Peach Crumb Muffins

This is another wonderful peach recipe. The goal was to create coffee-shop/bakery muffins that were “tall, craggy, rich, and bronzed.” Success.

The recipe is from Deb Perelman’s book, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files. She recommends storing the leftover muffins in the pan- uncovered. I did this with some skepticism but will report that (as promised) the peaches kept the muffins moist and the room air kept the topping from becoming soggy.

The original recipe notes that other stone fruit can be substituted for the peaches. Ground cardamom (1/2 tsp) can also be incorporated, if desired.

Yield: 12 muffins

• 3 medium-large (1 to 1 1/2 pounds or 455 to 680 grams, total) ripe or very ripe yellow peaches
• 8 T (1/2 cup, 4 oz, or 115 grams) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp (3 grams) plus a pinch, kosher salt (I used Diamond Crystal), divided
• 2 1/4 cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 cup (230 grams) plain or vanilla yogurt
• 2 large or extra-large eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 C), preferably on convection.
2. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners, or coat with nonstick spray.
3. Halve, pit, and thinly slice the peaches. Set 24 to 36 peache slices aside for decoration.
4. Chop the remaining peach slices into small pieces. You need 1 1/2 cups.
5. Mix the butter, sugar, a pinch of salt, and half of the flour (1 cup plus 2 T, or 145 grams) in a large bowl until it forms a clumpy mixture.
6. Remove 6 semi-packed tablespoons (about 115 grams) and set it aside; this will be the streusel topping.
7. Add the yogurt and eggs to the big bowl of crumbs; whisk to combine. (It’s okay if it is not smooth.)
8. Add the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and remaining 1 tsp salt; whisk well.
9. Stir in the remaining flour and chopped peaches just until the flour disappears.
10. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. (They will be filled nearly to the top.)
11. Arrange 2 or 3 fanned slices of peach on top of each.
12. Divide the reserved streusel topping over the muffins. Nudge any that spills off back onto the cups of batter.
13. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted under the peach slices comes out batter-free. (I baked mine for 22 minutes on convection.)
14. Let the muffins rest in the baking tin for 5 minutes before removing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: Leftover muffins keep for 2 days at room temperature. Keep them in the baking pan but uncovered.

Apple-Cinnamon Pull-Apart Rolls with Apple Cider Glaze

One more apple treat to share. 🙂 We ate these rolls as a special snack and re-warmed them for breakfast the next day as well.

The recipe for these miniature “monkey breads” was adapted from King Arthur Flour.com, but I was inspired to top them with apple cider glaze from davebakes.com.

The apple cider glaze gave them an unexpected tanginess. Tasty and fun.

Yield: 16 rolls

For the Dough:

• 1 cup (113g) white whole wheat flour
• 2 cups (240g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons (8g) fine sea salt
• 3 tablespoons (32g) potato flour
• 3 tablespoons (50g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 tablespoons (57g) butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (113g) lukewarm milk (I used 2 percent milk)
• 1/2 cup (113g) lukewarm water

For the Topping:

• 1/4 cup (4 T) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 heaping cup (128g) cored, chopped apple, peeled or unpeeled (I used Pink Lady apples)
• raisins, optional (I omitted them)

For the Glaze:

• 2 cups apple cider, reduced, optional
• 2/3 cup (74g) confectioners’ sugar
• pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 T (14g) milk (I used 2 percent milk)
• 1 T unsalted butter, melted

To Make the Dough:

1. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the dough ingredients, mixing and kneading to make a smooth, soft dough. It may seem dry at first, but as you knead it’ll soften up.
2. Place the dough in a greased bowl or greased 8-cup measure, cover it, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it’s noticeably puffy (though not necessarily doubled in bulk). (I used a proofing oven.)
3. Lightly grease paper muffin cups, and use them to line 16 cups (8 cups in each) of two standard muffin tins.
4. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 16 pieces; each will be about 1 1/2 ounces (44g). Round each piece into a flattened ball.
5. Working with one piece at a time, use a bench knife (or regular knife) to cut the dough into 8 wedges. Don’t worry about being precise; pieces can vary in size.

