Pineapple Coconut Muffins

The Parade magazine for October 7, 2012, "Around the Table" the table article was "Muffin Mania."  It had a basic muffin recipe for making a dozen muffins, with eight mix-in options for different varieties, including Oatmeal, Raisin, Lemon Poppy Seed and Apple Pie.  I opted to try the Pineapple Coconut version.

2 cups flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or line muffin cups with paper liners.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk, oil and vanilla for 1 minute on medium.  Add flour mixture.  Beat just until no streaks of flour remain--do not overmix!

3.  Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until tops of muffins spring back when pressed lightly.  Transfer muffins to a rack to cool slightly.

For pineapple coconut variety:  Stir 1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut and 1/4 cup drained, chopped canned pineapple into batter.  Sprinkle each muffin with 1 tsp. coconut before baking.

Pumpkin Muffins

Every once in awhile I see something in my freezer that's been there for some time and needs to be used up. The other day I found a small container of pureed pumpkin so I made some mini pumpkin chocolate chips muffins using this recipe on allrecipes.com. I had about 1/2 cup pumpkin, so I made a half batch. The pumpkin was a little watery, making the batter on the thin side, so I added a little extra flour.

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I did not use cloves.)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. (I did about 15 minutes for the mini muffins.)
   

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is from allrecipes.com.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I did not use walnuts)

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins

This is a great blueberry muffin recipe--the sour cream helps them stay moist longer than other recipes I've tried.

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries

Mix egg, sugar, sour cream, and oil until blended. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and add to egg mixture. Stir in blueberries.

Spoon mixture into greased muffin pan or muffin cups.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

PB & J Muffins

I was so intrigued by this recipe on the back of a bag of flour that I had to try them.

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. baking powder
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup jam or preserves of your choice (I used half strawberry and half cherry)
1/4 cup sugar for topping

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin pan with no stick spray. Stir together flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add milk, eggs, sugar, peanut butter and oil to bowl; combine ingredients on the low speed of an electric mixer, just until moistened. Do not overbeat.

Fill prepared muffin cups evenly with half of the batter. Place 2 level teaspoons jam or preserves in the center of each muffin. Evenly divide remaining batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven; cool in pan 5 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

These were quite heavy muffins, but had a good flavor. My son took one to school for snack and said his classmates said it smelled so good when he started eating it.

Zucchini Muffins

From allrecipes.com

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I did 2 tsp.)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (I did 1 tsp.)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (I used butter)
1/4 cup sour milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted)
1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a muffin pan, or use paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, eggs, zucchini and vanilla. Fold in walnuts. Fill muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full. Sprinkle tops with brown sugar.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Applesauce Muffins

This recipe came from catcancook.com. We ate them with our Turkey and Wild Rice Soup.

1 1/2 Cups of Unsweetened Applesauce (either store bought or homemade is fine--I used homemade raspberry applesauce)

1 cup white sugar (reduce if using sweetened apple sauce)

1 slightly beaten egg

1/3 cup melted margarine or butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix the applesauce, sugar, egg and margarine together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Mix wet and dry ingredients all together. Pour into greased muffin tins, and bake in 350 degrees oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins

I found this recipe randomly at Eating Out Loud.

Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup oil
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped strawberries, plus 1/2 cup for garnish

In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add beaten egg, oil and milk, stirring until just combined. Fold in 1 cup chopped strawberries.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, then garnish with a few chopped berries. Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes (mine were done at about 15-18 minutes) or until testing done with a toothpick.

Allow the muffins to cool before removing from the muffin tin. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each muffin, then pop out of the tin. Makes 12 muffins.

We ate these with cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Apple Raisin Muffins

Another recipe from allrecipes.com

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup chopped, peeled tart apple
• 1/4 cup raisins
• CRUMB TOPPING:
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons quick cooking oats
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon cold butter or margarine

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Combine the egg, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the apple and raisins. Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or use paper liners; fill two-thirds full with batter.

For topping, in a bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Banana Bread/Muffins

This recipe is also from the Joy of Cooking. I usually make muffins rather than bread as the kids are more likely to eat muffins.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking power
5 1/3 T. unsalted butter (I use salted butter, and use less salt instead)
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I NEVER add nuts, but I do sometimes add chocolate chips.)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inche (6 cup) loaf pan.
Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the flour mixture until blended and the consistency of brown sugar. Gradually beat in eggs. Fold in bananas and nuts until just combined.
Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.
For muffins: Bake for 15-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 regular size or 24 mini muffins.