Muffins

These muffins are sweet, flavored with Fall spices, and incredibly moist thanks to the addition of roasted sweet potatoes.

Up until today, it has still been HOT in North Carolina. Despite what the thermometer says, it’s Fall in my heart (and according to the calendar).

Pumpkin gets a lot of attention this time of year. I’m as guilty as the next guy of this, too. I love pumpkin. I’m a certified basic bitch, okay?

BUT there are other seasonal vegetables that deserve our attention. Take the humble sweet potato, for instance. They’re naturally sweet and delicious, a vibrant orange color, and perfect in baked goods.

These muffins are super moist, just like a pumpkin quick bread, and the honeyed pecans add a nice bit of crunch. They’re perfect for breakfast or a snack.

These muffins will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

You’ll need (yields 12 muffins):

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup apple sauce (or vegetable oil)
• 2 cups sweet potato, about 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, roasted and mashed
• 3/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped, plus more for topping the muffins
• honey, for drizzling onto muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.  Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together.  Set aside.

In another medium-sized bowl, combine the sugars, eggs, oil, and mashed sweet potato until smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined.  Fold in the pecan pieces.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups (they will be very full).  Top with a few more pecan pieces. Drizzle the top of each muffin with a little honey. The honey helps the pecans on top to get candied a bit while baking.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.

Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

In search of additional sweet potato goodness? Check out these Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies! Or maybe you’re on the hunt for more breakfast treats? Try these Sweet Potato Waffles with Candied Pecans on for size.

 

These muffins are moist and tender, full of pumpkin flavor, and studded with mini chocolate chips.Though I generally use pumpkin in my cooking and baking year-round, it’s now officially Fall.  It’s that time of year where we all turn into basic bitches.  Pumpkin recipes are fully acceptable.  Prepare yourselves.

Actually, I take that back.  Sort of.  I’m going to try to exercise some amount of restraint this year.  If I can’t limit the overall quantity, I’ll at least make an effort to scatter non pumpkin recipes throughout the coming months.

Pumpkin and chocolate really do play well together, though, and are perfect in these muffins.

See this pumpkin cheesecake (with an Oreo crust and chocolate bourbon sauce!) and these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for more examples.  

This recipe is slightly adapted from Sweet and Savoury Pursuits.

You’ll need (makes 12 muffins):

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil (or apple sauce)
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for on top of muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.  Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together .  Set aside.

In another medium-sized bowl, combine the sugars, eggs, oil, and pumpkin puree until smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined.  Fold in the mini chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups (they will be pretty full).  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.

Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Moist, tender pumpkin muffins are topped with a crumbly and sweet streusel and then finished with sticky, sweet glaze. 

Have I started going overboard with the pumpkin recipes this season?  I’m torn between wanting to keep myself in check and not really caring.  I’m only semi-cognizant of the “issue” because Sean will sometimes remark that everything I make during the Fall contains pumpkin.

At this moment, I guess I don’t really care so much.  Especially because these muffins are delicious.

I took them to a brunch over the weekend, where they were well-received.  Even the host’s dog managed to get a hold of (at least part of) a muffin; he seemed pretty pleased with himself, too.

This recipe came from the blog Gimme Some Oven.

You’ll need:

For the muffins (makes 16-18 muffins) – 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the streusel topping – 

• 2 tbs butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon

For the glaze – 

• 1 tbs butter, melted
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbs milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 16-18 muffin tins with paper liners, or spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.  Set aside.

In another medium bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin puree, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.  Mix until well-combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until everything is combined.  Don’t over mix.  Fill the lined muffin tins ~2/3 of the way.

Combine all of the streusel ingredients in a small bowl.  Use a fork or your fingertips to mix all of the ingredients together until a crumbly streusel topping forms.

Top each of the muffins with ~1 tbs of the streusel topping.  Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted into the center of a muffin, comes out clean.

Allow them to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine all of the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl.  Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled muffins.

We’ve done the muffin thing quite a bit lately, haven’t we?  There have been zucchini banana, lemon raspberry, blueberry avocado, and double chocolate chunk.

