Cinnamon Apple Glazed Muffins

In my life, there are some simple facts.

Coffee is necessary in the morning.

The color purple makes anything better.

Dogs are way more fun than cats.

I always prefer a cupcake to a muffin.

However, sometimes there are little exceptions. Like when you find a borderline-on-cupcake muffin recipe. You know, the cupcake that is masquerading as a muffin. It’s the kind of thing that you can justify eating first thing in the morning, but deep inside you know you are pretty much eating dessert.

I originally found the recipe for these muffins at www.mybakingaddiction.com . However, when I started making them at home, I realized I was missing some ingrediants and had other things to add. This led me to make Cinammon Apple Glazed Muffins.

Batter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1  1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2  2/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 apple, diced

Cream butter, oil, and sugars together until smooth. Add in the eggs, beat well to combine. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.

Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternatively with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Thoroughly combine.

Spray a muffin tin with nonstock spray and spoon the batter into the pan (I got 20 cups full).

I wanted to try some of these muffins without apple and some with. So for the other pan, I pressed the apple pieces into the batter.

I ended up liking the muffins with the apple in them much better so next time, I would mix the apple right in with the batter.

Cook for 13-15 minutes at 425F. Cool slightly.

Glaze
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup icing sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp hot water

Whisk together butter, icing sugar, vanilla, and water until smooth.

After the muffins are slightly cooled, dip the top of each muffin into the glaze, then allow the glaze to harden. I dipped each muffin twice.

The muffins were just the right amount of sweet and would be perfect for a brunch.

Nobody needs to know these are pretty much a cupcake. It can be our little secret.

Today’s Sweetness: Hubby came home from out of town a day early!

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Parmesan Knots

I have a great love of two types of food-candy and bread. I could eat either of those all day, every day (well, until my teeth fell out, that is). This love has lead me to search out recipes for the two foods. It’s pretty hard to find a good candy recipe (and much easier to go to 7-11 and buy it) but there are thousands of great bread recipes out there.

I offered to bring some type of buns to a family dinner on Sunday. Once I had decided to bring this, I went through my recipes, trying to find the perfect recipe to try out. The most interesting recipes I had were using frozen rolls as the dough and that seemed way too easy to me so I decided to improvise and came up with a delicious recipe.

Parmesan Knots
2 1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp white sugar
melted butter
parmesan cheese

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy (about ten minutes).

In a large bowl, combine flour, oil, salt, and sugar with the yeast mixture. Mix until a stiff dough has formed. Knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic (about a minute).

Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.

Once the dough has risen, place on a floured surface.

Cut the dough into small chunks (I got 8 chunks out of the dough). Roll our each chunk until about 7-8 inches in length and then tie into a knot.

Brush the tops of each bun with melted butter and bake at 350F for about 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Let the buns cool for about 5 minutes. Brush completely with melted butter and then roll in parmesan cheese until covered.

These tasted a lot like Little Ceasar’s Crazy Bread but homemade so 100% better! They were extremely easy to make and quick to make. I only wish they had made more!

Today’s Sweetness: A good night’s sleep to get me through the day.

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Peanut Butter Cupcakes

A few weeks ago, I made the best cupcakes in the world. I found the recipe at www.somethingshinyblog.com and knew immediately I had to make these. It was a cupcake on steroids. There was goodness on top of goodness and it will be a challenge to ever beat this recipe.

Cupcakes
1/2 cup butter
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 bag mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Combine butter, chopped chocolate, and cocoa in a bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir. Continue microwaving until smooth. Cool until barely warm.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the sugar and salt. Add the cooled chocolate mixture, beating until smooth. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and whisk until fully combined. Add sour cream, mixing well. Whisk in remaining flour mixture until fully incorporated and batter thick.

Divide batter into cupcake tins. Press a mini Reese’s cup into the center of each cupcake until level with the top of the batter.

Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tbsp butter
2 cups icing sugar
1/2 – 2/3 whipping (heavy) cream

Beat peanut butter, butter, and icing sugar until thoroughly combined. Add cream and beat until light and fluffy.

Spread onto cooled cupcakes.

The original recipe had a homemade magic shell recipe to complete this cupcake. However, it seems that all the grocery stores near me do not carry coconut oil and after 30 minutes of driving around looking for it, I decided to just go with the store bought magic shell.

Before dipping, the icing on the cupcake must be cool so the chocolate will harden properly. I left the cupcakes in the fridge for about 30 minutes before dipping.

One simple dip, and the cupcake was complete.

These cupcakes should be kept cool until serving so the chocolate coating does not melt.

