Chocolate Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

It's been a while since I've made a good batch of muffins. Now that I'm in my second trimester and things are tasting, smelling, and looking good, I'm finally enjoying sweets again. I didn't want to have anything to do with them in the beginning- so unlike me!

Now I feel great and I love being in the second trimester! We've gone baby crazy and have started our registry and I've bought a few things for our baby girl. I haven't been this excited for anything in so long, it is such an amazing feeling.

As for these muffins, I knew I had to make them the second I saw them on Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts. Her blog never disappoints. I've had them for breakfast as well as a "snack" to hold me over from one meal to the next (which is getting harder and harder to do, I'm always hungry). They are sweet without being too sweet, have just the right amount of chocolaty-ness, and I love the pop of using white chocolate chips.

Source: Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3 over ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbls cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or liners.

In mixer bowl combine butter and sugar.  Beat until creamy.  Add eggs, banana, vanilla, and mix until well combined.   In a separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir until just combined.  Fold in 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.  Pour into muffin cups.

Sprinkle remaining chips on top.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through.  Cool for a few minutes in pan before serving.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Muffins

I've got a lot of pumpkin recipes coming your way.

What can I say? The temperatures have cooled off in Michigan, right after Labor Day. I tried to wait. I really did. But I had three cans of pumpkin hanging out in the back of my pantry, just waiting to be used. I haven't looked to see if the stores in my area are carrying canned pumpkin yet- I hope they are, I'm down to one can!

I didn't hop on the pumpkin bandwagon until moving to Michigan. It's kinda silly getting excited for fall in Miami when the temperature is exactly the same as it was in July. I didn't decorate for fall (but I did for Halloween!) and I didn't go out to buy pumpkin lattes or hoard cans of pumpkin in my pantry for the next year (my Mom actually mailed me cans of pumpkin last fall when we had the shortage!).

But now...I understand the obsession. I crave it. Pumpkin is my new favorite ingredient and I don't think I'll be getting sick of it any time soon. I'll do my best to mix it up though, so hopefully you won't leave me hanging. :)

I loved these muffins. They're super moist, have an excellent amount of spice and sweet kick from the white chocolate chips. Fast and easy to make, can be stored in an air-tight container for two days and then freeze really well. I snacked on them and hubby took them to work. Win!

Source: Sugared Whisk
Servings: 12 muffins

1/2 cup of walnuts or pecans
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
6 oz white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, mix together the eggs, pumpkin, and unsalted butter. Add in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix.

Scoop batter into greased or paper cup lined muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed and springy to the touch. Cool then remove from cups.

Are you crazy for pumpkin yet?

Sweet Treats Week #3: Glazed Doughnut Muffins

How's your week so far?

Think you're getting any cavities?

I hope you like what you've seen. We're half way through Sweet Treats Week. That makes me sad.

But it's okay! There are still two more delicious posts awaiting you.

Today I'm sharing some muffins. Muffins that came out so pretty, if I do say so myself.

They really do taste like doughnuts. My favorite part, of course, is the glaze...which I may or may not have stuck my finger in the bowl as I was dipping these. These muffins are double dipped by the way. I'm a firm believer that you can never have enough glaze.

The hubby ended up taking these in the car ride to work with him. That may not have been the best idea. Sticky fingers + new silk tie= disastrous laundry day. But he did think they were good!

Source: Extreme Personal Measures

Servings: 15 muffins

Muffin 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
3/4 to 1 ¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste (I used ¾)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Glaze

3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.
 

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth. Add the eggs, beating to combine. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
 

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full. Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
 

In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. At this point, you can leave them as is or go for the double dip. I glazed my muffins twice. Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day. 

*Note: I froze half my batch. So far they've held up pretty well!

How are you liking Sweet Treats Week? Would you like to see more themed weeks in the future?

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Do you ever stop to think about how much you've changed? Since you were a kid. Since high school, college, since getting your first "big girl (or guy)" job? I'm sure there are many things about you that are still the same. Your favorite color (red). Favorite movie (Titanic). Favorite side of the bed to sleep on (right).

Did you fulfill your career aspirations, did you go to college, did you get married? Are you still in touch with friends from years past, or are you making new ones? Are there still things you'd like to accomplish, to experience?

I can tell you that I've always wanted to accomplish making strawberry banana muffins.

Haha. Just kidding! I actually do have reasons for these deep thoughts. And they are related to these muffins. I made them for the hubby. With rotations in full swing he doesn't have time to eat breakfast. He needs something to grab and go. So I make things for him. Banana bread, granola bars, banana nut muffins...

As of right now, I'm the person I always wanted to be. I went to go to college, became a teacher, and a good cook (I hope). I wanted to be married happily ever after. To someone who was smart and  intelligent. Who had drive and motivation. When the hubbs and I met in high school, he didn't know what he wanted to be. He didn't know until he took several science classes in college and said, hey, you know what, I think I want to be a doctor.

He declared his major in biochemistry, took the MCAT, and got into one of the best medical schools in the country. He survived his first two years (with me feeding him, clothing him, doing his laundry...) and took the first part of the boards exam. This week he found out his score.

