Pineapple Poppy Seed Surprise Muffins

Oh man.  We loved these cake-like muffins at my house.  I looove pineapple and cream cheese together, and these muffins have a little cream cheese pocket in the center.  They're very moist and have a sweet powdered sugar glaze.  Check your teeth after you eat them because the poppy seeds…you know.

My notes are below, but first, be sure to check out the February/March edition of eat.drink.Mississippi for some recipes and photography by yours truly.  Gah.  You know you can subscribe on their website, right?  It's full of wonderful food finds!

My notes:

--You could leave the cream cheese filling out if you'd like.  I did for a couple and they puffed in the center more and were very delicious, but I loved the cream cheese center.  It just takes a little bit of cream cheese.

--I am a sucker for sweetening things up so I added a quick powdered sugar glaze made with the reserved pineapple juice.

--Make sure your pineapple is well drained before stirring it in.

--Mine baked for about 20 minutes, but I think the temperature is a little off in my oven, so bake until they are set and light golden brown.  The ones with cream cheese stayed pretty flat on top.

--These are very moist muffins.

--Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pineapple Poppy Seed Surprise Muffins

Printable Recipe

Non-stick cooking spray

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup sugar

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 melted butter

1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, well-drained and juice reserved

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

4 ounces (half an 8-ounce package) cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons (or more) reserved pineapple juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 12 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar.  Make a well in center and add the egg, sour cream, buttermilk, and butter.  Mix until just blended (my mixture was thick), then stir in crushed pineapple and poppy seeds.
2. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the cream cheese and and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until smooth. Fill muffin cups about 1/2 full with muffin batter.  Top batter with a rounded teaspoon of cream cheese mixture.   Spoon remaining batter on top of cream cheese mixture until cup is about 3/4 full.  
3. Bake for about 20 minutes or until muffins are set and light golden brown on top. (They did not “puff” in center too much.)  Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, stir together 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice until smooth (may use more pineapple juice if glaze is too thick).  Remove muffins from oven and place on wire rack on cookie sheet.  Drizzle glaze over each muffin while hot.  Let cool for about 10 minutes.  About 14 muffins.

Rosemary-Olive Oil Dutch Oven Bread

This bread.  

This bread is beyond amazing.  And I can hardly believe that I made it myself because bread making intimidates me, but if I can turn out a crusty, chewy, gorgeous loaf like this, then anyone can.

I kept seeing this bread recipe floating around Facebook and it caught my eye.  Not that that recipe is not *completely* amazing in itself, but I had some really great olive oil and fresh rosemary that I wanted to incorporate into it, and when I did it worked really, really well.  My carb loving family devoured it.

Slather it with butter fresh out of the oven and you will hear angels singing.  I kid not.  This is a crusty bread with a chewy interior.  Rustic.  Not fancy.  Completely doable for non-bread makers like me.

Read my notes and tips below before you make it.

--One of the things I love about this bread is that it uses regular all-purpose flour.  I never have bread flour, so it just makes it more simple.

--The fresh rosemary makes this bread.  I didn't really measure how much, but it was two large sprigs.  But you can use however much you think it needs.  Or, you could leave it out completely for a plainer bread.

--There is no need to knead.  Did you hear that?  I did not knead it at all.  How easy is that?  I didn't even use my Kitchen Aid, I just mixed it in a big mixing bowl by hand.

--Yes, I punch it down and yes, the dough is sticky.  Just scrape it off your hands a bit.  No biggie.  Make sure your board is well floured and don't mess with the dough too much.  I'm not even sure you would need to punch it down, but I just feel bread dough needs to be punched.

--Yes, you could add other herbs, cheeses, nuts, seeds, garlic…the possibilities are endless.

--I leave mine out on the counter overnight to rise.  I have left it for as few as 4 hours though and still had good results.  Overnight is better.  If leaving it for just a few hours, I would pick a warmer place, so it can rise faster.

--Dipping this in olive oil sprinkled with herbs would be fantastic.

--Let it cool for about ten minutes before you cut into it or it is not easy to cut.

Need a Christmas gift?  The Olive Oil Source will personalize the labels on their olive oils and vinegars for the foodie in your life.  How cute is that?

And since I am talking about bread today, for your listening pleasure, here is a Christmas song that I am currently obsessed with.

And now for the recipe:

Rosemary-Olive Oil Dutch Oven Bread

Adapted from Simply So Good

Printable Recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon Instant or Rapid-rise yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil , plus more for drizzling

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar.  Add the water, olive oil, and rosemary and mix by hand until a shaggy dough forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 4 to 18 hours. (I left mine on the counter all night.) 

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, punch down dough once, and pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drizzle and brush the inside with extra virgin olive oil, then drop in the dough.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and drizzle the top with extra virgin olive oil, then bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Disclosure:  The Olive Oil Source sent me a gift pack of olive oils, but I was not asked to write a review.  All opinions are my own.