I thought these cupcakes might be too sweet but they were simply perfect. I originally made these cupcakes about a month ago and have been dreaming of them ever since… Definitely a recipe to hold onto!

Today’s Sweetness-Big Brother starts on TV tonight. Enough said.

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World’s Best Cinnamon Buns

I am a huge fan of breakfast food. I could eat it all day, every day. Especially the breakfast food that could almost be considered a dessert. Cinnamon buns falls into this category

Hubby and I went to a friend’s cabin for the long weekend and I volunteered to bring breakfast for the group. What better way to spend your morning at the lake then with a cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun? They were absolutely perfect!

Normally I make these cinnamon buns in a 9 x 13 pan. This time I tried something a little different and made them in cupcake tins. They came out looking perfect but I think in the future I would stick to the 9 x 13 pan because they made a bit of a mess in the cupcake tins.

Cinnamon Buns
Dough:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups (approximately) flour

Filling:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Dissolve 1 tsp of the white sugar in warm water and sprinkle in yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat milk, remaining sugar, butter, and salt until butter has melted. Let cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk mixture, and yeast mixture.

Using an electric mixer, gradually beat in 2- 2.5 cups of the flour. Beat for 2 minutes or until smooth. With a spoon, gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make soft, slightly sticky dough that comes away from the side of the bowl.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 7-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a large, greased bowl (I use cooking oil for grease), turning to grease all over. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt 3/4 cup of the butter with 3/4 cup of the sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into a greased pan. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon, set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a rectangle. Spread remaining butter across the surface and sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Tighly roll up, pinching seam to seal. Cut into 15 pieces and place in pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double in bulk.

Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden and the tops sound hollow when tappen. Let stand in pan for 3 minutes and then invert onto serving platter.

Mmmm….makes me wish I had one right now!

Today’s Sweetness: The anticipation of a fun filled evening with D.A.T.E. night!

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Throw it all together and bake

I had a lot of fruit in my fridge so I decided to use some of it in baking last night. I didn’t really have a recipe to use so I just kind of combined a few recipes into…something. I don’t know what exactly I would call it…

So I might have had a few bites before I took the picture…

Crust:
1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp butter

Fruit Filling:
1.5 cups rhubarb
1.5 cups strawberries
1.5 cups blueberries
2 tbsp water
2 tsp cornstarch

Topping:
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chocolate pieces

Melt the butter and mix it with the graham cracker crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 9 x 9 greased pan.

Place all three fruits in a saucepan, over medium-high heat until they are warm (don’t boil them). In a separate bowl, mix together cornstarch and water. Once the fruit is warm, mix in the cornstarch/water mixture and stir until it has thickened up.

Spread the fruit on top of the graham crust.

Mix together the flour and brown sugar until combined. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the butter into the mixture until it is crumbly.  Spread over the top of the fruit.

The Hershey Kisses chocolate pieces got added in because they were sitting in my pantry and I was starting to feel bad about sneaking a couple every hour or so. They need to get used up so they went on top of the crumbs. Adding chocolate to things is usually a pretty good idea.

Bake at 350F for approximately 45 minutes.

It turned out to be a bit crumbly but that was alright with me. I bet it would taste 100 times better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but we didn’t have any in the house.  Next time…

Today’s Sweetness: A beautiful sunny day outside! It has been 5 days since I woke up to blue sky

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I just need a little something…

“I just need a little something…”

Anyone else ever uttered those words after dinner? You don’t need a big piece of cake or a dessert run to Marble Slab but you just need a little something sweet.

When I get the need for a little something sweet, I usually start thinking about what I could make that would satisfy the craving. But when you sit down and look at recipes, it’s pretty hard to find a recipe that doesn’t make enough for a family of 10. And when there’s just the two of you, it seems a little ridiculous to make that much. (Especially if you’re like me and the moment there are sweets in the house you lose all aspects of self control and eat it all within a day or two)

So last night I decided to make a dessert just for 2. And it was EXACTLY the perfect size when you just need something a little sweet.

Apple-Blueberry Crisp

1 Apple, peeled and sliced into bite size pieces
3 tbsp blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. butter, softened

Mix together white sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over apples and toss to coat all pieces. Add in blueberries and toss again. Divide mixture into two small ovenproof dishes.

Combine brown sugar, oats, flour, and butter in a separate bowl. Cover the fruit with this mixture.

Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes. The top should be golden brown and the apples soft.

Aren’t they just the cutest things you’ve ever seen? We got a CorningWare set as a wedding present that had a variety of sizes of dishes and I have finally found the purpose for these mini dishes!

Completely satisfying… I may just have to make more tonight…

Today’s sweetness: The pouring rain outside which has saved me from having to water my lawn

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