Fall Pear Muffin with Cinnamon Oat Streusel

This morning was chilly...and for me to say that, it was cold.  In fact, I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and even turned the heat on for a bit.  So, baking this morning I was looking for those fall-flavors that would fit the weather.

Pears, like pumpkins and apples, are definitely a fruit we see in the markets and farm stands.  In fact, my best friend had so many pears this year in her orchard that she was canning for days!  It's thought that pears originated in Caucasus and spread to Europe and Asia where they were cultivated more than 4000 years ago. Both the Greeks and Romans valued the fruit for its flavor and medicinal properties.

Raw pears are 84% water, 15% carbohydrates and contains negligible protein and fat.  It has about 57 calories and is a good source of dietary fiber.  They are consumed fresh, canned as juice and dried, of course, jams and jellies, including butter and cider.

Fall Pear Muffin with Cinnamon Oat Streusel
Batter:
1 large egg
4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup firmly packed browned sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large Bosc pear, peeled and grated
3/4 cup Oat Flour
1 cup King Arthur All-purpose Flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Oat Topping:
1/2 cup Old Fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick-cooking)
1/3 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
6 T firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 T unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 375F-degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper cups.  Make the topping

Mix all the ingredients together and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in until it is chunky and only a few pea-size pieces of butter are visible.

Set aside.  Make the batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter.  Add the milk, sour cream, brown sugar, and vanilla whisk into combined.  Then stir in the grated pear.

(You can make your own oat flour by pulsing Old-Fashioned Oats in a food processor.)

Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and fold together into the batter.  Be careful not to overtax.

Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin wells.  Mound with equal amounts of streusel on top.

Baking 18 to 20 minutes for standard muffins or 25 to 30 minutes for jumbo size muffins.

Remove the pan from the oven and cool about 5 minutes.  Carefully remove the muffins from the pan and transfer to a rack to cool a little more.  I enjoyed my warm with my favorite cup of Harney & Sons tea. Enjoy!

My flowers are still beautiful with the days warm with the nights very cool!

Peanut Butter~Banana~Marshmallow Muffins

...Or, simply, the Elvis Muffin!   My sister was actually a big fan of Elvis, I'm more a Beatles fanatic, but when I came across this peanut butter powder at Costco yesterday, I thought of Elvis, go figure.  I knew he was a peanut butter & banana & Fluff fan, so creating this muffin had to be in honor of him.

This PB2 is a powdered peanut butter that can be used in various recipes; especially smoothies or mousse, and can, of course be reconstituted into the spreadable version.  Since I had, once again, leftover bananas (hubby was traveling) I decided to make up a muffin and see if the flavor was actually true.

Peanut Butter~Banana~Marshmallow Muffins
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup + 3T PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
4 medium bananas, peeled and smashed with a fork
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups KAF All-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

30 miniature marshmallows or 16 regular size

Preheat oven to 375F-degrees and line a muffin pan with liners or use aluminum cups that are lightly sprayed with a baking spray.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix the melted butter and sugar together.  Add the next four ingredients and mix well. Remove the bowl from the stand. In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients and add to the batter, stirring until incorporated with a rubber spatula.  Finally, add the sour cream and stir to combine.

Use a #20 scoop and add one scoop to each cup or muffin wells.  Add two miniature marshmallows or a quarter piece from a regular size marshmallow.

Cover with one more scoop of batter.  Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes, then, lower the temperature to 325F-degrees and bake 17-20 minutes more.  Press on top of the muffin to feel if it's done.  Let cool slightly, then dust with a little confectioners' sugar and serve.

Well, "I'm all Shook Up" how good these were--Enjoy!

 

Oatmeal Muffins

When you think it's too hot for oatmeal (it's been in the upper 80s and low 90s here)...bake Oatmeal Muffins.  And, that's just what I did today after watching an episode this weekend of America's Test Kitchen on PBS.  Great hints for making sure you have that oatsy taste without making a dry muffin is what caught my attention. 

Muffins, like scones, are one of my favorite breakfast foods to bake; not to sweet, but oh so yummy and comforting way to start the day.  They are typically a "quick bread" product, sweet or savory, and here in America, similar to a cupcake shape.  I love that they bake up quicker than a bread and just the right bite to satisfy.  I definitely didn't want the oven on for over an hour while I'm trying to keep the house cool!

Oatmeal Muffins
2 cups Old-fashioned rolled Oatmeal
2 T unsalted butter
In a sauce pan or frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the oatmeal.  Toasting the oatmeal brings out the flavor!  Cook and stir occasionally for 6 to 8 minutes.  Remove from the stove and put mixture in a food processor.  Pulse several times to get a fine "oat flour."

