Tag Archives: baking

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins!

4 May

That recipe title needed an exclamation mark. Two kinds of chocolate in one muffin? Get excited!

Makes 12.

Ingredients

1 3/4c all-purpose flour
2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
2 tb cocoa powder
3/4c white sugar
1c + 1/4c chocolate chips
1 egg
1c milk
1/3c vegetable oil
1 ts vanilla

Directions

1. Line or grease a muffin tin and preheat your  oven to 400F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients, including 1c of the chocolate chips.
3. In a smaller bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.
4. Combine the wet into the dry, bearing in mind that you want the batter to be a bit lumpy.
5. Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin cups and then top with the remaining chips. Bake for 20 minutes until the muffins have risen and darkened.

 

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Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

5 Jun

If your eyebrow is raised archly at the prospect of zucchini in a muffin as mine initially was, let me assure you that it’s delicious. Or, perhaps more accurately, it makes the muffin delicious. The actual flavour disappears entirely because the zucchini is so finely grated. Instead, you get wonderfully moist muffins that have a punch of goodness and just a handful of chocolate chips. This is my current favourite muffin recipe – I make it nearly every other week and always eat one before I put them away for breakfast the next morning.

These would be good with half a cup of chopped walnuts if you were so inclined!

Makes 12.

Ingredients

1 1/2c all-purpose flour
2/3c white sugar
1 ts baking soda
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/4 c milk
1 ts vanilla
1 c zucchini, finely grated
1 handful chocolate chips – feel free to be as stingy or as generous as you like

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and line or grease muffin cups.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl, combine the egg, oil, milk and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and then toss in the grated carrot.
3. Stir everything together until just combined and then spoon into the muffin cups.
4. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Leave for 5 minutes then pop onto a rack to cool off completely.

muffin

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Chocolate Chip Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

27 Feb

I love cookies. I love chewy cookies, I love crunchy cookies. I love cookies with stuff in the middle. I love cookies in/on top of of other things. You get the drift. Oatmeal cookies are a particular favourite, but if they have raisins in them they must also have chocolate chips. No going for the fake out here: I firmly believe you can’t JUST do raisins but that’s me. It’s your prerogative to do only raisins, but know that I think you’re crazy. At the very least, toss in a couple of chips, for goodness sake.

This recipe makes a pretty big batch, roughly two dozen. Make sure you don’t skip the flatten step, otherwise the cookies spend too long in the oven and can dry out. You’ll want to cook them in two batches, but they only take about 10 minutes in the oven.

Makes about 24.

Ingredients

1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tb vanilla
1 ts salt
1 ts baking powder
1/2 ts cinnamon
1 c (heaping) all-purpose flour
1 c raisins
1/2 c chocolate/peanut butter chips
1 1/2 c rolled oats

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add in the egg, vanilla and baking powder and incorporate into the creamed mixture.
3. Stir in the flour, then the raisins and chips until everything is mixed together.
4. Drop spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Take a fork and gently flatten the dough. Bake for 12 minutes et voila!

Coookieeees!

Coookieeees!

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Homemade Granola

2 Jul

File this under “why didn’t I do it sooner?” I’ve had it in my head that I’d like to make my own granola for ages but somehow never got around to it. Finally, timing and motivation collided and in less than an hour with almost zero effort on my part I had aromatic, crunchy, salty, rich, sweet, filling, semi-healthy granola! (Yes, it’s high in fat but they are beneficial fats and if you’re in need of a snack, this stuff is better for you than junk food.)

There is no right or wrong way to make granola as it’s pretty much the most adaptable recipe of which you could conceive. There are some basic ratios but your ingredients can change with every tasty batch. If you want large clusters, don’t stir the granola while it bakes; for small pieces that work well as a topping for yogurt, give the whole batch a good stir every 15 minutes. Or, do what I did and stir half to get the best of both worlds. If you intend to add dried fruit – and I recommend you do – make sure you stir it in at the end when the granola has cooled. Otherwise, the baking process will dry them out further and you’ll get a pretty unpleasant texture. Same goes for chocolate chips: add ’em in at the end or you’ll get melted chocolate.

Makes…a lot, which is good because it won’t stick around long.

granola

Ingredients

3 c old fashioned oats (not the quick-cooking kind)
1 1/2 c chopped nuts (a mix of walnuts, peanuts, almonds, cashews, pine nuts, pecans, pistachios, etc.)
1 1/2 c coconut shavings or flakes
1/2 c maple syrup
1/4 c coconut or olive oil
1/4 c sesame seeds
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c flax seed
2 tb brown sugar
1 1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts cinnamon
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 c dried fruit (cherries, raisins, cranberries, bananas, apricots, blueberries, mango, pineapple, etc.)
1 handful chocolate chips, optional but delicious

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 300F.  Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Stir together everything except the dried fruit and chocolate chips until thoroughly combined.
3. Spread the whole thing out on the baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes for small pieces; don’t stir at all for large clusters; or stir some for a mix of both.
4. Allow to cool and then add dried fruit and chocolate.
5. Store in an airtight container and it’ll last for a solid two weeks if you don’t eat it all before then.

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Maple Oatmeal Muffins

2 Jun

It’s Friday night, 9pm. I have just finished off a quick dinner after putting the foodNURDling to bed and gardening for a bit. Thoughts turn to the weekend and what I’m going to eat for breakfast. Out of bagels, not in the mood for slow-cooked oatmeal and wanting something more substantial than cereal, I hit upon muffins. I hadn’t tried out a new muffin recipe in a while and wasn’t really enthused at the idea of cheese muffins (though they are pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself). I scoured the interwebs for inspiration and found it: maple oatmeal muffins. The recipe is pretty basic and lends itself to creativity: you could add chopped pecans or walnuts, chocolate chips, flax seed for a health boost or, as a friend suggested, crumbled bacon. That last option is one I will be exploring in the near future, no doubt.

