Bran Muffins.

Wouldn't you love to quickly make from-scratch muffins any morning of the week?  If you're like me most weekday mornings are not conducive to baking.  But, what if you could grab some batter from the fridge, spoon into muffin tins, place in the oven, and come back 15 minutes later to a warm breakfast?  That is what I love about this recipe.

Another thing to love: the batter keeps (and improves in flavor) for 4 weeks!!  That being the case, there is no need to bake all the muffins at once.  Do you have a family of 4?  Bake 4 muffins!  Taking them to the office?  Fill up the muffin tin!

Bran Muffins.

(Recipe slightly adapted from Nicole)

6 cups Raisin Bran Cereal

5 cups flour

3 cups sugar

5 tsp baking soda

4 eggs (beaten)

2 tsp salt

4 cups sour milk (Created by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice to 1 cup milk and letting sit for 2 minutes.  You could also use buttermilk as indicated in the original recipe)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups dried fruit (raisins, craisins, cherries - this is a great opportunity to clean the cupboard of partial bags)

Combine flour, sugar, cereal, soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine sour milk, oil, and eggs.  Whisk well. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir just until blended.  Mix in dried fruit.  Place in a tight-sealing container in the refrigerator overnight. Without stirring, spoon batter into pans.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool slightly in muffin tin and enjoy warm with a slab of butter.  Mmmmmm. 

Remember:

The batter will keep for four weeks and improves over time.

Do not stir at anytime after refrigerating; this includes when preparing to bake muffins.

You will need a fairly large sized container...so plan accordingly...I've been without a container for months, but am happy to report I've finally purchased a replacement container and I can start making these on a regular basis again!

Banana Oatmeal Graham Muffins

I experimented with banana muffins last night in an effort to use up some overripe bananas and lucky for all of you, came with a recipe good enough to share! :)


Banana Oatmeal Graham Muffins

Wet Ingredients:
3 overripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg

Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
3 graham crackers, coarsely crushed

Streusel Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 T. flour
2 T. butter
dash cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all wet ingredients and add dry ingredients to mixture. Place muffin liners in muffin pan and fill liners atleast 3/4 full. Prepare streusel by cutting butter into the remaining topping mixture. Cover each muffin with streusel topping. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, allow to cool and enjoy! :)

Makes one dozen muffins.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins.

Yes, my eating habits are revolving around zucchini. But, I'm not sick of it yet! I still have a few new recipes to try and a couple old favorites to bring out. Stick with me people! In the dead of winter we'll wish we could run out to the garden and grab a fresh zucchini!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup soured milk (milk with lemon juice) or buttermilk
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa

dash of salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice1 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin tins by greasing or lining with paper cups. Mix together the sugar, butter and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Stir in vanilla, milk, zucchini and chocolate chips. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients and mix until well combined. Spoon batter into large muffin pans. Bake for 30 minutes, cool, and enjoy!!

Banana Almond Chocolate Muffins

Lately, I've really been into muffins; I think I like them so much because they are so quick and easy to grab for breakfast or lunch on the go. They're also a nice little treat to take into work at the Housing Office. I think it's safe to say they appreciate them! :)

If you have any ripe bananas sitting around, this recipe is sure to please! :)


Banana Almond Chocolate Muffins

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 Hershey's Bars, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly beat egg; add bananas and mash. Add the rest of the "wet" ingredients and mix well. Then, add dry ingredients but do not over-stir. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray to prevent them from sticking or use muffin liners. Bake 22-25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in muffin pan and then place on cooling rack.

Strawberry Muffins with a Streusel Topping

It's not very often you hear of strawberry muffins - or so just about everyone who tried one has said... but... they have always so said - these are absolutely delicious! :)

I had a quart of strawberries that were just about to go bad so I wanted to use them all up and therefore came up with this delicious recipe!


Strawberry Muffins

2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats (a heaping 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 quart strawberries, diced finely
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup canola oil

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup quick oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tablespoons cold butter

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly beat eggs; stir in milk, sour cream and oil. Add remaining dry ingredients and lastly fold in strawberries. The mix is rather thick. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray (or use muffin liners). Fill muffin cups. Prepare streusel by adding first 4 ingredients and cutting in the butter. Top muffins with streusel mixture and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Allow them to cool in muffin tins for 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.


These muffins really are a tasty treat but I think I would make one alteration. Rather than using the sour cream, I think would use vanilla or strawberry yogurt; but I didn't have any on hand.

Try them out and let me know what you think! :) Now's the perfect time to be using strawberries in all your recipes seeing as they are in season!