FROM COLD TANGERINES TO HOT ORANGES...

TANGERINES make me think of

ORANGES which make me think of

MUFFINS which makes me think

i should share this RECIPE once again.

ORANGE MUFFINS
(the full tale of this muffin can be found here)

1 stick margarine

1C sugar
2 1/4C flour
3/4C orange juice
2 eggs
2 1/2t baking powder
1t vanilla
mix all ingredients and pour into muffin liners in muffin tins.
bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.
makes 24 muffins (about 120 calories each).


READ THE BOOK
or COOK THE MUFFINS
or do BOTH sometime soon.

IF YOU GIVE A GRANDPA A MUFFIN (PART TWO)...

last january, we gave grandpa jim

a "muffin of the month" subscription for his birthday.

a dozen muffins were delivered to him on the 9th
(or close to it) each month for the past year.

I already shared the first six muffin recipes we made (click here),
and here are the other half dozen.

AUGUST brought

BLUEBERRY STRAWBERRY PERSERVES CORN MUFFINS

(from tinkered treasures.blogspot.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1 box jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg

1/3 C milk

1 C fresh blueberries

1/2 C strawberry perserves

DIRECTIONS:

follow the directions on the box to make the corn muffins.

add blueberries, folding in gently.

fill muffin cups halfway then add a nice dollop of preserves.

top with more batter.

follow box for baking times.

SEPTEMBER brought

SNICKERDOODLE MUFFINS

(recipe and photo from culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 C sugar
2 t vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t baking powder3/4 t cream of tarter3/4 t ground nutmeg
1 1/4 C sour cream
2 1/4 C all purpose flour
1 C sugar and 2 T cinnamon mixed together for rolling
DIRECTIONS:
cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes.
add in the vanilla.
add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.
in a separate, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and cream of tarter.
add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions.
start with the flour and end with the flour, scrape the bowl occasionally.
using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar.
place muffin into a greased muffin tin.
bake them for about 20-22 minutes in a 350F oven or until they are golden brown.

OCTOBER brought
SUNNY MORNING MUFFINS
(miss debby shared the recipe, from sunny anderson on the food network)

• INGREDIENTS:
• 1 C strawberries, chopped
• 1 C sugar, plus 2 T
• 1 1/2 C flour
• pinch ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1 t salt
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 C canola oil
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1/2 pint blueberries
• 1 C chopped walnuts
• DIRECTIONS:
• preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• mixt strawberries and 2T sugar together in a small bowl.
• let sit about 15 minutes (until strawberries give off juices).
• mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt together in another small bowl.
• in a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, 1 cup sugar, strawberries, and lemon zest.
• mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until combined.
• fold in blueberries and walnuts.
• scoop batter evenly into muffin cups.
• bake about 30 minutes.
  
  

NOVEMBER brought
PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
(from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 C sugar

• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 C canned pumpkin
• 1/4 C water
• 1 1/2 C flour
• 3/4 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
• DIRECTIONS:
• preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• spray muffin tins.
• mix sugar, oil and eggs together.
• add pumpkin and water.
• in separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.
• add wet mixture to dry mixture.
• stir in chocolate chips.
• fill muffin cups with batter.
• bake for 20-25 minutes.
• 
  

DECEMBER brought
WHOLE LEMON MUFFINS

(from the pastry queen, rather sweet bakery)

MUFFIN INGREDIENTS:

1 medium lemon, preferably organic
1 C walnuts or pecans
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 C sugar
3 large eggs
2 t vanilla extract
2 3/4 C flour
1 t baking soda
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 2/3 C (16 oz) plain whole-milk yogurt
GLAZE INGREDIENTS:
1 cup powdered sugar
Freshly squeezed juice of 2 small lemons
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
grease muffin cups or use muffin wrappers.
wash and dry the lemon, cut it into quarters, and remove the seeds. 
process the quartered lemon (skin, pith, and all) in a food processor fitted with a metal blade for 1 minute or more, until it is completely ground up.
scrape the lemon into a medium bowl.
without washing the food processor, add the walnuts and pulse 10 to 12 times.
(the nuts will clean the processor bowl.)
 add the walnuts to the processed lemon and stir to combine.
set the lemon-nut mixture aside to be used later.
cream the butter in a large bowl on medium-high speed about 1 minute.
add the sugar and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
add the eggs all at once and beat on medium speed about 1 minute.
add the vanilla and beat on medium for about 30 seconds.
stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
add one-third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat on medium-low speed til blended.
add half of the yogurt and beat on medium speed until blended.
continue to add the flour mixture and yogurt alternatively,
beat just long enough to incorporate. (end with the dry ingredients.)
gently stir in the lemon-nut mixture.
spoon the batter into the muffin pans, filling each cup just to the top.
bake for 18 to 25 minutes.
 let the muffins cool in their pans about 5 minutes then remove the muffins from the pans.
to make the glaze, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
drizzle the glaze over the warm muffins, it will harden in about 15 minutes.

JANUARY brought
PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE MUFFINS
(from instructables.com)

MUFFIN INGREDIENTS:
15 oz can pumpkin
1/4 C vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 C sugar
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground nutmeat
1/8 t ground cloves
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
FILLING INGREDIENTS:
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1 large egg yolk
5 T sugar
1/4 t vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
preheat oven to 350F.
mix canned pumpkin, oil, and sugar together.
add in eggs, one at a time, combining thoroughly after each, then add vanilla.
whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
slowly add flour mixture to liquids, combining thoroughly and scraping the sides of the bowl until well combined.
for the filling, mix together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until well combined.
grease your muffin tins or line with paper cups.
drop in spoonfuls of pumpkin mixture.
add smaller spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture on top, then swirl with a skewer.
bake 25-30 minutes turning the muffin tin one time halfway through.

SCRUMPTULESCENT...

CINNAMON ROLL-UPS

i first shared this recipe in december 2008 (aka adealide's first christmas).

as i looked back at that post i can barely stand the adorableness of her chubby cheeks.

you know what else i can barely stand?

the goodness of cinnamon roll-ups.

they have successfully become a christmas family tradition with both sides of our family.

how could you not thoroughly enjoy something made entirely of

white bread, butter, cream cheese, cinnamon, and sugar?

go ahead, try not to love them. i dare you.

CINNAMON ROLL-UPS

makes 48 mini roll-ups

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf white bread

8 oz cream cheese

1 stick butter

3/4 C sugar

1/4 C cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1) trim crusts off all bread

2) use rolling pin to roll each piece of bread until flat

3) spread some cream cheese on one side of each piece of bread

4) roll up each piece of bread then cut each stick in 1/2

5) melt the butter

6) mix together cinnamon and sugar

7) dip each stick in butter then cinnamon sugar mixture

8) place all pieces on ungreased baking sheets

9) bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

10) taste the goodness

LAZY MORNING MUFFINS...

one can pumpkin

+

one box cake mix

=

easiest recipe ever!

when i asked adelaide what she wanted for breakfast last week,

i think she momentarily forgot where she woke up.

it seems she thought she was in abilene, not houston.

i'm worthless in the kitchen

(and doing pretty much anything)until about 10am.

you'll see me walking around and

going through the motions of life before then.

but in general, please don't ask me to operate heavy machinery

or make coherent thoughts before 10am or after 10pm.

those are my best hours of operation.

so when i ask what sounds good for breakfast i mean: 

would you like a cereal bar or cereal?

on the other hand,

if my parents ask what sounds good for breakfast they mean:

would you like homemade waffles, biscuits and gravy,

maybe an omelette, or a fresh batch of muffins?

thank goodness for this recipe,

that i decided counts as a homemade breakfast

(and yes i'm choosing to call them muffins instead of cupcakes)

but is something even i can manage in the morning.

just mix the two ingredients together

(it will be really thick).

spoon into muffin tins.

then follow the directions for baking

(we cooked ours at 350 for about 15 minutes).

*i'd like to give a shout out to the 

"triple chocolate fudge" cake mix we found in our pantry.

it has chocolate chips in it and was quite tasty.

and yes, i'm still referring to these as muffins not cupcakes.

i just have one apology about this recipe:

i'm sorry our resident cousin itt

is not available to help you

make these lazy morning muffins.

