Cinnamon Mini-Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Cinnamon Mini-Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

I apologize for the lack of posts this past week, but I’ve been spending much of the week getting reacquainted with an old friend. I haven’t spent time with this friend since last fall, but we’ve been able to pick up where we left off without hardly skipping a beat. My friend has also been helping whip me back into shape, which, after being sedentary much of the winter, is greatly appreciated. I’ll write a little bit more about my old friend in a future blog post, but for now, I think it’s time to post another tasty recipe.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy sweet little treat to make for your Mom this Mother’s Day, these Cinnamon Mini-Muffins with Cinnamon-Sugar Topping just might do the trick. The cinnamon mini-muffins are soft, moist & sweet, and the cinnamon-sugar topping is crunchy and delicious.

They would make a wonderful addition to a Mother’s Day breakfast or brunch, or simply to enjoy for a mid-afternoon snack.

~Enjoy~




Cinnamon Mini-Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

Muffins:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 16 mini-muffin cups, or line with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add milk, applesauce, vanilla extract, and vinegar. Stir just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy; do not over stir.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let muffins sit in the pan for a couple of minutes. Remove muffins from pan and place them on a wire rack.

For topping: In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip the top of each muffin in melted butter and then roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place muffins back on wire rack to cool.

Makes 16 mini-muffins.

Lemon Chocolate Chip Muffins

Lemon Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’m so glad it’s finally March. To me it means that we’re one step closer to Spring! After receiving 119.9 inches of snow here this season, I’m really looking forward to seeing green grass and flowers again. A lot of folks around here are really hoping we break the snowfall record of 132.8 inches. Since we only need 12.9 inches of snow to tie the record, and we average 13.9 inches of snow from March 1 to April 30, I guess it’s possible… but I’d really rather not. 🙂

I find that one thing that really helps me get over the gloom of Winter and puts me in the mood for Spring, is baking citrus treats. I decided today to make some Lemon Chocolate Chip Muffins. I don’t know if any of my readers use any of the True Citrus products, but I absolutely love them. They’re so convenient, and they keep very well in a cabinet or pantry. Whenever I decide to make anything that calls for lemon, lime, or orange juice, I only need to go to my pantry and grab a few packets of whichever flavor I need, and I’m good to go.

For this recipe, I only used 1/2 tablespoon of True Lemon, and these muffins came out bursting with lemon flavor. The muffins are moist and light, and the chocolate flavor from the chocolate chips really pairs well with the lemon. The sprinkling of granulated sugar on top also adds a wonderful crispy texture to the muffins that I really love.

~Enjoy~




Lemon Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon True Lemon
1/4 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pan or line with paper liners.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, dissolve True Lemon in the 1/4 cup water. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, eggs, and milk together. Stir in lemon water. Add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling three-fourths full. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar evenly over tops.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Muffins

Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Muffins

I fear that the Autumn season is very close to ending here in Alaska. For the past few days, it has looked like it could start snowing out at any minute, and almost every tree has lost its leaves.

Even though it looks like we’re about to head into the Winter season, I’m still hoping that Autumn hangs on a little longer, because I still have a bunch of Fall recipes I’d like to whip up.

Speaking of Fall recipes, here’s a tasty muffin that is perfect for this time of year – Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Muffins!

The pumpkin and cranberries pair beautifully together in this muffin, and the oats add great texture. And, what’s not to love about streusel topping. It’s the “icing on the cake” – or muffin, in this case. 😉

~Enjoy~




Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 envelopes Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal
1/2 cup Craisins dried cranberries

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon butter, cold

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 12 muffin tins, or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg, pumpkin puree, milk and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Stir in oatmeal and craisins.

Fill muffin cups two-thirds full.

For topping: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and pumpkin pie spice. Cut in butter with pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle one rounded teaspoon of topping over each muffin.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping

Here’s another recipe featuring one of my favorite Fall ingredients – Pumpkin!

I love pumpkin in almost everything…pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin bread, and especially pumpkin muffins. The pecan streusel topping on these wonderful pumpkin spice muffins adds the perfect finishing touch. In fact, these muffins are so incredibly moist and delicious, I’m having a hard time stopping myself from eating the whole batch. 🙂

~Enjoy~

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 (15 ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pecan Streusel Topping

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper baking liners.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin-pie spice. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix butter, eggs, sugars, pumpkin, and vanilla until combined.

Gradually add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, and mix gently until smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling three-fourths full.

For topping, stir together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle topping over muffin batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack.

Makes 24 muffins.

Apple Cinnamon Walnut Muffins

Now here’s a really easy to make muffin recipe that taste’s delicious and will fill your home with the wonderful aroma of apples and cinnamon while they’re baking.

These muffins are chock-full of apples and walnuts, and the cinnamon and nutmeg adds a wonderful, warm spiciness that will have your taste buds dancing with delight. 🙂

I really couldn’t believe how quickly these muffins were to prepare. The only thing that took any length of time, was peeling and chopping the apples…and that only took about 5 minutes.

I made one batch of these muffins (12), and within 30 minutes of removing them from the oven, half of them had already been devoured by my family. I think I’d better play it safe and make two batches next time. 🙂

~Enjoy~

Apple Cinnamon Walnut Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper baking liners.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

In a small bowl, beat milk, eggs and butter until well blended. Stir into flour mixture just until blended. Fold in apples and walnuts.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling three-fourths full.

Bake 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.