Pecan Pie Muffins

Hello my friends!  So good to have you back again!  Everyone in the US getting ready for Thanksgiving celebrations?  Do you do the cooking or just the eating?!

I decided to share some recipes for the holidays this year that are from my mom.  Not recipes my mom made or had made, just recipes she has sent to me over the years from newspapers!  I am going to share the things that have been shared with me.  For Thanksgiving I am going to share some unconventional twists on Thanksgiving foods or dinner options!  

This recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving breakfast, brunch, the day after, etc.  They have the chewy pecan pie top of a perfectly soft muffin! Make these in foil liners if you can.  I think it will work fantastic and the recipe actually calls for that, but who reads ALL the directions?  If you use foil liners, peel them off and heat up for a few seconds, and oh my gosh!  This recipe clearly has been around the block by the looks of it but let me get to the most important part...the BAKING!

You will need:

1 cup chopped pecans (I bought halves and cut the up so I could put a half on top as decoration)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
In a bowl mix together pecans, brown sugar and flour.   Whisk eggs until foamy and combine with melted butter.  Add to dry mixture and mix until combined.  Line muffin pan with foil liners and fill each about 2/3 full.  (I got 10 out of mine and WILL be doubling it next time)  If you choose, add a pecan half on top!  Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are just beyond golden brown, kind of that pecan pie top color!

Enjoy warm, maybe with a little butter?!?  Some coffee?!?  

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Nut Muffins

Hello my friends!

I am coming to you from my office, sitting at my desk with fluffy socks, leggings and a sweatshirt.  FALL HAS FALLEN!  At least I hope it has.  I mean, the heater isn't coming on anytime soon, but, it is supposed to freeze tonight I believe.  I would like to see more of the sun but I am grateful for what I get.

As most of you know, I go in Tuesday for a right eye cornea transplant.  I had intended to get more recipes out but the last couple of weeks have been filled with nerves, to do lists and did I mention, nerves?  It has been hard to concentrate but hopefully I will get a few ready for you to be able to post while I am down.

This recipe is one I started making last fall.  It is super easy, super, "Fall-ish", and super good, which is definitely the most important part!  We love muffins at our house and you will find a ton of muffin recipes on my website.  I will link to some others at the end!

Here is what you will need:
White Cake Mix
15 oz can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 tsp cinnamon (you can also use pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts of your choice (I used slivered almonds, YUM)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  This recipe should yield about 16 muffins.  Line  your muffin tin with liners and set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix until combined.  You could use your stand mixer, but it is so easy to mix up quickly by hand, don't create the extra dishes for yourself!  Well, unless you want to!  You will get a thick batter.
Divide mixture into the muffin pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  When a toothpick inserted comes out with no wet batter they are done.

Make sure to cut one in half while still warm and add a pat of butter and drizzle of honey!  I might be an expert on this particular muffin!

Enjoy my friends and thank you for stopping by!  Make sure to check out the video as well!

Other Muffin Recipes You Might Love!

Banana Crumble Muffins
BLueberries and Cream Crunch Muffins
Cranberry Almond Muffins
Chocolate Covered Cherry Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Let's talk muffins.  I love them.  Do you?  But you know one thing I Dis-like about them?  I don't like when they have fake flavoring in them.  Fake blueberry, or strawberry or apple, fake anything for that matter.  That being said, I think you will find these muffins to be the most fresh tasting muffins you have had in a long time.  A combination of fresh apples, added two ways, and some cinnamon, make these simple, a little sweet, and a lot delicious!

I had been over at my sisters house to pick up a few things she had left for me and along with it was a bag of apples.  Not sure if they were from her yard or someone elses but, SCORE, fresh apples are always a good thing!  I kind of love to play with muffin flavors and since I it had been awhile since I had done so, I knew the first apple recipe on the list was going to be muffins.  Now, I will admit, when you get to mixing fruit flavor, to a girl who isn't wild about fruit, it gets a little creepy for me.  So I decided to go with just a simple flavor, of ONE fruit, and complimentary flavors that were NOT fruit.  I am actually sitting here chuckling at myself.  Is it obvious I am not a fruit lover.  Just a few I will eat, odd, I know.

I think these would be perfect for any morning, they will freeze like a dream, and I think you should make a double batch because of the obvious reasons.  Obviously I think Thanksgiving morning would be the perfect time to try them out since they can be made ahead and just yanked from the freezer the night before.  Nobody will know you weren't up all night slaving away for their holiday enjoyment.

Make sure to follow the apple directions, it makes the flavor more intense, makes the muffins SO moist and face it, it makes the dang muffin what it is! HA!

You will need:

3 medium apples (directions below)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup veg oil
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup instant oats

A little more brown sugar to sprinkle on top before baking!  

