apple-honey-pecan muffins.

Last night, after shutting down my laptop for the night, I threw on a Spotify playlist and had a one woman dance party while Tyler and Jackson looked on with bemused looks on their face.  To be fair, Tyler nodded his head a couple of times.  Jackson on the other hand barely looked up even while i was serenading him with Queens "Somebody to Love".  This is how we end the work-day.  

This social-isolation thing does weird things to people.  I feel like my emotions ping pong every which way a thousand times a day.  Sometimes I want to scream into the abyss, other times I feel like I could do this for weeks and be OK.  Am I slowly going insane or am I slowly adjusting to a new normal?  One where pants are optional, make-up is non existent, and homemade lunches are how you find ways to break-up the day?  How does your relationship change when the only person you can really interact with is the person you're married to and is sitting 20 feet from you at all times?   

Honestly, outside of Tyler's need to snack when I know he isn't really hungry, it's kind of like he isn't really here.  I realized the other day that both of us are similar with regards to our work style.  When we are in something we are really in something and whatever is happening around us is like the noise coming out of a sound machine - there but we don't really notice it.   I find that I can more easily disengage myself when the day is over, he on the other hand needs someone to say close the computer.  It's interesting when you realize you know a person so well, but aspects of them you don't know because you've really never been privy to them before.   

I think the thing I've learned from all of this is that you have to figure out a way to make some kind of joy each day.  For me that joy comes from food and eating and I've been using this time to try all of the recipes I never would have time to try.  Things I've had bookmarked for a year are now finally being made.  Sunday morning breakfasts that used to be simple meals are now (slightly) over the top -  homemade muffins.  Fresh granola.  Things like that.  It's fun to try new things.   

I made these muffins this past Sunday.  They were a real delight.  I especially liked the fact that you could make the batter and apples up to 2 days earlier.  On Sunday morning I simply assembled them as instructed and baked them up.  We both eat 2 while watching a couple of episodes of Shitt's Creek.  It made for a fantastic distraction.   

Apple-Honey-Pecan Muffins
Recipe from Ochre Bakery via Bon Appetit 

Feel free to sub the pecans for hazlenuts or another favorite nut! 

2 medium Pink Lady or Jonagold apples
⅔ cup (75 g) pecans
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. honey
Flaky sea salt
¾ cup (100 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (60 g) spelt flour or all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup buttermilk
Raw sugar or granulated sugar (for sprinkling)

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Lightly coat flat top of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray (this will prevent muffins from gluing themselves to the pan). Line cups with double layers of muffin liners. Cut apples into quarters; remove cores. Cut each quarter into 4 wedges; set aside.

Pulse pecans in a food processor until you have a fine meal with a bit of texture, like coarse sand. Heat a large skillet over medium-high, then add pecans and toast, stirring, until darkened and very fragrant (it’s okay if they’re even a tiny bit burnt in spots), about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly.

Wipe out skillet and return to medium-high heat. Melt butter, swirling pan so that it’s evenly coated, until foaming, then add reserved apples. Drizzle with honey and generously sprinkle with sea salt. Cook, tossing often, until apples are tender and deep golden brown and glazed with honey, about 5 minutes. Scrape into a medium bowl and let cool.

Add all-purpose flour, spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt to nuts; whisk to combine. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed until mixture is thick, pale, and tripled in volume, 8–10 minutes.

Combine oil and buttermilk in a measuring glass. With motor running, gradually pour into egg mixture, stopping as soon as incorporated to prevent eggs from deflating. Scrape into bowl with dry ingredients and fold until just combined (be careful not to overmix). Scoop about 2 Tbsp. batter into each muffin cup and place an apple slice on top. Divide remaining batter among muffin cups, filling until just below the top (you may have a spoonful or two of batter left over). Place 1 apple slice on top of each, then spoon any glaze left in the bowl on top. (You’ll have a few leftover apple slices; eat them.) Sprinkle each muffin with some raw sugar and a pinch of sea salt.

Bake muffins until golden brown all over, rotating pan halfway through, 22–28 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Do Ahead: Batter can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

triple coconut muffins.

In an effort to enliven my daily breakfast routine of oatmeal or granola with yogurt, I've started to dive into the world of muffins.  Muffins can fall into one of two camps - cake disguised as breakfast (I'm looking at you double chocolate strussel muffin) and those dense, devoid of flavor (but healthy!) hockey pucks that are labeled (in my opinion incorrectly) as muffins.  Neither of them really feel like a muffin to me.  A muffin shouldn't be dessert (even if I wish it were) and eating one shouldn't feel like punishment.  They should be flavorful and filled with all sorts of good for you things (namely fruit and whole grains).  They should be easy to prepare, freeze easily (for those mornings when you need something quick), and above all they should be good.  Really good. 

