Category: Bread + Muffins

Cornbread

cornbreadMike made an enormous pot of chili today and asked that I bake him some homemade cornbread to go along with it. I’ve probably made homemade cornbread a million times before, but have never blogged it until today.

Cornbread is actually very easy to make, requiring just a few bowls, a spoon, and a pan. If you’re a beginning baker, I’d actually recommend trying this cornbread recipe, which comes from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook but has a bit of a sweet twist. My Aunt Liz always added vanilla extract to cornbread, so that’s what I do as well. Just a few teaspoons adds a nice dimension of sweetness.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom and halfway up the sides of an 8 x 8 square pan.

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; make a well in the center.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour all at once into the well in the dry mixture and stir until just combined; batter will be a bit lumpy.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool in pan, or serve warm.

Gingerbread

gingerbreadYesterday we put up our Christmas tree, and it seemed appropriate to make gingerbread. Not gingerbread cookies, despite how delicious (and adorable) they are – but actual gingerbread loaves, which I’d never made before.

I found a great gingerbread loaf recipe from Pillsbury and adapted it slightly to include a thicker glaze than the original.  You could leave the loaves plain if you like, but I highly recommend glazing them – although you might not expect it, lemon glaze adds a wonderful dimension of flavor to this rich, spicy bread. It would also be easy to cut this recipe in half to make just one loaf, or to bake the whole recipe in smaller loaf pans to give as gifts (which I’m totally going to do).

Ingredients

For the gingerbread

  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 teaspoons ginger
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • Generous 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup molasses
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 8 x 4 loaf pans (or spray with baking spray).

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and set; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each until the mixture is smooth.

In a 4-cup glass measuring cup, combine molasses and boiling water, stirring to combine. Add baking soda and stir; mixture will become foamy.

With the mixer running on low, slowly pour the molasses mixture into the butter mixture, beating until combined. Add flour in three batches, beating until just incorporated after each; stir by hand until well-blended.

Divide batter evenly between the pans and bake for 45-60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean; my loaves only needed about 45 minutes.

Cool in pans for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the glaze, place powdered sugar in a medium bowl and add lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time; you want a thicker glaze texture. Pour over loaves, spreading to the edges. Allow glaze to set before serving.

Spice Muffins with Pecan Streusel

spice-muffins-with-pecan-streuselHappy Thanksgiving, friends! This holiday offers so much wonderful food, from turkey to pumpkin pie. But what about Thanksgiving breakfast? Shouldn’t it have special food as well? I think these spice muffins, with their crunchy pecan streusel topping, make a wonderful addition to Thanksgiving breakfast.

These muffins are adapted from a standard recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, which I’ve had for 16 years (and has never, ever failed me). I began with a basic, plain muffin recipe and added cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, as well as a pecan streusel topping. You could opt for walnuts in the streusel if you like, or leave the nuts out altogether if you prefer. Next time, I might also add a spice drizzle icing.

Ingredients

Pecan Streusel

  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes
  • 4 tablespoons chopped pecans

Spice Muffins

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line one 12-count muffin tin with paper liners; this recipe makes 12 muffins.

In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients: mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger with a fork. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or two knives) until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans; set streusel aside in a cool place until ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Make a well in the center.

In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, and vegetable oil; pour into the well in the dry mixture and stir until just moistened. The batter will be lumpy, but that’s fine – you don’t want to over-mix.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into muffin tins, filing about half full. Top with about 1 tablespoon of streusel mix.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately remove muffins to a wire rack to cool, or serve warm.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Honey Orange Muffins

honey orange muffinsYesterday I saw a recipe for honey muffins on Taste of Home, a wonderful cooking and baking site. I’m on a low-sodium diet, so I checked out the sodium content in the original recipe and saw it was 242 mg – much too high for one muffin for someone like me.

Fortunately, my Aunt Liz sent me some reduced sodium baking powder last week, and I was able to use that to cut down on the sodium in a big way. My muffins have 93 mg each, and I also mixed in some vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest into the batter to turn these into honey orange muffins. The end result is not only lower in sodium, but also very tasty. Next time, I might add some chopped pecans to the batter and drizzle on an orange icing once the muffins have cooled.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder*
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract (or orange juice)
  • zest of half a medium orange

*Rumford makes reduced sodium baking powder; you can find it online.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners; this recipe made 17 muffins for me.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine egg, milk, melted butter, honey, vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest. Beat with a fork to combine.

Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined; batter should be lumpy. Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into prepared pans, filling each well about 3/4 full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops are light golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze cooled muffins for future breakfasts and snacks.

Zucchini Bread

zucchini breadIt’s zucchini season, and in my opinion the best way to eat zucchini is to shred it and mix it into quick bread batter with pecans and orange zest. We have a bumper crop of zucchini in our garden this year, and so I suspect I’ll be making many more loaves as the summer goes on.

