baked occasionally october – peanut butter and jelly muffins

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It’s no secret that Shannon and I are big fans of peanut butter and jelly.

Shannon’s pbj ice cream, and my pbj birthday cake, we can hardly get enough of the stuff. Hardly a week goes by where I don’t consume at least one of my favorite pbj sandwiches (Jif Natural, creamy of course, with Favorit raspberry jam, and maybe a couple fruit slices or potato chips stuffed in for crunch). It’s impossible to resist.

So, it should surprise no one that Shannon’s choice for October’s Baked Occasionally series was the Peanut Butter & Jelly muffins from Baked Occasions.

You will have some batter (and streusel) left over, don’t try to stuff it into the muffin tins (or, read that line after you’ve been stuffing, whatever). If you use the fancy leaf muffin liners, you can use more batter and streusel than normal because they are taller and will hold more. This, however, will also add a few minutes to your baking time.

Tender, slightly sweet peanut butter muffins, filled with just a bit of sweet, sticky jam and topped with crunchy peanut streusel. There’s really not a single thing wrong with these.

pbj-muffin

What I liked:

  • Easy to make – Despite being a filled and topped treat, these muffins were pretty easy to make, actually. I used a large scoop for the batter and a small scoop for the filling and it seemed to work out perfectly!
  • Not too sweet – The flavor melds perfectly with sweet filling paired with a peanut-buttery muffin and topped with sweet, crunchy streusel. The muffin itself isn’t too sweet, which is good because it helps to keep this recipe nice and balanced without being tooth-achingly sweet.

What I didn’t like:

  • The filling – Of course you need jelly for it to be “PB&J” and I didn’t really “dislike” the jelly, I just wasn’t sure how much it added to these guys. It felt like, if anything, it didn’t add enough jelly flavor for it to be worth the effort. I remember thinking that someone should invent “jelly chips” (like chocolate chips, but filled with jelly and without any chocolate!) and they would be great here because you could evenly dispense the jelly flavor. ANYWAY – If you weren’t up to the effort of dropping tiny spoonfulls of jelly into your muffin cups, you could definitely just serve it on the side, with the added bonus of everyone being able to choose their own jelly flavor!
  • One more super tiny note – Again, more of a ‘note’ than a “dislike” really. A couple of my peanuts burned while baking, so you could either tent the muffins with foil for the last five minutes or so of baking, or you can just leave out the peanuts, either way will work just fine.

The Verdict:

  • All in all? These are a winner! Bake some up for your next brunch or take them to work (your co-workers will thank you, trust me).

As always, my PIC (that’s “partner in crime”) Shannon has her own beautiful post right here where she shares her thoughts on the recipe, but with much prettier pictures. 🙂

wee-eats-pbj-muffin

peanut butter & jelly muffins

Ingredients

    For the Crumb Topping
  • ½ cup (75 g) salted, roasted peanuts
  • 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1?3 cup (75 g) dark brown sugar, firmly packed
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 ounces (¾ stick/85 g) unsalted butter, melted and warm
  • For the Muffin Batter
  • 1¾ cups (225 g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (110 g) dark brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk, room temperature
  • ½ cup (115 g) sour cream (not low-fat), room temperature
  • ½ cup (130 g) creamy peanut butter
  • 1?3 cup (75 ml) canola oil
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1?3 to ½ cup jelly of choice

Instructions

    For the crumb topping
  1. Finely chop peanuts and put in a medium bowl.
  2. Whisk in the flour, brown sugar, and salt.
  3. Pour melted butter over the mixture and fold the ingredients together until the mixture is crumb-like. If you press some together inside your fist, it should form a solid piece. Set aside.
  4. For the muffins
  5. Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Lightly spray each cup of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and use a paper towel to spread the oil evenly along the bottom and up the sides of each cup. Alternatively, you can line the muffin tin with liners.
  6. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, both sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, until well combined. Be sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar.
  7. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, sour cream, peanut butter, oil, egg, and vanilla.
  8. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well.
  9. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
  10. Drop about 2 tablespoons of batter into each cup of the prepared muffin pan. Use the back of a clean, lightly oiled spoon (or silicone spoon) to flatten the batter and make a slight indentation into the center.
  11. Place 1 rounded teaspoon of jelly onto the muffin batter in each cup, being careful to keep it in the center of the cup.
  12. Top the jelly with another 2 tablespoons of muffin batter to cover the jelly completely, using the back of a spoon to gently spread the batter into an even layer. It's best to start on the outside of the muffin cup so that you don't spread the jelly towards the outside. The muffin cups should be not quite full.
  13. Note: You might end up with excess batter. Do not try to force it into the cups; simply make one or two extra muffins.
  14. Cover the surface of each muffin cup with a small handful of crumbs, pressing the mixture ever so gently so that it adheres to the top. If you use the pretty muffin liners , you can probably fit a very generous amount of streusel onto the top of the muffin, but will likely have some left over.
  15. Bake muffins, rotating halfway through the baking time, until the crumb topping turns a golden brown, 14 to 18 minutes.
  16. Baking the muffins:
  17. If a toothpick inserted into a muffin near the edge (avoiding the jelly center) should come out clean (disregarding any topping or jelly that might stick), bake them for a minute more—these muffins might sink in the middle if not baked all the way.
  18. Let the muffins cool almost completely in the pan on a cooling rack.
  19. If you used the aforementioned liners, removal is easy peasy. Otherwise, angle the muffin tin slightly and use a small offset spatula or a butter knife to coax the muffins out of their tins. Place muffins on the cooling rack until completely cool.
  20. These can be stored in an airtight container for 1 day, or wrapped in saran and stored in the freezer for up to a month.

