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.

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. 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Whipped Cream

 

I've had a container of leftover pumpkin puree in my fridge for about a week, and it stares at me every time I open the door. I know it needs to be used, but I haven't stuck it in the freezer yet because I have a short list of pumpkiny things I'd like to make.  But life.  Life is busy.  Life makes me do chores and projects.  Life sometimes won't let me bake or browse Pinterest until my eyes glaze over or lie on the couch like a vegetable and watch back to back Lifetime movies.  And the pumpkin puree screams at me when I open the door.  It screams, "I will grow mold soon and my blood will be on your hands, lady, on your hands, you food waster!" 

So a couple of days ago, I had a light bulb moment that would once and for all silence that antagonistic pumpkin puree. 

I would stir some in my oatmeal!  Brilliant!

And I was really proud of the healthy little bowl of oatmeal that sat before me, but as I looked at it, I saw that it needed a little something else, so I did a very naughty thing.

I whipped up some heavy cream with some brown sugar and cinnamon and put it on my oatmeal.  And it was delicious.

The end.

Just a few notes:

-Yes, I could have cooked the oatmeal in some milk to make it creamier, but I was trying to save calories.  But then I topped it with whipped cream.  I know.  It doesn't make sense to me either.

 -I used 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, but a normal person could get by on 2 tablespoons.

-Really, the oatmeal is pretty healthy.  I am thinking about doing this with mashed sweet potatoes.  I think this is an excellent way to sneak in some nutrition in the form of those orangey colored veggies and fruit that we are all supposed to eat.

-I did not measure the whipped cream, but I promise it was just a small dollop.  And it melts over the hot oatmeal, in a really dreamy way.

-All sugar and spices are totally adjustable to taste.

-I sprinkled mine with toasted walnuts.

-This makes like two servings.

-It was some darn tasty oatmeal.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Printable Recipe

1 cup water

1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal

2 tablespoons butter

2-3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 cup pure canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons nutmeg

Whipped Cream:

1/4 cup heavy cream

Light brown sugar to taste

Ground cinnamon to taste

Toasted walnuts or pecans

Bring water to a boil over medium heat and stir in oats.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring often, then remove from heat.  Stir in butter and next four ingredients.

Beat the heavy cream on high speed until foamy.  Add light brown sugar (approx. 1-2 teaspoons) and a pinch of cinnamon to taste.  Keep beating until soft peaks form.

Place a dollop of whipped cream on the warm oatmeal, and sprinkle with toasted walnuts or pecans.

Roasted Banana-Ricotta Scones with Peanut Butter Glaze

I have been sitting here, trying to think of some opening bloggy chit-chat before I go straight into "this is what I made today."

And my mind is almost completely blank.  Almost.

I just have this nagging feeling that someone needs to hear a little more than "this is what I made today."

So I'd like to invite that someone into my virtual kitchen, pour them a cup of coffee and serve them a scone, and tell them that they matter.  They are special.  They are important.  And there is hope.

And if that is too serious for a food blog, then I'm sorry.  But I have nothing else, except to say that I made some scones today.  They were really good.

Here are my notes:

-Chopped peanuts would be great in these, either in the dough or sprinkled on top, or both.

-I love roasting bananas with a little butter and brown sugar.  It deepens their flavor.

-I used ricotta cheese, but I'm sure an 8 ounce package of cream cheese like I used in my pumpkin scones would work well too.

-These are not flaky scones.  They are more fluffy and sweet, like drop biscuits.

-It takes about 10 minutes for the peanut butter glaze to set up. 

Roasted Banana-Ricotta Scones with Peanut Butter Glaze

Printable Recipe

Scones:

3 bananas, sliced

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces

2 large eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

Glaze:

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Chopped peanuts, if desired

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place bananas in medium baking dish. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar and bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bubbly and caramelized.  Let cool.

2.      Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/3 cup light brown sugar.  Cut in butter, using fingertips or pastry cutter, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  

3.      In a medium bowl, beat together 2 eggs, the ricotta cheese, and the roasted bananas with a handmixer until mixed.  Mixture will be lumpy.  Add banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir by hand until just combined

4.      Drop dough into 12 equal mounds on baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.  Brush tops with the beaten egg.   Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. 

5.      About 5 minutes before scones come out of the oven, make the glaze.  Place the peanut butter and 2 tablespoons butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  

6.      When scones come out of oven, place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet.  Drizzle with the glaze.  Sprinkle the tops with chopped peanuts if desired.  12 scones.