To Make the Topping and Form the Rolls:

1. Ration the chopped apple into 16 piles, each pile should be about a generous tablespoon.
2. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon with a whisk.
3. Roll or shake four dough pieces in cinnamon sugar, and place them into a muffin cup.
4. Sprinkle with raisins, if using, and chopped apple.
5. Roll the remaining four dough pieces in cinnamon sugar; top the filling with these remaining four pieces of dough.
6. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough, raisins, and apple.
7. Sprinkle the top of each roll with an additional 1/4 tsp cinnamon sugar.
8. Cover them lightly with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let them rise for about 2 hours, until they’re noticeably puffy. (I used a proofing oven.)
9. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F, preferably on convection.
10. Uncover the risen rolls, and bake them for 14 minutes, on convection, or up to 17 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Don’t let them darken too much; they’ll be dry.
11. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack.

To Make the Glaze & to Finish:

1. Place the cider in a pot over medium heat. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Set aside. (If the cider cools, it must be rewarmed in order to add it to the glaze mixture.)
2. Combine the confectioners’ sugar, salt, milk, and butter. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of reduced cider, to taste.
3. Adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding more milk or more reduced cider.
4. Using a spoon, drizzle the rolls with glaze.

Funfetti Mini Bundt Cakes

My daughter and I made these mini cakes as a birthday surprise for her friend. ❤ Sprinkles=Birthday over here. Using red, white, and blue sprinkles would make these cakes a fun and patriotic Fourth of July treat.

The recipe was adapted from thebittersideofsweet.com. They can be served for breakfast or dessert! 🙂

Yield: 4 mini cakes

For the Mini Bundt Cakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt 
• 1 large egg 
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used whole milk Greek yogurt)
• 1 tablespoon milk (I used whole milk)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles 

For the Glaze:

• 1/2 cup Confectioners’ sugar 
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons milk (I used 1 1/2 T whole milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• rainbow sprinkles
• gel food coloring, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F, preferably on convection. (My pan has a dark, non-stick interior finish. Set the oven to 350° F if using a pan with a light interior finish.)
2. Spray 4 wells of a mini bundt cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking power, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Set aside.
4. In medium bowl, whisk together milk, yogurt, and eggs. Stir in melted butter and vanilla and whisk until combined.
5. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Slowly stir until just combined. 
6. Fold in sprinkles. Avoid over stirring.
7. Using a cookie scoop, distribute the batter into the 4 prepared wells of a mini bundt pan.
8. Bake for 17 minutes in a convection oven, or for 20-25 minutes in a standard oven, or until edges are golden. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
9. Remove from oven, leave cakes to cool in pan for 5 minutes.
10. Remove cakes from pan and allow to completely cool on wire rack.
11. Once cool, make the glaze. In a medium bowl add milk, Confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Tint with food coloring, if desired.
12. Drizzle glaze over cakes. Top with sprinkles.

Raspberry Crumb Muffins

A couple of my friends thought that I was joking when I told them that I try not to bake that much! I am trying not to… 😉

That being said, I was dying to make these as soon as I saw them on Marisa’s Italian Kitchen.  She made them in the most darling muffin pan too. This recipe was adapted from New York City’s Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook, via Marisa’s Italian Kitchen. I incorporated white whole wheat flour, modified the proportions, and reduced the baking time.

They were a very special breakfast. 🙂

Yield: 10 muffins

For the Crumb Topping:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 2 T unsalted butter, cubed

For the Muffin Batter:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• a teaspoon grated lemon zest
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup white whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries or blueberries, plus 10 additional raspberries for topping (or 20+ blueberries)
• Crumb Topping (above)

1. In a small bowl, mix together all the Crumb Topping ingredients using a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Refrigerate the crumb mixture until your ready to use it. (This can be prepared in advance.)
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F, preferably on convection.
3. Line a muffin pan with 10 paper muffin cups or coat with cooking oil spray.
4. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Add the egg and the lemon zest to the mixture and blend until combined.
6. Whisk the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a separate bowl.
7. Mix in ¼ cup of the sour cream into the butter mixture, then half of the flour mixture and repeat with the rest of the sour cream and flour mixture. Do not over mix!
8. Gently fold in the 1 cup of raspberries with a rubber spatula until evenly distributed.
9. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and top each muffin with 1 tablespoon of the Crumb Mix and a raspberry.
10. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, on a middle rack, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
11. Allow to cool, then serve.