Notes

- You will have extra batter and streusel topping from this. You can make an extra muffin or two, if you like and save some of the streusel, refrigerated, for another use.

- If you don't feel like filling your muffins, I think jelly would be just as good if not better served alongside these muffins, rather than filled.

- If you notice your topping browning a bit too quickly, tent the muffins with foil for the last 5 or 10 minutes of baking.

https://wee-eats.com/2016/10/03/baked-occasionally-october-peanut-butter-and-jelly-muffins/

Bake along – Get the book here!

Check out Shannon’s post here.

This post contains an affiliate link – purchasing through this link will help to support the existence of this blog. 

nonnie’s blueberry buckle

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This month’s Baked Occasionally is brought to you by the August chapter and was chosen by Mrs. Table. Just like this wonderful summer month this cake is sweet and fill to the top with fruit. Not to be confused with a blueberry coffee cake, the buckle is… well, to be honest I’m not quite sure why it’s not a coffee cake. But it’s not.

Cake batter? Check. Berries? Check. Stresuel? Check! Delicious in the morning and even more delicious alongside coffee? Double check. But no, definitely not a coffee cake.

She may not look like much but what she lacks in presentation she makes up for in flavor. Baked’s blueberry buckle is a sweet, tender cake bursting with blueberries and topped with a sweet, crunchy streusel topping. It’s perfect for breakfast or dessert, or an afternoon snack.

What I liked:

Everything – it was delicious!

What I didn’t:

As per usual, the Baked recipe called for a special tube pan (which my frugal self has yet to purchase). While not nearly as gorgeous as Shannon’s tube pan cake, I did learn that it would fit perfectly into a 10 inch round cake pan. Of course, it will affect your baking time. I ended up using a 10 inch spring form pan so that I could still have the removable bottom feature.

I also threw a little batter into some muffin tins because everything is better in mini form.

You can see Shannon’s post over at A Periodic Table, or pick up the Baked Occasions book and bake along with us next month!

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nonnie's blueberry buckle

Ingredients

    For the Blueberry Cake
  • 1½ cups (170 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1½ cups (170 g) cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 ml) canola oil
  • 2 ounces (½ stick/55 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
  • ½ cup (115 g) sour cream
  • 4 cups (14 ounces/395 g) fresh blueberries
  • For the Streusel
  • ¾ cup (165 g) firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1?3 cup (40 g) all purpose flour
  • 1?3 cup (40 g) cake flour
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 ounces (¾ stick/85 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Instructions

    Make the cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare a 10-cup tube pan or a 10 inch round springform cake pan by lining with parchment and spraying with nonstick cooking spray. (Or butter the pan and dust it with flour, knocking out the excess flour)).
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking powder, salt, ginger, and baking soda. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and sour cream and whisk until combined; set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl,
  6. Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest, and beat for another 10 seconds
  7. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in the standing mixer in three parts, alternating with the cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (flour-cream-flour-cream-flour). Beat at medium speed after each addition until incorporated, about 10 to 15 seconds each.
  8. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the blueberries into the batter. The batter will be very thick.
  9. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.
  10. Make the Streusel
  11. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, flours, and cinnamon until combined (lumps are okay).
  12. Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture and combine until the sugar mixture is thoroughly moistened. You can do this with your hands, a fork, or a spatula.
  13. Pinch off chunks of the topping and drop them over the top of the buckle batter. Use all of the topping and cover the batter completely.
  14. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs, 50 to 60 minutes. (Note: Baking time for muffin size was between 15 to 20 minutes)
  15. Set the cake pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes. Loosen the cake from the sides of the pan with a paring knife, then push the bottom of the pan up (If using a removable bottom) to release the cake. Use the knife to loosen and remove the cake from the bottom of the pan, then cool completely, topping side up, on a cooling rack.

