a work meeting, or just keep them for yourself! And at the end of the day, who really cares whether a muffin is a breakfast or a dessert? They are delicious all the same.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins

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July 30, 2010 · 6:42 pm

veganize this

Surprisingly enough, I’ve failed to mention the fact that I was, once upon a time, vegan. I was vegan for about a year and a half, before I began to eat dairy again. I took my first bite of vegan-diet-betrayal at Upper Crust in Brookline, MA. And it was delicious.

I link my vegan days to my New York days, mainly because it is completely effortless to maintain a vegan diet in Manhattan, especially when one lives in the East Village, as I did. Truly, it is not a challenge at all to be free of every animal product imaginable when you live blocks from restaurants such as Pukk on 1st and 4th (vegan thai), Quantum Leap on 1st and 12th (with the best vegan burgers in the universe), Babycakes on Broome and Ludlow (dairy/egg/gluten free bakery), or Counter on 1st and 6th (gourmet vegan cuisine). Not to mention walking distance from two different Whole Foods markets. There are over 50 all-vegan restaurants in New York City, which dominates Boston’s count of less than 10. Sometimes I wonder: If Boston were more veg-friendly, would I still be turning down cheese, milk, eggs, and honey? Perhaps.

That’s neither here nor there, though.

While I was vegan, I became extremely savvy at veganizing all sorts of dishes…from pizza to chili, from cookies to pies…you name it, and I could veganize it. When it comes to baking, however, it gets a little more challenging. I like to think of baking as a science, as opposed to the “art” of cooking. Measurements must be exact, timing must be perfect. Substitutions for milk and eggs are a lot trickier than just sprinkling soy cheese atop dough and tomato sauce and calling it a vegan pizza.

There are several little substitution tricks that I mastered during my vegan days…

1. SEE YA, EGGS – Eggs either work as a “binder” or a “thickener” in baking recipes. Depending upon their purpose, a different substitute is needed.

  • 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg. This works best in cookies or crispy baked goods.
  • 1 tbsp flax seeds + 3 tbsp water = 1 egg. Use in pancakes, grain’y muffins, or oatmeal cookies.
  • 1/4 cup silken tofu, blended = 1 egg. Use in cakes, pies, brownies.
  • Ener-g Egg Replacer Product - this is an easy one to use in virtually any baked good.

2. ADIOS, MILK – Replace milk with soymilk, almond milk, rice milk, etc. That one is easy.

3. BYE BYE BUTTER – Margarine is a good substitute for butter, but it doesn’t always bake as well as it should. Make sure that you buy non-hydrogented margarine. Earth Balance is a great product for substituting butter.

Every once in a while, I am tempted to veganize a recipe or two just to keep practicing. Here’s an example of how to revamp Emeril Lagasse’s Blueberry/Raspberry Muffin recipe:

You will need…

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp margarine, softened
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
  • 1 tsp freshly grated lemon peel
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp flax seeds + 6 tbsp water
  • 1/2 cup margarine, melted
  • 1 cup regular soymilk
  • 1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
  • 3/4 cup raspberries
  • 3/4 cup blueberries

Method…

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners or grease.
  • To make the topping, mix together the first five ingredients in a bowl until crumbly. Set aside.
  • In another bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  • In a larger bowl, mix together flaxseeds and water until combined. Add melted margarine. Add soymilk and lemon zest; whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the berries. Spoon mixture into muffin tins and top with streusel topping.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

In all honesty, vegan baking isn’t really that difficult. It’s about choices, taking some extra time to think things through and prepare. In the end, the results are just as delicious. And if you don’t believe me, go to Babycakes in Manhattan, order one of their red velvet cupcakes, and then we’ll talk.

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