Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

So my husband goes to an acupuncturist and comes back with a muffin recipe!  Hmmm....not sure what to think of that!  Apparently the acupuncturist specializes in nutrition and offered this recipe to Sam that includes almond four.  So why almond flour I wondered?  I did some research and found a great website called Elana's Pantry.  Elana shares her stories and recipes for a gluten-free diet that she makes for her family.  This is what she says:   "Almond flour is highly nutritious, easy to use and readily available. For those of us watching our glycemic index, almond flour is high in protein, low in carbohydrates and low in sugars."  To read more and find out more about Elana follow this link:  http://www.elanaspantry.com/why-almond-flour/

Almond Flour photo from Elana's Pantry

Here's the recipe the below.  I'm curious how these are going to taste because of the lack of butter and sugar!  If they are tasty these might become a weekly treat!  Sam hopes they're good too!  Muffins are easy to stuff in his bike jersey as a snack for his long rides.  Here we go..........

Cinnamon Pecan Muffins

2 1/2 c. almond flour

1 c. chopped pecans

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon (she recommends 2-3 tsp- that a lot of cinnamon!)

2 eggs

1/2 c. yogurt

1/2 c. honey

Optional topping:

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Heat oven to 325.

Combine dry ingredients.

Combine wet ingredients.

Add the dry to the wet and mix well.

Bake for 20- 25 minutes.

Drizzle topping over each muffin.

I'm going to make these over the weekend and update you with my review!

Fall Ginger Pumpkin Bread

I made this scrumptious Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart for Thanksgiving and used the left over pumpkin purée to make this Ginger Pumpkin Bread recipe I found on Martha Stewart's website.  I made the glaze for this but tried to make it lighter-not as thick.  Big mistake.  The bread turned out perfect but the glaze was no bueno!  Don't take short cuts on that one!

 

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (1 3/4 cups)
3 large eggs
Sugar Glaze, (optional)  1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
           In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons water until mixture is smooth but 
           thick. Place waxed paper under rack for a quick cleanup. For easy pouring, transfer glaze to a liquid-
           measuring cup, and drizzle over loaves. Let dry 15 minutes before serving.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Butter and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch (6-cup) loaf pans set aside.  I just sprayed with Canola oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pumpkin, melted butter, and eggs; add flour mixture, and stir until just combined.


Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
Let cool 10 minutes; invert pans and transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely. Glaze, if desired.
 

Thanksgiving Rolls!

Sam and I received the beloved February Gourmet Magazine and just fell in love with all the roll recipes. We've made the Cracked Wheat Topknots before and they are to die for! We're going over our friends house for Thanksgiving this year and I wanted to bring rolls that would compliment that dinner. Looking over the roll options in this February issue, my eyes focused in on these adorable Buttermilk Fantails that you bake in muffin tins. They look super fancy and delicious. This recipe takes about 5 hours in total to prepare and bake. I don't think I have that kind of time to make them the morning of Thanksgiving so I wanted to experiment with making them the day before and then reheat them right before they go on the Thanksgiving table.

I made them yesterday and it was a surprisingly easy recipe to make, except for getting the yeast to activate! After 5 packages and no bubbles and foam, I said screw it and just went for it and they came out great! Now we'll reheat them tonight and see how they taste and compare them to the freshly baked ones. Stand by.....

Until then, here's the recipe: (and mine turned out just like the Gourmet photos! that rarely happens!)

Buttermilk Fantails

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
1/4 cup warm water (105–115°F) - I used a turkey thermometer :)
1 tablespoon mild honey or sugar - I used sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Equipment: a muffin pan with 12 (1/3- to 1/2-cup) muffin cups

• Butter muffin cups with 1 Tbsp melted butter.
• Stir together yeast, warm water, and honey in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)
• Mix flour, salt, buttermilk, and 6 Tbsp melted butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.
• Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Form dough into a ball.
• Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve.
• Roll out half of dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square (about 1/8 inch thick; keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap).
• Brush dough with 1/2 Tbsp butter and cut into 6 equal strips. Stack strips, buttered sides up, and cut crosswise into 6 equal pieces.
• Turn each piece on a side and put into a muffin cup.
• Make more rolls with remaining dough in same manner. Separate outer layers of each roll to fan outward.
• Cover rolls with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Bake rolls until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Brush tops with remaining 2 Tbsp butter, then transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

Cooks’ note: Rolls are best the day they’re made but can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Recipe by Ruth Cousineau
Photograph by Romulo Yanes

 

Did you know.......