For this recipe, it’s important to choose a smaller zucchini, which will be more tender, and to shred it finely using the smaller side of your grater so you have (although this sounds strange) a very mushy pile of zucchini shreds instead of strips like shredded cheese. This helps the veggie blend into the batter better, so you’re left with a finer texture when the bread is baked. Next time, I might stir together some orange juice and powdered sugar for a drizzle icing and top that with some toasted pecans.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • zest of 1/2 medium orange
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 8 x 4 loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, zucchini, vegetable oil, egg, and orange zest; stir to combine, then pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined, until there are no dry streaks remaining. Be careful not to over-mix, as over-mixing can yield a tough texture in the end result. Gently fold in pecans.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Check the bread around 45 minutes and cover if necessary to prevent over-browning.

Cool completely in loaf pan before serving. Store at room temperature.

Lemon Curd Muffins with Poppy Seed Filling

lemon curd poppy muffinsLent begins in just a few days, and Lent always makes me think of my grandparents. My Hungarian-born grandma, Zella, fully embraced my Slovak-American grandpap Andy’s Easter traditions, and growing up just a few doors away from their house, I embraced those traditions as well. Except for eating pig’s feet, of course. Blegh.

Both of my grandparents are gone, but this time of year always brings them back to me, in the recipes and practices they taught me as a kid. My grandma made poppy seed roll every year for Easter, so any time I bake with poppy seed I think of her. I had about three-quarters of a jar of poppy seed filling left over from a previous recipe, and I decided to use it in these lemon curd muffins, which I adapted from a “Make it Mine” muffin recipe in my Better Homes & Gardens baking book. I went the lemon poppy seed route, but really kicked up the flavor with lemon curd, lemon extract, and poppy seed filling. I think Grandma Zella would be proud.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup lemon curd
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
  • 1 cup poppy seed filling*
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract**

*You can make your own, but I always use Baker Poppy Seed Filling.

**If you don’t have lemon extract, substitute 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and about 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest.

For the glaze

  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners; my recipe yielded 21 muffins.

In a small bowl, stir together poppy seed filling and lemon extract; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; make a well in the center and set aside.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine eggs, lemon curd, milk, and vegetable oil and whisk with a fork to combine. Pour into the well in the dry mixture and stir to combine until just moistened; batter will be lumpy. Stir in poppy seeds.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter into prepared tins and spread gently so you have a fairly even layer of batter. Drop a scant 1 teaspoon poppy seed filling into each, then cover with another scoop of batter, filling about 2/3 full. Gently smooth batter so no filling is showing.

Bake for 15 minutes, until tops are golden brown and a cake tester inserted at the edge of the muffins comes out clean. Remove muffins from tins immediately and cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

To make glaze, place powdered sugar, poppy seeds, lemon extract, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and stir to combine. Add remaining water if necessary, about 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition; you want a consistency like thick honey.

Dip each muffin into the glaze, then allow glaze to set for a few minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Lemon Raspberry Loaf

lemon raspberry loafThis lemon raspberry loaf, while tasty, didn’t turn out at all like I wanted it to. It’s not quite as lemony as I hoped for, nor are the raspberries distributed evenly throughout the loaf. Fear not, lemon-raspberry fans: I have solutions for how to fix this.

The original recipe was written for lemon raspberry muffins, rather than a loaf, which might explain why this turned out differently than I’d hoped. I used an 8-inch loaf pan, but should have either used one larger or two smaller pans because the loaf rose quite a bit during baking. In addition to the pan sizes, the next time I make this, I’ll use 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon extract in the batter, and I’ll either use regular lemon yogurt if I can find it, or I’ll thin out the Greek yogurt much, much more. I’ll also make a raspberry puree to fold into the batter, instead of just using whole raspberries.

Ingredients

For the loaf

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • zest of 1 medium lemon
  • 8 ounces lemon yogurt*
  • 1 cup raspberries

For the streusel topping

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

*If using Greek yogurt, I’d recommend about 6 ounces, thinned out with milk to equal 8 ounces total. Greek yogurt and regular yogurt will yield very different textures, as Greek yogurt is much thicker.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a loaf pan with baking spray; I used an 8-inch loaf pan but highly recommend either a 9-inch pan or two 8-inch pans for more even baking.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine eggs, vegetable oil, lemon zest, and yogurt; mix well, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined; be careful not to over-mix. Fold in raspberries.

For streusel, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and cover with streusel topping.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Pay close attention to your topping; you may need to cover your loaf with foil to prevent it from over-browning.

Cool completely in the pan and store at room temperature.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

cinnamonswirlbreadPeople often tell me that they don’t bake because it’s not as fluid and creative as cooking, where you can add a dash of this or a pinch of that and still end up with a tasty, successful result. While it’s certainly true that baking relies on the right ratios of dry and wet ingredients, you can definitely be more creative than most people think, especially when it comes to flavors and spices.