The Pioneer Woman’s Skillet Cornbread Master Mix

Soup season is upon us (okay, almost), and one of the most perfect accompaniments to soups and stews is cornbread.  Up until about six months ago, I almost always used a packaged mix from the store, which was fine, until one day I began wondering if I was missing out by not making cornbread from scratch.

Because I wouldn't want to miss out.

So I began looking for a "from scratch" cornbread recipe, and my search didn't take me very far, because I just hopped next door to the Pioneer woman's URL (she lives next door to my URL in the blogosphere, FYI)  and printed off her recipe.  And OH THE CRUNCHY EDGES AND MOIST CENTER!  I am now a convert and this has been the only recipe I have used for the last six months or so.  It is excellent and not only do I say that, but everyone who I have made it for says so too.  In fact, they ask me "Are you making that homemade cornbread recipe, tonight, Mom?  MMMMMMM!"

But I will say that compared to a mix, this is a little more time consuming, and what I don't have now is a lot of extra time, because my life has changed somewhat with the start of my business.  So I got all smart one day and created a master mix from her recipe.  And I want to share it with you all because I love you, and I realize that three extra minutes saved is a huge amount of time if you are time challenged.

So if you want to make just a single recipe, get her recipe right here.  And if you want to make a master mix and live your life stress free, my instructions below.

Here are my notes:

-In a pinch, I have substituted canola (or vegetable) oil for the shortening.  It will work, but I just don't think it is as good.

-I have used all milk instead of buttermilk and milk, and again, it will work, but if you want your cornbread to be awesome (and I know you do) use the buttermilk.

-I do not use Kosher salt for my master mix.  In my mind, I think the Kosher salt won't mix in as well as regular salt.  I envisioning the Kosher salt falling to the bottom of the canister because the granules are heavier and bigger.  You want the master mix to be well mixed.  Now, I don't know this will happen, it's just my thought that it might.  Does anyone else think that this could happen?  Or do I think too much?

-Like I said above, it needs to be mixed well.  I usually put all of my ingredients into my Kitchen Aid with my whisk attachment and mix on low speed, stopping to scrape down sides and the bottom with a rubber scraper.  Mix for 4 -5 minutes.

-Do not over bake the cornbread or muffins.  The cornbread should be firm to the touch in the middle an lightly golden brown.  I almost always put my skillet under the broiler for a deep golden brown.  If your making mini corn muffins, they can dry out very quickly, so watch them carefully.

The Pioneer Woman’s Skillet Cornbread Master Mix

(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Printable Recipe

6 cups yellow cornmeal

3 cups all-purpose flour

6 teaspoons salt (regular, not Kosher)

6 tablespoons baking powder

3 teaspoons baking soda

Mix thoroughly and place in an airtight container.  Store in a cool place.

 When you get ready to make the skillet cornbread:

1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons of mix

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup milk

1 whole egg, beaten

1/4 cup shortening, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons shortening for skillet

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place the mix in a large mixing bowl.  Add the buttermilk, milk, and beaten egg and stir until just mixed.  Stir in the 1/4 cup melted shortening just until combined.

In a 10 1/2 inch cast iron skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons shortening over medium heat until very hot.  Pour the batter into the hot skillet. Spread to even out the surface. (Batter should sizzle.)  Cook on stovetop for 1 minute, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown and set in the firm in the middle.   Do not over bake!  Place under broiler to brown if needed.

To make mini cornbread muffins, spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and fill each cup about 2/3 full.  These should bake in 15 minutes depending on the oven.  Do not over bake or they will dry out and become tough.  Bake just until they are set in the middle.

*Stir in shredded cheese, corn, green chiles, bacon bits, etc. into the batter for variations.

 

Fluffy Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

 Y'all.

This day is so sunny and gorgeous, you would never think that a hurricane is coming.

And it's hard for me to get motivated to do my million plus list of preparation items when I am looking at straight sunshine.

Go away, Isaac!  You're raining on my parade!

Before I go to check the generator, stock up on bottled water, and mow because everyone knows that it's easier to pick up debris out of short grass than tall grass, here's my new favorite easy biscuit recipe.

Biscuits are my total comfort food.  It's a little unsettling how many of them I can put away in one sitting.  Jelly, tomato gravy, just plain butter--it's all good.  And I've tried all kinds of recipes over the years, but I have been making this one the last few months because I am slightly lazy busy.  These biscuits have fluffy, moist insides and crispy bottoms. 

And I know everyone is all "butter is better", but that's not always the case to me.  I like to grease my skillet in butter and brush them with melted butter at the end, but I use all shortening in the dough and the taste and texture is fabulous.   I'm not saying these are the best in the whole universe, but it's a good, solid recipe when you don't want to spend too much time.

I slightly adapted this from the back of the White Lily bag. 