....buttermilk is lower in fat and calories than regular milk?!  You wouldn't think that by the looks of it!

Here's what Wikipedia says:

Benefits

Cultured buttermilk is lower in fat and calories than regular milk because the fat from buttermilk has already been removed to make butter. It is high in potassium, vitamin B12 and calcium. Buttermilk is more easily digestible than whole milk and it also contains more lactic acid than skim milk. Due to being more easily digestible (a result of the bacteria added to the milk), protein and calcium can be taken up more easily by the body. There are 99 kilocalories and 2.2 grams of fat in one cup of buttermilk (fat content may be different with some buttermilk brands, as some brands are made with skim milk while others are made with reduced fat milk), as opposed to whole milk that has 157 kilocalories and 8.9 grams of fat.

I'm going to use buttermilk in everything!  Well, not everything, but you know what I mean :)
I'm going to make buttermilk biscuits  soon.....mmmmmm
 

The Ultimate Banana Bread

I just became a follower of Two Cooks One Kitchen blog after I made their family recipe of Banana Bread!

I absolutely love Banana Bread and I am a firm believer that you must add nuts!  Walnuts, of course!

I've made a few loaves already and everyone is in agreement that this is the best Banana Bread!  That makes me very happy and I'm happy I found the recipe!  Thanks Tara and Dan!

Here is is straight from their blog to mine:

Mom's Banana Bread

3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature  (I used 1/2 cup butter)
1 1/2 cup sugar  (I used only 1 cup sugar)
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas, approximately 3
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup four and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can also use milk soured with vinegar)
1/2 cup walnuts, optional  (NOT OPTIONAL :) !! )

Cream the butter and sugar. Blend in the bananas, eggs, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Stir the dry ingredients in with the banana mixture. Slowly mix in the buttermilk. Fold in the walnuts if you like.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees.

Muffins: Bake in greased tins for 20 minutes
Bread: Bake in 2 greased loaf tins for 1 hour
Mini-Loaf Bread: Bake in 4 greased mini-loaf tins for 30 minutes

Optional: Cinnamon Crunch Topping:
2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir together and sprinkle over the top of the batter before baking.

I thought maybe the optional cinamon crunch topping could be a little too much.  I love sweets, don't get me wrong, but I hate when a treat is over done.  But please, I really believe that this "optional" topping isn't an option.  It's a must!

Oatmeal Muffins

This is a recipe that my friend Laurie shared with me from Epicurious from the Gourmet February 2005 issue.
She's the director at Lite for Life in Los Gatos.  If you need help with achieving weight loss talk to her!  And visit her blog to see the results her clients are getting.  Great job Laurie!
She makes these all the time and now that I've made them, I can see why! They taste like buttery biscuits with a hint of sweetness. Yum, Yum, Yum!
It's a very easy recipe and quite healthy...minus the butter...you simply can't live without it, no matter how hard you try and if Laurie says its OK, then you're good to go :)

Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup dried currants

In a large bowl, combine oats and buttermilk and let stand 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F. and butter twelve 1/2-cup muffin tins.
Add egg, sugar and butter to oat mixture, stirring until just combined.
Into another large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and add to oat mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in currants.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin tins. Bake muffins in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

It took exactly 20 minutes for these to rise to perfection!  I used raisens instead of currants and loved it.  I'm sure you could just substitute a dried fruit of your choice.  This is the first time I've used buttermilk for anything!  What else can I use buttermilk for?  Any suggestions?


These muffins have already disappeared, so if I make 2 dozen I think that would do it with the milk!

DRIED CHERRY BANANA BREAD

DRIED CHERRY BANANA BREAD

Makes 1 loaf, about 20 slices.

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups unsifted, all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup mashed banana (about 3 medium)
• 1 cup dried tart cherries

Directions:
Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed 3 to 4 minutes, or until well mixed.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; add flour mixture and bananas alternately to butter mixture, beating just until ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix.
Fold in dried cherries.
Pour batter into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 50 to 60 minutes, or until done. Let cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes, then remove from pan. Let cool completely.
Wrap in plastic wrap to store. This bread is best served the day after baking.

Recipe is from the Food Reference