Crumb Topped Cranberry Cake

Now that fall is finally here, I don't ever want to be without it again.  The summer was hard on me--really hard.  I seriously would not care if summer ended on July 5 every year.  Autumn took it's sweet time getting here, but now that it has arrived, I'm starting to cheer up.  I'm even baking a little.

I saw this cake in a Taste of Home cookbook the other day, and thought it looked perfect to celebrate the arrival of cooler weather.  It's definitely not a very sweet cake.  I think it would be more appropriate to call it coffee cake.  I can totally see this being eaten on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning with a cup of coffee.

I have slightly adapted the recipe by using a whole can of cranberry sauce (the original recipe called for just 1 cup and what am I going to do with the 2 tablespoons or so left in the can?) and adding a lemon glaze. I used bottled lemon juice, but next time I would add fresh lemon juice and lemon zest in the glaze to make it really pop.  Or...orange juice and zest.  That would be delicious also.  Maybe even better.

One more thing...I've got a blog post syndicated at BlogHer.  Check out their website.  I have my eye on this.  And this really motivated me to start saving money.

Crumb Topped Cranberry Cake

Printable Recipe

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, divided

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 (14-ounce can) whole-berry cranberry sauce

Topping:

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cold butter

Lemon Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and soda; cut in 3 ounces cream cheese until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  In another bowl, whisk 1 egg, the milk and oil; stir into the crumb mixture just until moistened.  Spread batter into a greased and floured 9-inch springform pan; set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the remaining cream cheese with the vanilla and remaining egg.  Carefully spread over batter.  Sprinkle with coconut and dollop with the cranberry sauce.

In another small bowl, combine the flour and sugar for the topping, then cut in the cold butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge to loosen from sides and remove the metal rim.  Whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze until smooth, using as much lemon juice as needed for a drizzling consistency.  Drizzle across the top and the sides of the cake.  Cool completely before cutting.

White Chocolate Macadamia Muffins And A Shout Out To Taylor

Sunday afternoon I was at home working on the computer and when I checked my email I saw that one of my Facebook buddies had written on my wall.  This is my Facebook buddy:

 

This was her comment that I have copied and pasted:

 "I just read through your ENTIRE blog. (The rice and beans one.) I am printing out some of the recipes. You are the coolest person I know."   (Emphasis mine)

Let me tell y'all, my head swelled to four times it's normal size and I was giddy the rest of the day.  You know you've really made it in life when a middle schooler thinks "you are the coolest person I know."  And for her to read through my ENTIRE blog?  I have no words, people....I AM QUEEN OF THE BLOGOSPHERE, I AM!!!!!!

Taylor, sweetie, I'd like to dedicate this entire post to you.  Keep cooking and maybe one day I'll be reading your blog, or better yet, watching YOU on Food Network!

The other day I was in Sam's and I was doing some major bulk shopping and while I was in the baking aisle I heard the faint calling of my name.  I turned around and it sounded like it was coming from a HUGE bag of roasted and salted macadamia nuts and then I heard it again and indeed, it WAS coming from a huge bag of macadamia nuts.  I quickly answered back, because, hello, I am not going to NOT answer someone who calls my name, even if it is a bag of nuts, so I said YES and put them in my buggy.

And I immediately went to Wal-Mart and bought several of these:

Because everyone knows that you just shouldn't have one without the other.  No.

Oh, I made cookies alright, but the real star has been the muffins.  This past summer I was in a little store in Georgia that carried imported items and right by a big jar of Nutella was what looked like a white chocolate version of Nutella, and I am SO kicking myself for not buying it because how good would that have been slathered on these muffins?  Note to self:  Work on a recipe for white chocolate butter.

If you make these:

-Take care not to overbake them.  I did once and they were just not as good. 

-I love chopping my own nuts because I like 'em kind of big, but you could certainly used the pre-chopped kind.

-I sometimes add in a whole cup of white chocolate chips.  I also used extra drizzle because I have a tendency to overdo things like white chocolate.

This recipe won me a second place prize in Taste of Home Magazine a few years ago.  I've copied and pasted the recipe below, but you can click here if you want to see how much fat and calories are in one muffin.  Beware.  It's not pretty.   

White Chocolate Macadamia Muffins

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup white baking chips

3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Glaze:

1/2 cup white baking chips

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chips and nuts.

2.  Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

3.  For glaze, in a microwave, melt chips with cream at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over warm muffins. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.