This, is my perfect breakfast muffin (it doesn't hurt that it tastes like a tropical vacation).   Chock-full of all my favorite flavors (coconut, banana, and blueberry) and filled with wholesome grains it's the kind of thing that will (at least help) get you out of bed in the morning.  And on cold, snowy-mix, still dark out mornings, we need all the help we can get.   


Triple Coconut Muffins
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

I realized while writing this you could make them quadruple coconut muffins if you use coconut sugar!  Haven't tried this yet but I imagine it would be delightful.  Also - If you are looking for a little extra protein, a tablespoon or two of ground flaxseed would be a great addition.   

Yield: 10 standard muffins

1/2 cup (110 grams) virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup (95 grams) spelt flour (or all-purpose)
1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (230 grams) full fat coconut milk, at room temperature 
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar 
1 large egg, at room temperature is best
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 large (VERY ripe banana) smashed (or pureed in the blender)
3/4 cup (90 grams) unsweetened shredded coconut, divided
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Either grease 10 muffin cups with butter or coconut oil, or line them with papers.

In a small saucepan, warm your coconut oil just until it melts. It should still be on the cool side.

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flours, baking powder and salt. Stir 1/2 cup shredded coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, coconut oil, coconut milk, vanilla, and banana. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined.  Stir in blueberries. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups then sprinkle the top with remaining 1/4 cup coconut, about 1 to 2 teaspoons on each.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out batter-free, about 20 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and let cool.

Do ahead: Usually, muffins are best on day one but I just had one of these on day three and found them almost as moist and tender as day one. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

fruit-filled scuffins.

Hybrids are the latest food trend.  The most famous hybrid being the Cronut which has the whole country in a tizzy.  Months after it's initial incarnation, lines still form outside Dominique Ansel starting before sunrise as tourists and New Yorker's alike wait for one of the famous croissant-doughnut hybrids.  I was lucky enough to try one (thanks Jen Sharp!) and while it was delightful, I don't have the patience to wait hours for such a thing.  I don't like waiting and I don't like lines especially when I am hungry.  

Now that Cronuts have become so famous, hybrids have been popping up all over the place.  The doughnoli, the dangle, the cruffin, and my new favorite the scuffin (the scone-muffin duh)!  I became acquainted with the scuffin a few weeks back when the NYTimes ran an article about the different pastry hybrids.  This particular version caught my eye since making them and then eating them didn't seem like it was going to send me into cardiac arrest right after.  

I made them yesterday morning thinking I would have breakfast for the week.  Instead, Tyler ate 4 1/2 of them in the span 7 hours so it's safe to say the are a crowd pleaser.  They are ridiculously satisfying (something about that hidden pocket of jam) and incredibly filling (rye flour!) which is why they make for the most perfect weekday breakfast.  That and the name is really fun to say.

Fruit-Filled Scuffins
Recipe via the NYTimes

I umm forgot to add the flaxseed meal/wheat germ and if you do the same (or don't have any on hand) it wont be the end of the world.  I think having it would make it a little nuttier and more filling which is always a good thing (especially when these are being consumed for breakfast).  I was also out of whole-wheat flour so I replaced it with rye and that swap works brilliantly especially when paired with apricot-peach jam.  The spices in here can be adapted to whatever you like (the original recipe called for cardamon instead of ginger) so use what makes sense with the jam of your choice!

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 ounces), plus 1 tablespoon for buttering muffin cups

1 cup whole-wheat or rye flour (4 1/2 ounces)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (3 ounces)

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal or wheat germ (1 ounce)

3 tablespoons light brown or raw sugar (2 ounces), plus extra for sprinkling

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of cloves

1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

1 egg

1/3 cup whole milk

1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half

3/4 cup fruit jam, conserves, preserves or fruit butter (do not use jelly or marmalade)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a microwave or over very gentle heat. Using a pastry brush, butter the cups of a standard-size (3 1/2-ounce-capacity) 12-cup muffin tin. Let each coat of butter cool, then apply another coat; continue until the 2 tablespoons are all used.

In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Meanwhile, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter, add to dry ingredients and mix with a fork until just combined.

In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk and cream. Add to dry ingredients and mix to combine (the dough will be quite sticky).

Reserving about a quarter of the dough for topping, scoop 2 tablespoons dough into each cup. Using the back of a spoon, press dough gently down into the cups. The dough will move up the sides, and there should be a shallow well in each dough cup. Don’t worry if the dough doesn’t come all the way up to the top; there should be about 1/2 inch of space between the top of the dough and the rim of the cup.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon jam into each well. Using your fingers, pinch remaining dough into small clumps and scatter evenly over the jam in each cup, making a bumpy topping. Sprinkle sugar over the tops.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until browned. Let cool in the pan on a rack; run a blade around the sides of each scuffin before turning out.

whole wheat and rye cranberry scones.