How did he do? Phenomenal. Knocked it out of the water. And I just want to say that I'm so proud (and that he couldn't have done it without me, hehe). I'm so proud of who he is. Of who I am when I'm with him. Of who we are together. 

So I made him some muffins. It's the least I could do.

Source: Cook with Sara

1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large)
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
2 1/4 cups flour, divided
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and mashed banana. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.

In another large bowl combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a third bowl, combine the strawberries and the remaining 1/4 cup flour, stirring until all the berries are coated with flour. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir only until just combined. Fold in the berries.

Divide the batter evenly among 12 paper lined or greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 12-14 muffins.


By the way, these muffins are AWESOME. Incredible. The hubby and I split one as soon as they were cool enough to eat and I fought for the last bite! I love that brown sugar is used instead of plain ol' granulated sugar. I think it really makes a difference!

So, share with me, how have you changed? Or, what's something that you've recently accomplished?

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

A few weeks ago our kitchen had a strange smell. We couldn't figure out where  it was coming from or what it could be. I thought it might be the trash so I threw out the bag and thought that was it. Problem solved. Wrong! Our kitchen still smelled. I cleaned, washed out the sink and garbage disposal. Nope. It still smelled.

The hubbs said that it had to be coming from the fridge. We've never had a smelly fridge, but I looked through it and found nothing (or so I thought...).

The smell lingered.
 
It wasn't until I came home with groceries the next weekend that we'd had enough. I took everything out and wiped it down. Put everything back in.

It still smelled!

And then I realized something. There were black beans in the fridge. That I had used a week before. Could that be the cause?

Yes. It was. I didn't even think about checking them (stupid, I know), and left them in the back of the fridge when I took everything else out.

Oops.

So, what does this story have to do with these muffins?

Nothing.

I felt like you might need a good story.

And there isn't really one for these muffins. They're just good. I recently made them for a bunch of coworkers and they were a hit. So there you go. :)

Source: Stephanie Cooks

Topping
2	tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4	teaspoon ground cinnamon
Muffins
3/4	cup milk
1/4	cup canola or soybean oil
1/4	cup honey
1	egg
1	cup all-purpose flour
1	cup whole wheat flour
3	teaspoons baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	cup  blueberries (fresh or frozen)

	Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or place paper baking cup in each muffin cup. In small bowl, stir together topping ingredients; set aside.
	In large bowl, beat milk, oil, honey and egg with spoon until well blended. Stir in flours, baking powder and salt just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently fold in blueberries.
	Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (cups will be full). Sprinkle with topping.
	Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and muffins are golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

Pecan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love waking up on the weekends to make breakfast. On weekdays I don't have time to make anything but a bowl of cereal with fruit and sometimes a piece of toast. I give myself exactly ten minutes to eat while I check my email and scan through my favorite blogs.

I also love weekend breakfasts because the hubbs and I get to eat together. I am up at 7:00am on weekdays while he gets to sleep in- unless he has a required event to attend on campus. Even then he'll rush out the door with a banana and a bagel, which he'll eat on the way there. 

But someone is getting a little bit spoiled with his weekend breakfasts! Just last night as we were getting ready for bed, the hubbs said, "Can you make me something delicious for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

Well. How should I respond to this...

...I was planning on making these anyway!

I've been on a search for a new muffin recipe for a while now. I have several bookmarked but I happened to find this one at the perfect time. We had three bananas that were just about to see the end of their days. These muffins are great, probably the best I've had in a long time. They are very moist and I love the topping- brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and pecans. Delicioso!

Source: slightly adapted from How To: Simplify

For the muffins:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

For the topping:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. Combine 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and then beat together the bananas, sugar, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract. Combine banana mixture with the flour mixture until just moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, use a fork and mix together the brown sugar, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, cinnamon and oil until crumbly. Stir in hazelnuts. Sprinkle mixture over the batter. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.


Next time I will definitely double the batter. I was only able to make 10 muffins, but that might be because I wanted big, full muffins and filled the tins to the top. So if you don't fill them up all the way I'm sure you could make more!

What do you make for breakfast on the weekends?

Streusel Banana Muffins

Yesterday I came home from work and had the itch to bake. A few (and when I say few I mean three) chocolate chip cookies were still left, meaning we needed a new batch of fresh goods. I like to have some kind of goodie in the house to snack on at all times. I bookmarked this recipe for banana muffins ages ago, perfect to use up the two rotten bananas hanging out in my fruit bowl. 

Smother them with butter. That is the best only way to eat a muffin. And make sure they're warm! 

Source: Brookie's Cookies and More

1/3 cup milk
1 cup ripe mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour (if using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts  (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups, 2.5" x 1.25", with shortening, or line with paper baking cups.

Make Streusel Topping; set aside.

Beat milk, bananas, oil, and egg in large bowl with fork or wire whisk. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Stir in walnuts. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each with about 1 tbl topping.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. If baked in greased pan, let stand about 5 minutes in pan, then remove from pan to wire rack; if baked in paper baking cups, immediatly remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm if desired.

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbl firm butter or stick margarine

Mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until crumbly.

Now I can go home today and pop one in the microwave as my after-work-snack. Yess.

Link up with Sweet's for a Saturday.