Notes

* If you don't have a tube pan, feel free to use a 10 inch round cake pan or spring form pan. Preferably something with a removable bottom.

* Portion into muffin tins and bake for 15 to 20 minutes for bite sized treats.

* If the streusel topping browns too much while cooking, just cover it with some foil while the cake continues to bake.

https://wee-eats.com/2016/08/02/nonnies-blueberry-buckle/

[ GET THE BOOK – BAKED OCCASIONS ]
[ CHECK OUT SHANNON’S POST ON A PERIODIC TABLE ]

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chocolate chip almond muffins

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Apparently December is brunch month for me – with pain au chocolateapple pie biscuits and cinnamon-almond scones and now… muffins! Sure everyone else is helping you make Christmas cookies but here at Wee Eats we are committed to ensuring you are covered for your most important meal of the day.

These muffins are adapted from Monica over at Playing with Flour. She’s got tons of gorgeous goodies over on her blog, I highly recommend you stop by and check her out!

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These are not those big, dense muffins from your nightmares. The almond flour in these muffins give them a remarkably light crumb, they have a touch of sweetness, and then sliced almonds on to give them a nice little “crunch” as if to say “Good morning, Sunshine!”

Although her recipe calls for orange zest, I left it out because I’ve never really been into that whole chocolate-orange thing. Instead, I added a dash of almond extract to complement the almond flour and sliced almonds, and took these guys another route.

almond muffin pin 2

chocolate chip almond muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 12 to 15 muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
  • 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin tin with liners. Grease liners, if desired, to aid in easy removal of muffins.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the mini chocolate chips and toss to coat with the flour mixture.
  3. Place sugar and almond meal into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
  5. Add vanilla and almond extracts, then add the buttermilk and beat on low speed until combined.
  6. Remove bowl from stand mixer and add the flour mixture. Fold flour mixture into wet mixture, stirring just until combined.
  7. Scoop batter into the prepared muffin cups (the batter will be very stiff), filling them nearly to the top and sprinkle with the sliced almonds.
  8. Bake until muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 12-14 minutes. Let muffins cool in the pans on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then remove them from the pans and set onto the rack to finish cooling.
https://wee-eats.com/2014/12/16/chocolate-chip-almond-muffins/

[ Recipe adapted from: Playing with Flour ]

pumpkin pie bites

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What is a pumpkin pie bite, you ask? Well, imagine all of the flavor and texture of a pumpkin pie in one tiny bite-sized snack.

It all started with this recipe, which is a spin on a thing called “impossible pies” which I guess were a thing before I was around. You take Bisquick (or any standard all purpose baking mix) and mix it with some pumpkin, sugar, and egg, throw it in some cupcake tins and bake it. Once it’s cooked you cool it and store in the fridge and it magically becomes the texture of a pumpkin pie.

Halloween is the perfect time for magic, don’t you agree?

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If Mr. Eats were here he would tell you that they are also delicious fresh out of the oven. He would then tell you that they really do taste like pumpkin pie when you put them in the fridge. Then he would tell you that he hates white chocolate and that I tricked him into eating these by telling him it was “just white coating” and definitely not white chocolate.

He would then tell you that he forgave me for my indiscretion because after I came clean about tricking him into eating white chocolate, he decided to start coating everything within arm’s reach in the stuff. He even said that it “was actually really good, especially for white chocolate.”

For dipping, I decided to finally try out Chocoley’s white chocolate. If it sounds familiar, you may remember them as the chocolate I used for my peanut butter eggs back in April. If you’re having a hard time deciding between the “dipping and coating” or the “candy and molding” varieties, you can see a better example there of the differences in finish. I used the dipping and coating formula for these because I just wanted a thin, matte shell and it did the job perfectly.

