Whole Wheat Banana Coconut Muffins

Whole Wheat Banana Coconut Muffins, a tropical flavor explosion!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 egg
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease or line a muffin tin.
2. Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add coconut oil, coconut milk, bananas, vanilla, and eggs, and mix until combined. Fold in shredded coconut.
3. Top with a sprinkling of raw turbinado sugar. (I topped my muffins with shredded coconut.)
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

I found this recipe from How Sweet It Is, I was about to make a different recipe and this recipe immediately caught my attention. These muffins are really fantastic, they are super moist, and full of flavor. The coconut flavor mixed with the banana is awesome. These are one of my favorite muffin recipes!

*Camala*

Buttermilk Bran Muffins

Bran muffins made with Buttermilk and Raisins.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 Tbsp orange zest
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup miller’s wheat bran
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease or line 12 muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl beat together the applesauce, egg, buttermilk, orange zest and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, miller’s wheat bran and brown sugar.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir the batter until it is just combined, then stir in the raisins.
5. Spoon the batter into muffin tins and bake the muffins in the middle of a preheated 375F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown and springy to the touch. Turn the muffins out onto a rack and let them cool.

This bran muffin is light and moist, They aren’t the prettiest muffin but they have a nice light flavor. The bran and raisins are the most prominent flavor to the muffin with a hint of orange from the orange zest make these wonderfully delicious. Packed with B vitamins from the wheat bran, these Bran Muffins are a great way to start your day!

*Camala*

Carrot Pineapple Muffins-vegan

This is a great vegan carrot muffin.  I adapted this recipe from Everyday Vegan.  I am constantly amazed how great vegan muffins taste and the maple flavor (which I love) are very pronounced in these muffins.  I keep them in a sealed container in the fridge for freshness and the maple flavor just gets better over time….
INGREDIENTS
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup sugar
1  1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2  tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1   1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8  tsp salt
1  8-oz can crushed pineapple–well drained
3/4  cup grated carrots
1/4 cup raisins
1/4  cup pure maple syrup
1  cup + 2 Tblsp  vanilla or plain soy milk
1  tsp vanilla
2  Tablsp  canola oil
1/4  cup chopped walnuts (I added this to the recipe but it is totally
optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.  In large bowl combine all the dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Add carrots, pineapple, and raisins, and stir well.
In  a seperate bowl, combine maple syrup, soy milk, and vanilla.  Add to dry mixture and stir until mix is just combined.  Spoon into a lined or lightly oiled muffin pan and bake for 19-23 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 10-12 muffins…   156 calories per muffin!!   not bad.

*Christine*

Muffin Week

Muffin Week, 7 days of Muffin Recipes created or tested and tried by us!

A muffin is a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions, in individual molds. Quick bread muffins really need to be baked in molds because they are made with a batter rather than a dough. As opposed to a yeast muffin, like an English Muffin.

The derivation of the word muffin comes from the French word moufflet which is often times applied to bread and means soft. Many types of muffins are somewhat like a small cake although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and are generally lacking frosting. Muffins can also be of the savory variety, such as corn muffins.

Muffins generally fit in the palm of an adult hand, and are intended to be consumed by an individual in a single sitting and are often eaten for breakfast.

There are many varieties and flavors of muffins made with specific ingredients such as blueberries, chocolate chips, banana, cinnamon, pumpkin, date, nuts, lemon, orange, peach, strawberry, raspberry, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots and yogurt, healthy muffin recipes use whole grain ingredients. We have listed just a small amount of variety examples, really the choices are plentiful. Whatever you choose to make your muffins with, the choices are baked into the muffin.

We love muffins and think they are wonderful. We have a lot of fun thinking up combinations and flavors. Muffins are quick to make and easy to take with you for a breakfast on the go. We typically think there should be a difference between a cupcake and a muffin and think that muffins shouldn’t be so sweet, although there are some exceptions:)

If you really enjoy eating muffins or are looking for some new muffin recipes, check back over the next seven days and give one of the featured recipes a try!

Featured Recipes:
Carrot Pineapple Muffins

C and C Dish
Camala and Christine

Ultra Chocolate Muffins

Ultra Chocolate Muffins with NO milk, eggs or butter.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used Organic semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use whatever you want)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Stir or whisk until well mixed.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients, mix well.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and add the chocolate chips. Mix until blended, be careful not to overmix, it will make the muffins tougher.
5. Spoon batter into 12 greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 375F for 18 minutes.

These muffins are ultra chocolaty and moist. I decided to make these muffins with no milk, eggs or butter, I wanted to add apple juice for an added flavor and the balsamic vinegar added helps to bring out the chocolate flavor. These muffins are rich and flavorful but also light and moist in texture. Enjoy!

*Camala*

Orange Cream Cheese Muffins

Orange Cream Cheese Muffins, a deliciously dense muffin.

Ingredients:
1/2 small navel orange, cut into 6 to 8 pieces (including the peel)
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature, broken into 3 to 4 pieces
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F and Grease muffin pan or line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Fit food processor with steel blade and process the orange pieces until finely chopped.  Add the cream cheese and process. Scrape down the bowl and process again.  The mixture should retain some orange texture.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the machine and add the cream cheese/orange mixture, then mix on medium speed for one minute. Add the sugar in a steady stream, then blend in the eggs and yolk one at a time, allowing each egg to incorporate before adding another. Add the vanilla.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing just until blended after each addition.
6. Portion level 1/4 cup scoops of the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and the tops are springy to the touch. To ensure even baking, toward the end of baking time, rotate the pans top to bottom and front to back. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

I got the inspiration for this recipe from the Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins and More Cookbook. The original recipe calls for a Pepita Crunch topping, well as you may or may not know, depending on how much you read my posts=), I don’t like nuts in my food, especially baked goods! I like eating nuts, just by themselves, So what intrigued me about the recipe then? Well, it was the cream cheese…I Heart Cream Cheese…I always say if it has cream cheese I will love it. I knew I wanted to try the muffins by themselves so I omitted the Pepita Crunch Topping.

