Fresh Cranberry-Blueberry Crumble Muffins

I love it when the fresh cranberries start showing up in the stores!  Gets me excited for the holidays and I start anticipating what new recipes I'm going to try this year.  I couldn't resist putting a bag of cranberries in my basket the other day, but then I needed to figure out what I was going to do with them.  Muffins are always a hit with the kids, so I figured I'd not only put fresh cranberries in them, but also some big frozen blueberries.  I wasn't sure how that would work, but they turned out super delicious and moist!


Fresh Cranberry-Blueberry Crumble Muffins
{recipe adapted slightly from Keep your diet real}


INGREDIENTS: {makes 12 muffins}

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt, or milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal {optional}
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
• small amount of flour & sugar to toss berries in

For Topping:

• 2 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 Tbsp. brown sugar
• zest of 1/2 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

Line a muffin pan with paper liners.  Melt the butter in microwave and let cool slightly.  In a medium bowl, combine the chopped fresh cranberries and blueberries and toss with a couple tablespoons on flour and sugar.  This will help keep the fruit from bleeding into the muffin. Whisk yogurt, egg, yolk, and vanilla in a small bowl, then add cooled butter.  Whisk together the flour, flaxseed meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Add the yogurt mixture and stir until just combined {don't stir too much}.  Gently fold in the cranberries and blueberries.  Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups.  

Combine the crumble topping in a separate bowl and rub with fingertips until it resembles "crumbles" then gently press down on muffin tops before placing into the oven.  

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool slightly before serving.

Nectarine Oatmeal Coffee Cake with Brown sugar Topping

Well, we got through our first two days of school!  The kids started school on Thurs. which is really foreign to me, but I have to admit, it was nice to welcome the weekend yesterday!  I now have a 4th grader, 3rd grader, and a 1st grader (sniff, sniff).  It blows my mind to think of how fast my little ones are growing and makes me realize more and more that every day with them counts!
I have bittersweet feelings when school begins, but seeing how much they enjoy their teachers, friends and school, it gives me a huge sense of relief.

Anyway, I figured I'd dust off my cooking skills and make something yummy for breakfast this morning!
I had a few nectarines on the counter and thought a coffee cake would be good and some nice thick cut bacon to go along with it!
I actually altered this recipe quite a bit.  It was originally a muffin recipe, but thought I'd pour it into a 9 inch square pan.  Then I added a brown sugar topping that made this coffee cake extra special!
A couple of tips:  use any fresh or frozen fruit you'd like...blueberries, peaches, raspberries, etc.
Also, if you'd rather make muffins, I think they would turn out great and they'd freeze well too!
Last, be sure not to mix the batter too much.  This was a very fluffy cake, but if you mix it too much it will change the texture.  Just fold lightly!

Nectarine Oatmeal Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Topping 
{adapted from Easy Breakfast and Brunch cookbook}


INGREDIENTS: {Makes one 9-inch cake or 12 muffins}

• 1 1/3 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour {you can easily substitute 1/2 wheat flour}
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 almost ripe nectarines, pitted and flesh cut into large chunks 

Brown Sugar Topping:

• 4 Tbsp. butter, cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

*Mix together with fingers until it becomes a crumbly consistency

DIRECTIONS:

  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch baking dish {I used my pampered chef stoneware}.  

Put the rolled oats and buttermilk in a large bowl and let soak for 10 minutes.  Add the egg, melted butter, and sugar and mix well.

In a medium bowl whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Pour the flour mixture into the soaked oat mixture and stir briefly.  Quickly fold in the chopped nectarines.  The batter should look streaky...DO not over mix or the cake will become tough and dry!  

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle the brown sugar topping all over.  

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, checking after 20 minutes with a toothpick.  Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into large slices and serve with some crispy bacon and a big cup of coffee!

Double Chocolate-Chip Muffins

My kids love chocolate...they take after their mommy in that way!  My daughter is always asking for chocolate muffins and I'm always telling her I'll make them for her "soon".  I'm not the type of person who cringes at a chocolate muffin for breakfast.  Give me pie, cake, cookies...you name the dessert, I'll eat it for breakfast!  It's a curse, but I've learned to embrace it.
This is the first recipe I came across for chocolate muffins and it was VERY SIMPLE!  She pulled up the barstool and my little Ella helped me make them.  It's one of those recipes that can be put together and baked in less than 30 minutes.  She thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of her labor, as did I, with a nice hot Americano!

Double Chocolate-Chip Muffins {slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson}


INGREDIENTS:  {Makes 12 muffins}

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour {you could substitute half whole-wheat flour if you like}
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 heaping Tbsp. good quality cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.  Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, sugar, and 3/4 cup chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl.  In a small bowl, combine the milk, oil, egg, and vanilla.  Whisk to combine.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until mixed.  Try not to over-mix batter.   Evenly scoop batter into muffin tin and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.  

Cinnamon-Sugar Donut Muffins

  Breakfast is almost always a battle in our home.  Trying to get all three of my kids to like what I'm serving for breakfast is never an easy task.  One kid wants one thing while the other kid wants something else and then there's always one who doesn't even want to eat at all.  I feel like a short order cook A LOT!  So, I'm constantly looking for recipes to try that will satisfy them all.  I know, I should just throw a bowl of cheerios in front of them and ignore the whines, but I really do enjoy seeing their smiling faces when they come in the kitchen and get excited about breakfast!
Well, these little muffins were definitely a winner.  They didn't take much time to make, they are actually pretty healthy, AND most importantly, everyone enjoyed them!
This particular recipe came from HERE, which I slightly adapted.

Cinnamon-Sugar Donut Muffins {adapted from bakedperfection.com}
{Makes 12 muffins}

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a standard muffin pan with paper cups.  Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, and vanilla.  Add flour mixture and mix with light strokes until the dry ingredients are just moistened.  Do not overmix!

Divide batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 12-15 minutes.  

While the muffins are baking, melt 1/2 stick butter and place in a bowl just large enough to hold a muffin.  Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a small, shallow bowl.  As soon as the muffins are done, dip them one at a time in the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar.  Set on a rack to cool slightly.  Serve warm!!!!