IF YOU GIVE A GRANDPA A MUFFIN...

...HE'S GONNA WANT ONE EVERY MONTH!

we gave grandpa jim a "muffin of the month" subscription for his birthday in january.
we ordered it through a (not-so-fancy) bakery in town, called our very own kitchen.

a dozen muffins have been delivered to him on the 9th (or close to it) each month.
here's what has been cooked up for the first half of his gift...

FEBRUARY brought RASPBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN MUFFINS

(also known as individual raspberry cobblers)

recipe from the pioneer woman

INGREDIENTS

2 C self-rising flour (yes, you must use self-rising)

2 C sugar

2 C milk

2 sticks butter, melted

1 t vanilla flavoring (i used more)

2 C fresh raspberries

extra sugar to sprinkle on top if you choose

DIRECTIONS

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

combine flour with sugar, then whisk in milk.

whisk in melted butter and vanilla.

pour 1/4 cup batter into greased muffin tins.

sprinkle a few raspberries on top.

bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown and crisp around the edges.

invert onto a cooling rack and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

MARCH brought BACON HERB MUFFINS

recipe from southern living

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup cooked, finely crumbled bacon

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup finely chopped assorted fresh herbs

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 cups self rising flour

6 ounces cream cheese softened

Garnishes: assorted fresh herbs, cooked and crumbled bacon

DIRECTIONS

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

stir together first 6 ingredients. 

stir in flour until blended. Mixture will be thick. 

spoon batter into lightly greased muffin pans, filling completely full.

bake at 375 for 26-28 minutes or utnil golden brown.

remove cupcakes from pans and to a wire rack, and cool completely.

spread or pipe tops of cupcakes with cream cheese.

APRIL brought BANANA WALNUT MUFFINS

recipe from aunt shannon

INGREDIENTS

2C flour

1t baking soda

1/2t salt

1/2C butter (softened)

1C sugar

2 eggs

2 very ripe bananas

1/3C milk

1t lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

in a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt.

in electric mixer, cream butter and gradually add sugar.

add eggs one at a time.

add bananas individually.

in a small bowl combine the milk and lemon juice and stir.

fold flour and milk mixture into the butter mixture,

alternating (so begin with flour mixture and end with flour mixture- 3 flour and 2 milk)

beat in between.

pour into muffin tins.

cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

MAY brought BRAN MUFFINS

recipe from martie

INGREDIENTS

3 C unprocessed wheat bran

(this can be a little hard to find,

but it is usually with the health foods or on the cereal aisle,

i typically just ask a store worker for help finding it)

1 C boiling water

1 C brown sugar

1/2 C butter

2 1/2 C flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

2 eggs, beaten

2 C buttermilk

DIRECTIONS

mix 1 cup wheat bran with 1 cup boiling water.

stir and let water absorb into bran.

in separate bowl blend sugar and butter.

measure and combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

combine the moist bran with beaten eggs, remaining 2 cups of bran, buttermilk,

blended sugar/butter mixture, and flour/soda/salt mixture.

stir all until well blended.

place in refrigerator for future use, or bake at once.

spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.

bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

JUNE brought SOUR CREAM COFFEECAKE MUFFINS

recipe from mary kay

INGREDIENTS

1C margarine

2 eggs

1C sugar

2C flour

1t salt

1C sour cream

1/2t baking powder

1t vanilla

1/4C sugar

1C chopped pecans

1/3C brown sugar

1t cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

in a large bowl cream together margarine, eggs and 1C sugar together first.

then add flour, salt, sour cream, baking powder and vanilla in same bowl.

in a separate smaller bowl mix 1/4C sugar, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon.

fill each muffin cup halfway with batter.

then sprinkle a bit of topping on each.

fill each cup the rest of the way with batter.

then top with the remaining topping.

bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes

(do not overbake, it is supposed to be very moist).

JULY brought ORANGE MUFFINS

recipe from grandma hazanne

INGREDIENTS
1 stick margarine

1C sugar

2 1/4C flour

3/4C orange juice

2 eggs

2 1/2t baking powder

1t vanilla

DIRECTIONS

mix all ingredients in bowl.

 pour into muffin liners in muffin tins.

bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.