I like muffins, and like to bake muffins, for the same reasons that I like to bake and eat cupcakes (which you also see a lot of on this blog).  They couldn’t be easier, and they’re perfectly portioned!

This muffin recipe comes from the blog My Baking Addiction.  I made a couple of small changes: I upped the amount of cinnamon in the muffins and swapped oil for applesauce.  They’re great if you need to use up a few bananas before they become too ripe.

You’ll need:

For the muffins (makes 12 muffins) –

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the crumb topping – 

• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tbs all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbs butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

In another medium bowl, combine the mashed bananas, sugars, egg, applesauce, and vanilla extract.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until just combined.

Distribute the muffin batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the topping.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until everything is crumbly in texture.  Top each of the muffins equally with the topping.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife, when inserted into the center, comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan before popping the muffins out to cool completely on a wire rack.

Want more muffin action?  Check out these tasty treats:

Zucchini Banana Pecan Muffins

Lemon Raspberry Almond Crunch Muffins

Blueberry Avocado Muffins

Bakery Style Double Chocolate Muffins

These muffins were inspired by an overabundance of produce and desire to make some slightly lighter baked goods.Despite being on the lighter side, they do not disappoint in the flavor department.

They’re slightly sweet, and also super moist.

These muffins were inspired by the recipe on Mix and Stir.

You’ll need:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large, ripe banana
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup zucchini, grated
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, plus a little more for topping the muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners.  Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana with a fork.  Add the sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract, stirring with a spatula to combine.  Add the zucchini and mix to combine again.

Little by little, add the dry ingredients to the wet.  Mix until just combined.  Gently fold in the chopped nuts.

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full with batter.  Sprinkle the top generously with chopped nuts.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a knife/toothpick, when inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

I came across this recipe while looking at a Buzzfeed article about “21 Delicious Ways to Eat Avocado for Breakfast“.

They were too intriguing for me to not bake them.  I mean, avocado in a muffin?  Sign me up.

PLUS!  These muffins have no butter, and instead use avocado and Greek yogurt.  AND they are chock full of blueberries.  So these are basically health food, right?  Right.

In addition, they really are delicious.  They are super moist and flavorful, and are pretty interesting given that they have a slight green tinge to them.

This recipe comes from the blog Gimme Some Oven.

You’ll need (makes 12-15 muffins):

For the muffin – 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 ripe avocado, seeded and peeled
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 egg
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)

For the streusel topping –

• 2 tbs butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tbs all purpose flour
• 2 tbs granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup raw sugar (I had Turbinado sugar on hand and used that)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Fill a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the avocado until it is smooth.  Add the granulated sugar and beat until combined and smooth.  Add the egg, beating to combine completely, followed by the vanilla extract and yogurt.  Beat until things are just combined.

Add the dry ingredients in two batches, beating until things are just combined.

Gently fold in the blueberries by hand, with a spatula.

To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients until crumbly.  Set aside momentarily.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups (it will be pretty thick), and sprinkle a bit of the streusel topping on top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick/knife, when inserted into the center, comes out clean.  Start checking on them after 20 minutes, though!

Cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ever wonder how bakeries get their muffins to have those really high, domed tops?  For the longest time, I was curious about this.

But, a couple of years ago, I stumbled across this recipe on Crunchy Creamy Sweet.  As it turns out, the secret is baking the muffins for a few minutes at a high heat, then turning it down a bit for the rest of the cooking time.

Thanks, Jenna.

I originally blogged about these muffins a couple of years ago, but felt that they really deserved a facelift. The original post can be found here.

You’ll need (makes 18-ish muffins):

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbs unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for a couple of minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla and mix well.

With the mixer on low speed, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and yogurt.

Fold in the the chopped chocolate and chocolate chips.

Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tins, filling them all the way to the top. Top with some extra chocolate chips to make them look extra pretty.

Bake the muffins at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes.  This step is crucial to getting those high-domed, bakery style muffin tops.

Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for 15 more minutes, or until slightly browned on top and a toothpick/knife, when inserted in the center of each muffin, comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.