Add to the bowl:
1 3/4 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
and pulse once more to combine.

In a mixing bowl:
1 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 3/4 cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
6T unsalted butter, melted
Whisk the sugar and milk together, then add the lightly beaten eggs and whisk once more to combine.  Add the unsalted butter and whisk again.

Add the half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and use a whisk to stir lightly, then tap the whisk on the side of the bowl to release the mixture.  Don't over mix!  Repeat with the rest of the dry ingredients use the whisk to stir and tap on the side of the bowl.

The mixture will be runny, but not to worry--you need to set aside the batter for 20 minutes to thicken!
Make the "apple crisp inspired"topping while the batter is resting.

Topping:
1/2 cup Old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
1/3 cup Pecans, finely chopped
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
4 T unsalted butter, melted

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients and toss together.

Preheat oven to 375F-degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with a non-stick baking spray.

Using a large cookie scoop, fill the muffin wells to the top with the batter.

Sprinkle about 2-3 T of streusel mixture over the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 25 minutes (mine took 23 minutes!)

 The kitchen smelled heavenly and I couldn't wait to bite into these moist, warm from the oven, muffins.

You get a definitely flavor of the toasted oat flour and they are far from dry.  Just what I needed this morning:-D

Tomorrow, marks the 4th Anniversary of our daughter Kelly's passing.  It doesn't seem like it's been that long since every day, my heart feels the aching of her loss.  This morning, a dear friend sent flowers and in her words, "There are lives that must be remembered and cherished."

Orange was Kelly's favorite color and these roses are just amazing.  I hear her words, "I'm Happy," and amongst the tears I can smile, knowing I have friends to lean on.  Enjoy each day to the fullest--that's definitely what Kelly did.

 
 

Easy Pumpkin~Banana Muffins with Spiderman

Amidst days of a horrific storm, I did find sunshine in the sweet face of one of my favorite baking buddies...and baking we did.  Ari loves muffins; it's a treat his mama started getting him at the Co-op where they lived.  Pumpkin, zucchini, or banana was the usual choice, so Ari and I decided to combine two of these flavors into one to make a new variety for him to have.

We came up with an easy and quick way to have a morning muffin before his music class that is full of goodness. The trick to a moist, cake-like texture and giving the pumpkin flavor was using a box of Jell-o Pumpkin Pudding.  We found it at the grocery store when we were shopping and thought we'd give it a try.

Easy Pumpkin~Banana Muffins

2 bananas, mashed
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 box of Jell-o Pumpkin Pudding
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract 
2 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

4 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375F-degrees.   Brush muffin pan with melted butter.  We used his Jumbo muffin pan and this recipe made 6, but for a Regular muffin pan you will get 10-12.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, mix the first five ingredients well.  Then, add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined.

Scoop into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes for Jumbo and 15-18 for Regular.

The tops of the muffins should be firm to the touch.  Allow them to cool slightly and then, turn out out a rack to cool. 

 My little King enjoyed his muffin so much; he said, "These are the best ever, Mimi!"  Isn't that what we all want to hear. Enjoy!

Savory Chili~Cheese Muffins

A couple of years ago, I featured a bread made with a mystery ingredient, compliments from one of my favorite mystery authors--JoAnne Fluke.  The spice bread's ingredient was a can of pork & beans, but you would have never known that from the delectable taste of it.

Tonight, while picking out ingredients to make a pot of soup, I saw a can of Bush's Chili Beans on the shelf, next to the cannellini beans I was using.  My memory flashed back to that bread and I thought I could easily make up a savory muffin version to go along with the soup I was making--Bean & Kale Soup.

It's been a rainy week that called for a pot of soup, but honestly I could eat soup any time and these muffins were the perfect accompaniment.

Savory Chili~Cheese Muffins
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1-16oz. can Bush's Mild Chili Beans, pureed
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground Cumin
1/2 tsp. Chili powder
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
3/4 cup shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
1 cup chopped walnuts (measured after chopping)

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan and a 6-cup muffin pan with a baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs to combine, then, add the oil and whisk to thoroughly blend.  Stir in the pureed chili beans and sugar.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.  Use a large scoop to fill the muffin tins almost to the top.  You will be able to get 18 regular sized muffins.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes until the tops of the muffins are firm to the touch.  Remove from oven and let cool about 10 minutes.  Then, turn the muffins on their side to finish cooling. (This allows their "bottoms" to dry!)

 I have another end-of-season cold and soup is just what I needed.  This recipe has so many possibilities, either sweet or savory, and I'm glad I came across it two years ago.  Enjoy!