One Year Ago: Crisp Toffee Bars

Three Years Ago: Tate’s Shortbread and Gooey Cinnamon Squares

Four Years Ago:

• Vanilla Bean Macarons
• Warm Chocolate Puddings

Five Years Ago:

• Banana-Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes
• Low-Fat Crumb Cake Muffins
• Blueberry Scones

Buckwheat Popovers

My family is happy to eat soup and salad for dinner with a bribe like a warm, eggy popover. This version was earthy and delicious. I had to make them a couple of times to get the baking temperature and cooking times just right. (No worries, we ate the less than perfect ones too. 😉 )

This recipe was adapted from the New York Times, contributed by Melissa Clark. We enjoyed them with Spiced Red Lentil Soup, but they would also be wonderful for breakfast with butter and jam.

Yield: 6 Popovers

• 1 cup/236 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter, plus more for pans (or use cooking spray)
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¾ cup/90 grams all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour
• 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees, preferably on convection.
2. Brush cups of a popover pan (or muffin tin) with butter or coat with cooking spray. (I have had more success with cooking spray.)
3. In a large measuring pitcher with a spout (this makes pouring easier later), or in a bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, butter, sugar and salt until frothy.
4. Add flours and whisk until mostly smooth, though a few clumps may remain in batter, which is fine. (If you prefer you can mix everything together in a blender instead of a bowl.)
5. Pour batter into prepared cups. Bake 15 minutes.
6. Turn heat down to 350 degrees and bake another 10 minutes until popovers are golden brown and puffed. (Reduce baking time by 5 minutes if using a muffin tin.) Keep tabs on their progress by looking through the window in the oven door. Do not open the oven door until the last 5 minutes of baking or they won’t puff.
7. Serve warm.

One Year Ago:

• No-Knead Bread from Sullivan Street Bakery

Two Years Ago:

• Pullman Loaf

Three Years Ago:

• Bread Machine Brioche

Four Years Ago:

• Classic Sandwich Bread
• Classic Applesauce

Magdalenas

I wanted to make these as soon as I read Linda’s post about this Spanish version of French Madeleines on La Petite Paniere. I also had to post them as soon as I made them! I loved her description-  they seemed like a dessert but are eaten as a special bakery breakfast in Algeria. They are very light, only slightly sweet, and were absolutely delicious with raspberry jam.

I substituted some potato starch for the corn starch (I didn’t have enough…). I also substituted large for medium eggs, canola oil for safflower oil, and vanilla extract for the vanilla sugar in the original recipe. I also reduced the baking time for a convection oven. Tasty and pretty! 🙂

Yield: 12 Magdalenas (I only made 11!)

• 125 g all-purpose flour
• 125 g corn starch (I substituted some potato starch as well)
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 100 ml sunflower oil or canola oil
• 200 g granulated or caster sugar
• 5 large eggs, separated
• zest of 2 lemons
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C  or 350 F degrees on convection.
2. Using cooking oil spray, grease small individuals mini magdalenas mold or muffins tray. (I used standard-size brioche tins.)
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, the corn starch and the baking powder with a whisk.
4. Separate egg yolks from whites (in two different large bowls).
5. In the bowl with the 5 egg yolks, add the sugar, the vanilla extract, and the lemon zest. Whisk together all the ingredients until they become creamy.
6. Add the oil and continue to mix.
7. Add the flour, the corn (or potato!) starch and the baking powder mixture. Mix all of the ingredients together. (The batter is quite thick.)
8. In the second bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks begin forming. (I used a hand mixer.)
9. Incorporate the whisked egg whites to the egg yolk-flour mixture and fold in until combined.
10. Spoon into molds and sprinkle with a little of turbinado sugar over the top. (I used a large ice cream scoop.)
11. Bake for 17 or 18 minutes on convection (more or less depending the oven) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
12. Remove from the oven and set aside for 15 minutes. Transfer into a serving plate or basket. Serve with jam or orange marmalade on the side.

One Year Ago:

• Morning Glory Muffins
• Whole Wheat & Oat Zucchini Bread

Two Years Ago:

• Bubby’s Corn Muffins
• 100% Whole Wheat Banana Bread Muffins

Three Years Ago:

• Zucchini, Banana, & Flaxseed Muffins