Mr. Eats still thinks he hates white chocolate, but I guess this is an exception to the rule since he devoured this stuff.  In fact, after I finished dipping the pumpkin bites, he joined me in the kitchen and started dipping apple slices and pretty much anything else within reach into the stuff, which I think is even more proof of the recipe’s magical powers.

pumpkin pie bites

Yield: 12 mini "pies" or 48 "bites"

Ingredients

    For the pumpkin pies
  • 1 cup All-Purpose Baking Mix (I used Bisquick)
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
  • 2 tablespoons very soft butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk (whole or evaporated)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • For the bites
  • 3 cups white chocolate coating (I used Chocoley's white chocolate)
  • Sprinkles, for decorating
  • Parchment-lined baking sheet

Instructions

    Make the pies
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a cupcake tin with liners.
  2. In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add the butter and whisk to combine. Add pumpkin and continue to mix until blended.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract until the eggs are blended. Pour into the pumpkin mixture and stir until the batter is smooth (it will be pretty thin).
  4. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan completely, about 30 minutes, then remove from the cupcake tin and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 2 to 4 hours until cold.
  5. You could enjoy them as-is, but why do that when you could turn them into adorable little bites?
  6. Make the bites
  7. Cut each "pie" into 4 wedges. Melt white chocolate in a double-boiler or melt it in 30 second intervals at 50% power in the microwave, stirring in between intervals, until completely melted.
  8. Dip each wedge into the chocolate coating until completely covered, remove with a fork and shake off excess chocolate.
  9. Set onto parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with desired decorations.

Notes

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

https://wee-eats.com/2014/10/21/pumpkin-pie-bites/

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pumpkin pie bites | wee-eats.com

 

whole wheat roasted banana muffins

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I first made these muffins on a whim, I had two super-ripe (on the verge of garbage-can-ripe) bananas sitting in my fruit bowl begging not to be thrown away. I stared at them for a long time, thinking,  relatively certain that every banana bread recipe in the world requires more than two bananas. I could have made some banana pancakes, but at 7:00 PM on a weeknight (after we had just eaten dinner) it might have seemed just a touch odd to start making pancakes.

So, I pondered a moment and decided in a moment of genius to ROAST the bananas. In my big dinosaur brain I figured with SAT-style math equations that two ripe bananas plus the roasting power of the oven (divided by the square root of the deliciousness of regular banana bread) should equal the flavor of at LEAST three bananas… Then I decided to amp up the flavor with a bit of whole wheat flour and tweaked the moisture content just a bit to make sure the texture doesn’t go bananas on me (ha- get it? BANANAS).

Et, voila!

Banana bread was had. Well, banana MUFFINS, to be more exact. But in my world banana “muffins” are really just banana bread poured into a muffin tin.

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They ended up being FRIGGIN DELICIOUS and I couldn’t wait to share them with you guys… except that I didn’t have any to share. Because instead of sharing them with you I shared them with my belly. So I had to buy some more bananas and play that dreadful game we all play when we want to  make banana bread: The Waiting Game.

Buy bananas now, eat banana bread in 5 to 10 days.

Must not consume all of the bananas before said day arrives.

I also fully intended, now that I had purchased a surplus of bananas specifically to make these muffins, to do that thing where you bake a slice of banana on top of the muffin and it looks super pretty.  Unfortunately, due to a fierce smoothie addiction that is apparently contagious (since FH caught it), I ended up with the same issue as last time – only two bananas.

No extra banana fanciness. Maybe next time. For now, make the bananas, maybe press a piece of sliced banana in the top and let me know what kind of magic happens. Throw on some streusel while you’re at it, or stir in some chocolate chips… Or, if you’re evil like me, trick your Future Husband (or person of your choice) by whispering to them menacingly after they’ve raved about how good the muffins are, “Psst – they have whole grain flour in them…” and watch the color drain from their face as they stare at you in horror for making them eat something (almost) a teeny bit healthful.

You monster.

roasted banana muffins

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 9 to 12 muffins

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Ingredients

  • 2 (or 3) ripe bananas
  • 1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup all purpose flour (I used 2/3 cup regular all purpose + 1/3 cup whole wheat flour)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
  2. Place unpeeled bananas on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet (for easy clean-up) and roast about 20 to 30 minutes until completely blackened. Remove from oven and cool slightly until cool enough to handle.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour(s), baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  4. In a large bowl, mash roasted bananas. Once the bananas close to room temperature, whisk in the sugars and oil until incorporated.
  5. Add the egg and stir to combine.
  6. Add the flour in two additions, and gently fold until combined, being careful not to over-mix.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs clinging to it.

Notes

*If you would like to top these with streusel or just a bit of crumbled brown sugar, it will yield a slightly sweeter muffin.

*You can still see little chunks of banana in my muffin - if you don't want chunks just mash your bananas to be chunk-free!

*These were great with 2 bananas (which was all I had on hand) but if you want to add a third banana (mashed or chopped) I would keep the rest of the ingredients the same.

https://wee-eats.com/2014/03/11/whole-wheat-roasted-banana-muffins/