Tea, sympathy & banana muffins

 Things have been quiet around here.  Winnipeg doesn't seem to have gotten the memo that spring/summer should really be around the corner.  Today it's overcast, drizzly, and 10ºC (50ºF for those south of the border!)  Perfect time for sipping hot beverages and making muffins.

Banana muffins were a weekend staple in our house.  It seemed we always had overripe fruit to contend with.  My mom had a spiral-bound cookbook called "Muffin Mania", which I loved... it was perfect for the beginner cook (which I definitely was, at age 12).  My Nonna loves making banana muffins, too... she'll make a batch, freeze them, and reheat them individually whenever we show up for weekend coffee.

The pics here are from a batch I made quite awhile ago, but I found a recipe that seems to work super-well, and has the added benefit of being quick and easy.  I whipped up a batch in about 10 minutes while Skyping with Tori last week, and Nonna-style, they lasted me well into this weekend.  Mmm!

Best-ever Banana Muffins

From Robin Hood Home Baking 2004, by way of "The Canadian Baker" (another fellow Blogger user!)

Makes 1 dozen

• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana ( 3 or 4 large)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
2. Beat egg, mashed banana and melted butter in a large bowl until thoroughly blended.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched.

Variations:

• Add 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries or blueberries to the batter.
• Add 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter (I used chopped 70% chocolate last week... mmm!)
• For a vegan version, substitute 1 Tbsp ground flax mixed in 3 Tbsp water for the egg and dairy-free margarine for the butter.

 

Off to put on my ugly sweater and curl up with a warm, snuggly (if somewhat annoyed) cat,
-Honeybee

Muffin Mania!

My muffin pan has gotten a good workout lately.  Whenever I'm feeling like I need a little pick-me-up, out comes the dozen-cupped baking vessel.  In the past few weeks, I've re-made some favourites of mine: pumpkin muffins and berry bran muffins.  I tweaked them both a little bit this time around... details below!

Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from "Muffin Mania" by Cathy Prange and Joan Pauli

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 3/4 cup pumpkin (small can)
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cup raisins

1. Beat eggs slightly. Add sugar, oil, pumpkin and beat thoroughly.
2. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Stir in raisins.
3. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full.Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes.

Mmm, nice and moist.  They didn't suffer at all from cutting down on the oil content.  Plus, I feel a little bit better having subbed in some whole wheat flour.

This next recipe comes from my dear friend Andrea.  I'll give you the original instructions below, then let you know what's going on with that ooey gooey goodness (see above) afterwards:

Berry Bran Muffins
From Andrea… not sure of her original source

Makes 9-12 muffins, depending on how you fill the tins

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup wheat bran (you can also use All Bran)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup of frozen or 1 cup of fresh berries

1. Mix together the egg, milk, and oil.  Stir in the wheat bran and let sit five minutes.
2. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients until just moistened. Stir in berries.
4. Spoon into greased muffin tin (or cupcake wrappers). 
5. Bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes. 

My modification: À la Tim Hortons "Fruit explosion" muffins, I substituted some peeled, chopped apple for some of the berries, and added a small dollop of PC Blue Menu raspberry jam on top of the raw batter just before putting them in the oven.  No more messing around with the jelly jar when it's baked right in!

Overall, these were super-tasty.  The key is to eat them in moderation.... not four in a row (I'm not addicted... I can quit anytime I want...) I did fairly well with these, bringing just one at a time in for a mid-morning snack at work, with another one alongside a cup of tea for an after-dinner snack.  Reasonable, right?  Right??

Thinking she'll use up more of that jam making her godmother's PB&J muffins...
-Honeybee