Here are my notes:

-Make sure the Crisco is chilled.  Why don't you just store a stick or two in the freezer right now so it will be ready when you are?

-Why we are on the subject, Crisco baking sticks = Brilliant.  I remember the dark days of baking when we had to scoop out the shortening into a measuring cup.  Has the baking world come a long way or what?!  (LIGHTBULB!!!!!  Why doesn't someone come out with peanut butter sticks???!!!   Just think how easy it would be to bake up a batch of peanut butter cookies if you could just slice the peanut butter into the dough?  Let me contact Jif and see if we can make this happen.)

-Want to be all awesome and roll these out and cut them with a biscuit cutter?  Just decrease the buttermilk by 2 tablespoons, then turn the dough out onto a well floured cutting board.  Knead a few times, then roll it out to about 1 inch thick.  Use a round biscuit cutter to cut out circles and place them in the pan the same way.

-I wouldn't bake them over 10 minutes.  Just put them under the broiler if they are not dark enough.

 -I generously grease my skillet with butter.  Generously.  This will give it that nice crispy bottom.

 -I use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough.  Much easier and more uniform than using two spoons.

Fluffy Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

(Slightly adapted from White Lily)

Printable Recipe

Butter for greasing skillet and melted butter for brushing tops

2 cups White Lily Self-Rising Flour (can substitute with other self-rising flour)

1/4 cup ice cold vegetable shortening

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Grease a cast iron skillet or baking sheet generously with butter.

In a large mixing bowl, place the flour and cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter or using fingers until shortening is evenly dispersed and looks like pea size crumbs.  Stir in the buttermilk.  Dough will be sticky.

Drop by ice cream scoop (I used a scoop that measured 1/4 cup) onto greased skillet or baking sheet about 3/4 to 1 inch apart.   Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  If they are not golden brown after ten minutes, place under broiler until desired color is reached, watching carefully.  Brush generously with melted butter immediately after removing from oven. 9 biscuits, but yield will depend on the size scoop used.

Whole Wheat Pancake and Waffle Master Mix

Everyone needs a good, basic pancake and waffle recipe in their repertoire, and mine has always been the basic recipe in the Betty Crocker Cookbook.   I recently got smart though, and developed a master mix by adapting and combining both the pancake and waffle recipes to save some time in the mornings.  Or at dinner.  (Yeah, sometimes we do this.)

I am partial to whole wheat pancakes and waffles.  When I eat pancakes made of all-purpose white flour, although they taste glorious, they just don't stick with me long, and leave me feeling lethargic and lazy later on in the day.  When I switched to 100% whole wheat flour a few years ago, I found I tolerated them much better and didn't suffer from that sugar crash.  Plus, I love the texture of the whole wheat.  Really, these are every bit as good as the white ones.

Here are my notes:

-I prefer buttermilk to milk in this recipe, but you could use either one.  I tested with both.  I think the buttermilk tastes better and richer.  

-I prefer melted butter, but oil will work fine too.

-I usually add a couple of tablespoons of water to thin out the batter when making it with buttermilk because it is super thick.

-You can find 100% whole wheat flour by the regular flour in the baking aisle.

-The yield will vary depending on the size of your pancakes and waffle maker.

-My personal favorite is when I load them with blueberries, but the banana and mini chocolate chip ones I made the other day were excellent too.  My hubby likes toasted pecans in his.

Whole Wheat Pancake and Waffle Master Mix

(Adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)

Printable Recipe

Dry Master Mix:

(Single Recipe)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

(Quadruple recipe)

4 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

(8 X recipe)

8 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon baking soda

4 teaspoons salt

To make the dry mix, stir all ingredients together very well, then place in an airtight container to store at room temperature or in refrigerator. (I put all my ingredients in my Kitchen Aid with the whisk attachment, then whisk on low speed for 1-2 minutes to thoroughly mix.)

Pancakes (1 batch)

1 large egg

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil, or melted butter

1 1/4 cups master mix

Whisk first 3 ingredients together in a large bowl until well blended.  Add mix and stir until just blended.  It’s okay if there are some lumps.  Don’t over mix.  (This makes a very thick batter.  I usually stir in about 2 tablespoons water to thin out, but you can adjust the amount to your liking.)  Cook on a buttered griddle until golden brown.

Waffles (1 batch)

1 large egg

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil, or melted butter

1 1/4 cups master mix

Whisk first 3 ingredients together in a large bowl until well blended.  Add mix and whisk just until blended.  It’s okay if there are some lumps.  Don’t over mix.  (This makes a very thick batter.  I usually stir in about 2 tablespoons water to thin out, but you can adjust the amount to your liking.)  Cook in a hot waffle maker that has been brushed with butter.

*Whole milk can be substituted.  Decrease to 1 cup.

*Stir in berries, bananas, or toasted nuts to the batter as variations.  Or chocolate chips.