Many experienced bakers tweak recipes all the time, which is what I did with this cinnamon swirl bread I found on Taste of Home. I added vanilla extract in the batter and a dash of nutmeg to the cinnamon-sugar mix, and I’m pleased to say that it turned out very well. Next time, I’ll probably add a streusel topping for some additional crunch, and I might bake two smaller loaves in 8 x 4 pans instead of one larger 9 x 5 one. While I didn’t stray too far from the original recipe, this successful quick bread is proof that you can spice things up – pun intended – with baking too.

Ingredients

For the bread

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sour milk* (or buttermilk)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cinnamon sugar

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • Dash of nutmeg

For the glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • About 3 teaspoons water

*To make sour milk, place 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup and add enough milk to equal one cup, then stir. Let stand for 5 minutes before using.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom only of a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine sour milk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla; add to dry mixture and stir until just combined. Batter will still be lumpy, and that’s fine – don’t over mix.

For cinnamon sugar, combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl, mixing well,

Spoon half of the batter into your loaf pan and cover with half of the sugar mixture, then repeat with remaining batter and sugar. Cut through the batter with a knife and gently swirl.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. You may want to cover your bread for the last 10 minutes of baking to avoid over-browning on the top.

Cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

To make drizzle, combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of water, stirring to combine. Add additional water to reach a thicker drizzling consistency, then drizzle over the loaf.

Wrap loaf in foil and store at room temperature.

 

 

Cinnamon Muffins

cinnamonmuffinsMost of the world’s cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka, but other countries – like Madagascar, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia – also grow and process this popular spice. My favorite cinnamon is Vietnamese, which has a slightly more spicy flavor than your average, from-the-grocery-store cinnamon. I purchase it at Penzey’s in Pittsburgh’s Strip district, along with Mexican vanilla extract and Tahitian vanilla beans for the baker’s version of a splurge.

These muffins include Vietnamese cinnamon of the “extra fancy” variety – and yes, I keep both this and regular, from-the-grocery-store cinnamon in my pantry. I’m a generous measurer of cinnamon as well, so if you’re looking for a more mellow flavor, you can always cut back a bit.

These muffins are prepared two ways; first with what the original recipe called a streusel topping, which I expected to be more crumb-like but turned out to be more of a crunchy coating, and second with a cinnamon vanilla drizzle. Whatever you choose, you won’t go wrong – or if you’re feeling really adventurous, do both! I chose to put the streusel crunch on the first batch, and went with the glaze on the second batch because some of my streusel crunch-coated muffins burned at the edges a bit. When dropping your streusel crunch pieces onto your muffins, be careful to keep them as close to the center as possible, as they can spread and burn. Note: this recipe yielded 20 muffins.

Ingredients

Cinnamon Muffins

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg, beaten

Streusel Crunch (makes enough for all of the muffins)

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

Cinnamon Vanilla Glaze (makes enough for 8 muffins)

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • About 1 teaspoon water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners; my recipe yielded 20 muffins.

Make the streusel crunch: in a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter, or rub in with your hands, until the mixture comes together; the original recipe said this would go crumb-like, but that didn’t happen to mine. I had to pull it apart and place drops of it on the muffins, rather than sprinkling it.

Make the muffins: in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine milk, melted butter, vanilla, and egg and whisk to combine. Pour into the well in the dry mixture and mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough into prepared muffin tins. If using, place drops of streusel crunch on tops of muffins.

Bake for 18-2o minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately remove muffins to a wire rack to cool completely if glazing.

Make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and cinnamon, stirring to combine. Add vanilla extract, then add water about 1/4 teaspoon at a time to reach a drizzly consistency.

Drizzle over cooled muffins; I placed my drizzle in a small zip-top bag and piped it on, but ypu could just drizzle it with a spoon.

 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

chochipmuffinI know you’ve had this experience: you select a chocolate chip muffin from the bakery or coffee shop, expecting to tuck in to some chocolate chippy goodness. You break it open and, despite the presence of a few well-placed chips on top, one of two things happens. One: the inside of the muffin contains exactly three chocolate chips and no more, despite being the size of a softball. Two: the inside of the muffin has vaguely chocolate-colored streaks, as if the chips up and left during baking.

For these reasons, I’ve never made chocolate chip muffins until now, suspecting that most recipes would lack in both technique and ingredients. Fortunately, I found a great recipe on Taste of Home and adapted it to add some vanilla extract and to use full-sized milk chocolate chips instead of mini semi-sweet ones.

The results are delicious, if I do say so myself. Next time, I might add a chocolate drizzle on top instead of the sugar, or add some toasted pecans into the batter. Stay tuned!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup regular-sized milk chocolate chips
  • Sugar for sprinkling on muffin tops

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners; my batch yielded 18 muffins.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine egg, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla; beat to combine, then pour all at once into the well in the dry mixture. Mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain; stir in chocolate chips.

Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough into prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.

Bake 16-20 minutes, until tops are just golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Immediately remove from muffin tins to cool completely on a wire rack.