So instead of the topping I decided to take the muffins out of the oven five minutes before they were done and do an egg wash on them because I am neurotic about wasting things and since the muffins had 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk I was left with an egg white. I beat the egg white and brushed the muffin tops and then sprinkled on some decorating sugar. You could also use rock sugar or raw sugar if you desire to do this, otherwise if you don’t care about wasting the egg white, leave them be because they would still be absolutely wonderful without the added step.

*Camala*

Lemon Coconut Strawberry Cupcakes

Its strawberry time here in Florida!!!  These cupcakes have the delicious combo of lemon and coconut with some strawberries tossed in!!!
This light springtime cupcake is delicious–with my favorite thing–coconut.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line muffing pan with paper muffin cups or butter muffin pan for use with out paper cups.

Don’t forget to check out our post on how to clean your strawberries!!!!

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/8  tsp salt
1/4  cup sugar
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2  cup chopped fresh strawberries
2 Tablespoons butter melted
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1  tsp grated lemon rind

In large bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Stir in grated coconut,  strawberries and  1/4 cup sugar.
In small bowl combine melted butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and milk and egg.  Add liquid mixture all at once to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Divide evenly into muffin cups.  Before baking cupcakes can be topped with a coconut crumble mixture.  This crumble topping is sweet enough to eat cupcakes without frosting or you can leave it off–or do both!!!
Coconut Crumble Topping
1/4 cup flour
3 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup coconut
1 Tablespoon sugar
Mix all ingredients with your fingers until crumbly and sprinkle on top of cupcakes before baking.

Bake cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops a springy.  Remove from oven and cool in pan a bit before moving to wire rack–about 5 minutes.    Cool completely before spreading with vanilla buttercream.

Vanilla Buttercream
1  1/2 cups powder sugar
1/2 cup butter (at room temp)
1/2  tsp vanilla
1-2  Tablespoons heavy cream
Beat ingredients together with electric mixer until consistency is ok for spreading.

Top with sliced fresh strawberry.  These cupcakes are moist and delicious.  A little on the sweet side for me—but still good.

*Christine*

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Finally!!   A muffin with all three flavors: peanut butter, chocolate chip AND banana…   Whooo hooo.
This muffin gets it sweetness from the bananas,  chocolate chips and honey.  Such a delightfully light muffin, moist and delicious.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line 12 muffin cup pan with paper.

 Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter melted
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter (I like chunky)
2 large bananas smashed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
generous 1/2 cup chocolate chips

 

Mix in large bowl flours, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.   Add chocolate chips and set aside. 
In a small bowl put melted  butter and mix with peanut butter until well blended.  Add honey, sour cream, eggs,  bananas and vanilla.
Place in muffin cups and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

……..and there you go:  quick, easy and delicious!!
  *Christine*

Apple Sour Cream Muffins

Apple Sour Cream Muffins, these muffins are wonderfully flavorful and moist.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
2 small apples, peeled & diced

Streusel Topping:
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened a bit
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp each cinnamon, allspice, & nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line or grease well 1 or 2 muffin tins.
2. Stir together dry ingredients and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs and brown sugar together before adding the butter.  Stir in the sour cream.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients, then stir in apple pieces.  Be careful not to over-mix!
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups so that each cup is three-quarters full.
6. Combine the streusel ingredients in a small bowl, mixing with your fingers to break up the butter into small bits. Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel on top of each muffin before baking.
7. Bake in preheated 400F oven for 18-20 minutes. Cool on a rack before removing the muffins.
8. Enjoy warm or store in an airtight container (though I’d recommend refrigerating these after a day).

I got this recipe from Blue Jean Gourmet and I can’t say enough good things about this muffin recipe. These muffins were so delicious and moist. I got 20 muffins out of this recipe and I could not stop eating them. I used Gala apples for this recipe and the apples were cooked perfectly inside of these muffins. The muffins were light and fluffy and made the whole house smell so good, from the spices and apples used in this muffin.

*Camala*

Triple Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins are soooooo good.   Everyone I served them to immediately fell in love with them.  And why not???  Who doesn’t like chocolate?  Especially for breakfast!!  Whats so great about them is that they are not too sweet–just light and full of chocolate goodness.  I got the recipe from a cookbook called Muffins/Recipes for Delicious Muffins.

Start by preheating oven to 400F  degrees.  Line 12 cup muffin pan with muffin paper cups.
(generous) 1 3/4 cup AP flour
1/3  cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/2  tsp baking soda
(generous) 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
(generous) 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 large eggs, beaten
1  1/4  cup sour cream
3/8 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 stick (6 Tablespoons) butter melted

Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, into large bowl.  Add dark and white chocolate chips and stir.
Place eggs, sour cream, sugar and cooled butter in separate bowl and mix well.  Batter is kind of thick.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir gently until just combined.  Divide batter equally among the 12 cups
Bake for 18-20 minutes or are firm to the touch.  Remove from the oven and let them cool—but they are sooooo good warm!!!

*Christine*