Preheat your oven to 375.  In a bowl combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk to combine and set aside.  In another bowl or your mixer bowl, combine your oil, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon.  Whisk to completely combine.  Add in flour mixture, and quick oats and mix until JUST combined.

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Now for the APPLES.  Peel your apples, and use 2 of them to dice into about 1/2 inch pieces.  Use your third peeled apple to GRATE into the batter.  This will create a flavor and level of moistness you won't want to miss out on!

Scoop into muffin liners.  I also spray the top of my muffin tins with nonstick spray the muffin tops dono't stick!   Fill them a bit fuller than cupcakes so you get that classic "muffin top".  Trust me it is better on muffins than me!  Sprinkle tops with brown sugar (or white). I got about 15 muffins.  Bake for 20-23 minutes.  Just do the toothpick test and make sure they are done.  They will carryover cook a bit out of the oven as well.

Now get ready to NOM NOM NOM on these babies!

ENJOY!

PS.  I realize these muffins look like "nothing special" but the fresh apple flavor just can't be beat, and I hope you give them a go for yourself!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Nut Muffins

Pumpkin season is in full force and I tried, so hard, not to jump in with both feet, but I did.  Well, actually I didn't.  I bought one can of pumpkin and used it for 2 recipes.  Fair enough?  You know I let nothing go to waste, and it just burns me when I write or make a recipe that calls for half of a can of pumpkin. This year, instead of getting mad, I am getting even.

I was sent a few awesome products by Yolli, a confectionery supplier. Oh my gosh...CUTEST stuff ever! I picked out these tiny, mini cardboard loaf form, called, "Mini-Backform". They come in a pack of 10 and are just about in between the size of a jumbo muffin and regular muffin, just in a loaf shape.  I simply adore the print, and it stays so vibrant after baking, which is a huge plus for me. I am grateful they sent these and wanted to use the rest of that pumpkin for some cozy deliciousness!  You can also find Yolli on Facebook as well!

This recipe will make 10 of these  mini forms, and I would guess 10 jumbo muffins as well. I can't even tell you how good these turned out, I just had to make my husband hide the rest, I keep picking at them.

So let's get our hands dirty, and make these delightful bites of pumpkin sweetness!  Get the coffee on!

You will need:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter (softened)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sliced/slivered almonds (or nut of your choice)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Line muffin tins with liners or get your little mini loaf forms put together. 

Cream together, sugars and butter.  When it is nice and creamed together, add in one egg at a time and mix until smooth.  Add in pumpkin, salt and sour cream and mix again.  When it is well incorporated add in baking soda and cinnamon, and flour and mix until the flour is just absorbed.  Don't over mix.  Next toss in the nuts and chips and fold in or give them a quick whirl in your stand mixer.  Fill your forms or liners.  This should make 1 dozen cupcakes or 10 mini loaves.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. 

Sit back and enjoy, because there are one of the best things I have ever tasted!

ENJOY!  You will be seeing a couple of other products from Yolli coming up in holiday blogs.  I can't get enough!!

Disclaimer:  All products were sent to me complimentary.  All opinions are my own, and I was not, and never will be reimbursed for a favorable review of any product. 

Cranberry Almond Muffins

These poor muffins, have been waiting and waiting for my attention.  I made these weeks ago, the next day I was due to spend a few day at my parents.  I took my written recipe, because I was going to get this post written while I was there.  Yeah, RIGHT.  Didn't happen.  I returned home, only to find, the recipe didn't make it home with me.  I frantically called my mom who had the recipe and for 2 weeks, DID NOT send it to me. GAH!  Well, I am back at my parents, I have my recipe safely in hand and now I can finally share it!

These muffins are so good.  Not to sweet, but sweet enough and perfect served slightly warmed with a little, or a lot, of butter!  Don't forget the coffee!!

As usual, change out my cranberries and almonds if you choose.  Maybe you like other things better, so go ahead, make them exactly how YOU would love them!

These freeze like a dream, I had some here at my parents and just took them out of the freezer, warmed one up and ate with my coffee.  I mean, it was a job related snack as far as I am concerned, I forgot how good they were, I needed reminded.

 Heeeeeeeeere we go!

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup PACKED brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup slivered almonds (divided)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease your muffin pan, or line it with liners.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, or bowl of your stand mixer, combine, flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until combined.  Add in eggs, applesauce, cranberries and 1/2 cup of slivered almonds.  Mix until JUST combined. 

Fill muffin pans with batter.  This should make 12-15 muffins.  It all depends on how full you fill them. Using the remaining 1/4 cup almonds, sprinkle them over the tops.   Bake for 15-18 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean of wet batter, they are ready to nosh on!

Enjoy these, for brunch, breakfast, a snack, or the meal after dinner!