Makes 12.

Ingredients

1 c rolled/quick-cooking oats
1/2 c milk
1 c flour
2 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
1/2 ts cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c butter, melted
3/4 c maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400F and pop liners into your muffin tin (or butter/spray each cup).
2. In a medium bowl, mix the oats & milk. Let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile,  stir together the flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle.
3. Add the egg, butter & syrup to the oat-milk mixture. Combine thoroughly and then add to the dry mixture. Stir until JUST combined.
3a. if you’re going to add walnuts, pecans, bacon or chocolate chips add a 1/2c at this stage and then top with the remaining 1/2c.
4. Spoon into the muffin tins. Pop the tray into the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

IMG_6109

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Cheese Muffins

2 Feb

Makes 12.

Ingredients

2 1/2c all-purpose flour
1tb baking powder
1tb sugar
1ts salt
1c Cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/4c milk
1 egg
1/4c butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and line or butter a muffin tin.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add the cheese, milk, egg and butter to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine but do not overmix.
4. Spoon equal amounts into the 12 muffin cups and bake 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean.
5. Allow them to cool for 2-3 minutes and enjoy!

Image

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Apple Walnut Muffins

9 Dec

So I’m home and I have some time to kill before the arrival of the foodNURDling. How am I spending that time (aside from lounging on the couch)? Baking! Figuring it might be a good idea to stock up on some easy, quick snacks that can be stored in the freezer, I decided to make a couple of different kinds of muffins: apple walnut and banana chocolate. I considered making double batches, but there’s only so much room in the freezer and I should probably save some room for actual food…

Note, you could substitute walnuts for pecans, or use a combination of both.

Makes 12 – 15.

Ingredients

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 ts baking powder
1 ts baking soda
1/4 ts salt
1 1/2 ts cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c apples, peeled and finely chopped or grated (I used Granny Smith apples)
6 tb butter, melted
1/2 c walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a muffin tin with cups or use cooking spray so the batter does not stick.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a separate, large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar. Stir in the apples and any accumulated juices. Let the wet mixture stand for 10 minutes.
4. To the wet mixture, add the melted butter and walnuts.
5. Add the dry mixture to the wet  and fold until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.
6. Spoon the batter into the cups and bake 14 – 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for a couple of minutes before you remove them from the pan.

Apple Walnut Muffins

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Peanut Butter & Chocolate Whoopie Pies

21 Sep

What else could you possibly need to know?

Whoopie Pile!

This recipe is slightly more complicated than the other baking recipes I’ve posted before; however, that’s really only because you need a piping bag (or a really sturdy Ziplock bag) and I’m not great at making the same shape over and over. I enlisted the help of The Hot Biscuit and we got down to making whoopie (pies) last Friday night. They turned out really well: rich, sweet, creamy, moist…all the adjectives you could possibly want.

Makes two dozen.

Ingredients

For the cakes:
5 tb unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts Kosher salt
1 large egg
1 c milk
2 ts vanilla extract

For the filling:
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
2 oz cream cheese
4 tb unsalted butter, at room temperature
8oz  marshmallow fluff
2.5 c confectioners’ sugar
pinch Kosher salt

Directions

For the cakes…

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl,  beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy (about 3 minutes) with an electric mixer.
3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, egg and vanilla.
5. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture in 3 additions until combined.
6. Transfer batter to a piping bag and pipe 2-4 inch circles about 2 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool for a few minutes on baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling…

1. In the bowl, beat the peanut butter, cream cheese, and butter together until fluffy. Add in the marshmallow fluff. Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar and salt. Mix until combined.
2. Fill a piping bag with the filling and use to frost the cakes.

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Double Chocolate Cake Cookies

12 Sep

You read the title…need I say more to convince you to make these? Okay, how about the fact that they’re incredibly simple to make, are moist and rich, and they have chocolate in two forms. GO. MAKE THEM.

This recipe does make quite a number of cookies, so you may need to cook them in two batches.

Makes roughly three-four dozen.

Ingredients

1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Whisk with a fork until even in colour.
3. In a separate, large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs – one at a time – and mix to incorporate.
4. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Spoon onto an ungreased baking sheet, flattening with a fork or knife.
7. Bake for exactly 11 minutes. The cookies will be just barely firm.
8. Allow to cool for a few moments before moving to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

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Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

12 Apr

You know you want it.

J made this scrumptious, deliciously calorie-laden classic-with-a-twist and we haven’t been able to stop ourselves from eating the whole dang thing. Haven’t shared a single slice and you won’t want to, either.

 

Mmmmm...Banana Bread...

Ingredients

2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
2 medium, ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
3 tb unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 ts vanilla extract
1/2 c milk
3/4 c semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 ts turbinado sugar – optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and coat a 9″ loaf pan with cooking spray or butter.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder & soda and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together banana, peanut butter, 2 tb butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy, roughly 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract until just combined and then stir in the chips.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 50 minutes. If you’re using the turbinado sugar, melt the last tb of butter, brushing it over the top and top with sugar. Bake an additional 5 minutes.
5. Cool 20 minutes before running a knife around the outside edges. Remove bread and transfer to a wire rack to cook for an additional 30 minutes.

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