Tyler and I have a very specific Saturday breakfast ritual (we are creatures of habit).  In a nutshell it involves a visit to our favorite French bakery for a loaf of multi-grain bread and a chocolate-almond croissant to share. (We may be known there as the people who bring the most pathetic reusable bag ever.  Each week they comment on how it still lives on and they finally felt so bad for us that they gifted us our own Choc-o-pain tote!  I feel so special.) From there we return to the apartment where we eat cheesy scrambled eggs, toast, and drink coffee while watching the Food Network.  I love nothing more then those lazy mornings.  

Sunday's on the other hand, are a mess.  Some times we have a proper breakfast, other weeks it's a weird mash up of avocado toast and grapefruit, occasionally it involves an assortment of refrigerator leftovers (the worst).    I'm been trying to make an effort to improve things because eating a bad breakfast does not bode well if you are trying to have a superior Sunday.  These scones are my first attempt at upping the breakfast ante and I have to say I really brought it in week 1.  Scones are a brilliant cross between biscuits and muffins and these are the best of the best.  Despite the inclusion of both whole wheat and rye flour, the manage to remain tender and delicate.  The cranberries add a bit of tartness and the zest a little acidity which is especially welcome during the winter months when it feels as if nothing excites your taste buds.  Slathered with some butter and orange marmalade and served with tea, you've got breakfast.  Really good breakfast.  

Also, in a weird twist of fate, the NYTimes published an article on scones today which is an excellent read.  

Whole Wheat and Rye Cranberry Scones

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen The Cookbook

Deb mentioned in her cookbook that the dough was really damp for her.  My dough I actually found to be on the dry side.  Not sure if that was because I used both farmer’s cheese and cranberries (2 items that are less moist then ricotta and raspberries).  Regardless of how your dough ends up, keep your counter and your hands well-floured and you won’t have any trouble.

1 cup (120 grams) whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons (25 grams) rye flour (optional)
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (100 grams) all-purpose flour (if you want to omit the rye flour do 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt

Zest of 1 orange
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold unsalted butter
1 cup (136 grams or 4 3/4 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
3/4 cup (189 grams) whole milk ricotta or farmer cheese
1/3 cup (79 ml) heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, and orange zest together.

With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first) and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in cranberries.

Without a pastry blender: Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add chopped cranberries and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.

Both methods: Add the ricotta or farmer cheese and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.  Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl.

With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 8 or 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more

Do ahead: Scones are always best the day they are baked. However, if you wish to get a lead on them, you can make them, arrange them on your parchment-lined sheet and freeze them. If you’re prepping just one day in advance, cover the tray with plastic wrap and bake them the day you need them. If you’re preparing them more than one day in advance, once they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or container. Bring them back to a parchment-lined sheet when you’re ready to bake them. No need to defrost the frozen, unbaked scones, just add 2 to 3 minutes to your baking time.

rosemary and grape olive oil muffins.

I dreamt these muffins up and after thinking about them non-stop for a 1 week span, I finally took myself to the kitchen and made them.  

They are even more perfect then I imagined.  

After last weeks foccacia re-visit, I got stuck on the rosemary, grape, olive oil combination.  It truly is a magical threesome and I've basically done nothing but try and figure out how how I can incorporate that pairing into just about everything I cook (Sausssage with grapes?  Oatmeal with olive oil and rosemary?  This is how my brain works.)  But no matter what I thought about, I kept returning to the idea of a muffin since I loved the idea of a breakfast pastry encompassing both sweet and savory flavors.  This muffin is tender and moist with the most amazing earthy flavor from the rosemary infused oil.  The grapes create pockets of tartness and the oat topping provides a lovely textural contrast.  It's the kind of thing that makes for an excellent breakfast but works just as well as an afternoon snack (and trust me I've eaten it both ways).  

Rosemary and Grape Olive Oil Muffins
Adapted from Giada DeLaurentis

For the muffins

1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

¼ cup white flour

¼ cup oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (3/4 cup ¼ cup for topping)
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil infused with 2 tablespoons rosemary, divided

1 cup grapes

For the strussel

2 tablespoons infused olive oil.

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

¼ cup oats

Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil with the rosemary in it until warmed.  Set aside to cool. 

Blend together the flours, oats, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.

Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, eggs, in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the milk. Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Add in the grapes and mix to combine. Fill the muffin tin almost to the top of the paper liners.

Make the strussel by combining the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sugar oats, and salt in a bowl.  Stir to combine.  Top each of the muffins with some of the strussel.

Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins onto a platter and let cool for 5 more minutes. Muffins can be stored in an air-tight container for 3 days.  

banana pineapple muffins.

