Back to Baking

This morning I felt I NEEDED to do something other than read. I looked up an older recipe I have made many times and checked out my supplies. Yes! I had everything to bake Blueberry Lemon Muffins. Thank goodness the little old hand mixer will be used and the cleanup will be easier as well.  Here is the tried and true recipe.

  

                       Very Blueberry and Lemon Muffins

  1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

  2/3 cup sugar

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  1 egg

  3/4 cup milk

  1/4 cup butter, softened

  2 tablespoons lemon juice

  2 teaspoon lemon zest

  1 cup fresh blueberries. If frozen, thaw and drain.

  Extra sugar and lemon zest for the tops.

  Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the egg, milk, butter, lemon juice, and zest.

  Stir to combine–the batter should be lumpy. Don’t mix it too hard. Muffin batter doesn’t like that. Gently fold in blueberries. Lightly grease muffin cups or use paper liners. Fill each cup about 2/3 to 3/4 full. *This should make 12 muffins. Sprinkle extra sugar and lemon zest on the tops.

   Bake at 400°f for about 20 minutes or until golden. *If baking only 6 large ones, bake for about 30 minutes. No longer. Remove from pan   before completely cooled.

MMMMMMuffins!

A few months back, our daughter brought us a 2.5 lb. bag of frozen blueberries. It sat in the freezer until this morning when the mood to bake struck.  I found a recipe I had saved but never used and was in a daring frame of mind, as I'm not crazy about blueberries.  These particular berries are cultivated at Peterson Farms in Shelby MI. Michigan is the nation's leading producer of cultivated blueberries. Fresh frozen cultivated blueberries can be enjoyed all year long. 

I must say that they are REALLY tasty and moist. 

Please click on image to be inspired to bake 

As I write there are only 3 left! I must save one for my brother who brings me venison. We each had a morning snack and one is packaged for the trash collector/driver who comes today. 

RECIPE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Very Blueberry and Lemon Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 cup blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain first)

extra sugar and lemon zest for the tops

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the egg, milk, butter, lemon juice, and zest.

Stir to combine–the batter should be lumpy. Don’t mix it too hard. Muffin batter doesn’t like that. Gently fold in blueberries. Lightly grease muffin cups or use paper liners. Fill each cup about 2/3 to 3/4 full. *This should make 12 muffins. Sprinkle extra sugar and lemon zest on the tops.

Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes or until golden. 

*If making only 6 large ones, bake for about 30 minutes (no longer) and remove from pan before completely cool. 

The B's

Pecos Bill's BBQ chicken and bran muffins with dried cherries! We are livin' high!

The Devil made me do this!

please click on image to enlarge

Applesauce Baking

The recipe tells me that it makes about 24 cupcakes. I never could figure out how you could have the batter ready and then hold back some until the first 12 were done. I sure don't have enough cupcake pans to make 24 all at once so I just made a small loaf with the extra batter. Whatever works, eh? The tricky part for me is that I have one pan for small ones and one pan for larger ones. Of course several toothpick pricks tell me when a tray is ready to come out of the oven. I topped them with a  cream cheese icing when they were cold. 

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Please don't think these have the texture of cupcakes or cake just because they have icing. The texture is drier and denser and they are heavy and sweet MUFFINS.

🎃👻🎃💀🎃👻🎃💀🎃👻🎃💀🎃👻🎃💀🎃👻🎃💀🎃👻🎃🎃👻🎃💀🎃👻🎃💀🎃👻🎃💀🎃

Applesauce Muffins

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 10 min. Bake:  about 30 min.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups applesauce
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, optional (YES use these!)
• Cinnamon-sugar, optional
• 
  
• Directions

• 1. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in applesauce. Combine the flour, baking soda and spices; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in nuts.
• 2. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if desired. Yield: about 2 dozen.

Socks, Meatloaf and Muffins

Yesterday I received my 3rd pair of homemade knitted wool socks from an amazing friend who lives in Canada. We met at the beach several years ago as they spent their winters there. We traded craft hobbies and activities and I really miss her and her husband. She's outdone herself this time with this beautiful pair!! I am really grateful.

Made in 2015

Made around 2012

I've been busy this morning. The three pound meatloaf is hot out of the oven. I love Big Red Workhorse that mixes it so well, saving me finger freeze! 

The muffins are bran with golden raisins added. Of course we ate a couple to taste first and then I shared with a fellow who drives by every Tuesday morning. 

These are tasty and I'll share the recipe upon request. 

please click on image to view larger

October Morning

Well I woke up with tons of energy. Maybe it was the Cracker Barrel sharp cheese stick I ate for breakfast with a beef stick. I have 4 chicken breasts stewing in the kettle with chopped onions and celery so there will be broth for soups - to create another day.

I used my "new" Wilton Dimensions Multi Cavity Cupcake Pan for the first time with banana bread muffins. Not knowing how much to put in each cavity, I put 1/2 cup and came up short, not filling the 8th one. I baked them fifteen minutes, tested with a toothpick, and after letting them rest for about 10 minutes, discovered they were stuck! I did not grease or flour the pan. I did not Pam the pan.  They are delicious and fine after careful prodding for removal. I really think they stuck because the batter is heavy and sweet. I don't ever have to grease my heavy tube pan and cakes remove just fine. I'll try cupcakes another time. Today, I just wanted MUFFINS!

I got MUFFINS! And they are DELICIOUS! No icing needed either - just butter! We shared one already!

Since the sun was shining I had to take pictures and show everyone my outdoor autumn decorations.

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Baking Boom

Once in a while the baking bug gets its hold over me and I easily succumb. Today I discovered I'm not the only victim to this bug, because my daughter, who lives nearby, caught it as well.

First it was the chocolate chip cookies that I made yesterday. They are almost gone already! They were large and chewy - just the way we like them.

Today I made a carrot cake - from scratch.

I added citron to my cake and have poked holes with the handle of my wooden spoon. It is resting in the refrigerator after I poured a mixture of sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut over its top and into those holes. It will be just right to cut tomorrow.

This morning my daughter stopped in with a DOZEN of her homemade blueberry muffins! (with yoghurt) We ate three at lunchtime, and these are for tomorrow. I froze the rest. 

The Mister went to the parking lot in town where a local smoked barbeque setup makes delicious split chickens every weekend! No baking tonight. See? This is two halves. We don't much care for the dark meat so I'll pop them into a pot of water and stew them down - then pick off the meat, and save it and the broth for soup. I almost forgot to mention the beautiful yellow squash she brought from the garden and I'll make soup with that too.

This is how it's done!