Breakfast is one of those tricky meals that everyone seems to have differing opinions on.  My opinion is that I wish I could eat oversized sticky buns, cheese danishes, and coffee cake every day but I can't because I would end up the size of a jumbo muffin.   So, I stick with safe foods like granola and yogurt, oatmeal, and peanut butter with banana.  As much as I like to convince myself I love my boring, healthy breakfasts (most days I really do), I sometimes find myself starring longingly (probably creeping them out) at my coworkers (who have metabolisms far faster then mine) feasting on the kinds of thing I only wish I could eat.  (Life can be so unfair.)  I scoured the web this past weekend, thinking there had to be a healthy/indulgent muffin hybrid somewhere out there that I had yet to discover and what I discovered is that there really was no middle ground.  There were strussel-topped chocolate filled muffins (over-the top!) and there were bran, flax, seed muffins (for the granola lovers) but not much in between which is where my banana pineapple muffin creation comes in.  These are healthy - chock full of fruit and whole wheat but they also satisfy my innate desire to eat something that tastes indulgent before noon.  Sometimes you can have the best of both worlds which makes me incredibly happy. 

Banana Pineapple Muffins

I wont lie that as I was making these I was super apprehensive of these coming out any good, I mean I was completely winging it hoping something somewhat edible would emerge from the oven.  But luck was on my side on that day and these came out beautifully.  If you hate pineapple you could omit it or replace it with shredded coconut.  You can also replace the cocoa nibs with toasted walnuts but that would be a real shame in my book since I love any excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast.   

Makes 12 muffins (probably 14 if your don't overfill but I love to overfill)

2 large eggs
1 cup milk (coconut milk or regular)
1 cup diced pineapple
1 medium-sized banana, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or 165 grams)
1 cup all-purpose flour (or 150 grams)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted
1/4 cup cocoa nibs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, banana, pineapple, and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, sift together flours, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add sugar and and stir to mix.

Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture, then stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Add coconut oil/butter and cocoa nibs, and stir until just smooth. 

Butter and flour a 12 cup muffin tin, or coat it with a nonstick spray. Portion batter out in pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere 22 – 30 minutes.  Let cool 5 min in pan and then invert onto a wire rack to finish cooling.  Can be stored in air tight container for 3 days.  

peach ginger muffins.

I love making things as complicated and difficult as possible.  If you ask me to bring a dish to a party I will spend several days deciding on a dish (usually the most complicated one) and then I will decide that one dish isn’t enough and I really need to make two things (what if someone doesn’t like the first option!) and then I will fret that it doesn’t look perfect (because appearance is everything).  I apparently like to torture myself. 

This past Friday, it was my turn to bring in breakfast for my group at work.  Generally, this means people bring in bagels, juice, and several types of cream cheese but I refused to do that.  This was my chance to make the plethora of breakfast recipes I have stashed away (because making a dozen muffins for Tyler and me always seems like a silly idea.)  I relished in the thought of making cinnamon buns and breakfast cakes and lots of muffins.  I somehow managed to convince myself that I only needed to make three different breakfast items (I was able to talk myself down from five!) and I knew I wanted to incorporate as many seasonal fruits as possible which led me to these peach ginger muffins.

I adore peaches.  They work amazingly well in both sweet and savory applications but I love them most when paired with ginger.  Something about the spiciness of the ginger plays off perfectly with the sweetness of a peach; it is one of those perfect combinations.  I was drawn to these peach ginger muffins because they incorporated crème fraiche, which gives an amazing tang to cakes and muffins, and I imagined that tang would pair perfectly with the fruit; that thought turned out to be correct.  These are the muffins of my dream, light and fluffy with a generous amount of fruit and spice.  They bake up beautifully golden brown and I found they stayed perfectly moist the next day, which is always a plus in my book. 

Peach Ginger Muffins

Recipie Adapted From Flour by Joanne Chang

Makes 18 Muffins (Says it makes 12 but I got a lot more!)

3 ¼ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 eggs plus 1 yolk
1 1/3 cups sugar

1 ¼ sticks butter, melted

1 cup milk (I only had skim so I used that but mixed in a splash of heavy cream!)

1 cup crème fraiche (I used a buttermilk crème friche combo which worked perfectly)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

½ - 1 teaspoon ground ginger (depending on how much you like ginger)

3 large or 4 smaller peaches, diced (I removed the skin but I think you could leave it on)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin with liners or spray it with non stick spray.  In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ginger.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and then add the sugar, butter, milk, crème fraiche, and vanilla. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and fold gently using a spatula.  Fold in the peaches and crystallized ginger.  Spoon into the muffin tin to fill the cups completely.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until the muffin tops are golden brown and let cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan.