Blueberry Crumble Muffins | What you'll be making tomorrow morning...

So, you know I've had a scone 'thing' for a couple of months... well, I've moved on to a muffin thing now.  This recipe is the combination of classic Blueberry Muffins with the crumbly top of a coffee cake.  After stirring these together in 10 minutes on a Saturday morning (without even getting out your mixer...) you'll ask yourself- why don't I make muffins from scratch every day?  I promise, they are so easy and so delicious. 

......



Disposable Piping Bags | My Muffin Shortcut

One of my favorite shortcuts that I use almost every week, is to make a large batch of muffin batter and keep it in the fridge or freezer in a Disposable Piping Bag.  If we want fresh baked muffins, I just get the bag out of the fridge in the morning, snip off the end, squeeze the batter into muffin papers, and in 15 minutes we have warm muffins.



If you keep the batter in the freezer, just put the bag of batter in the fridge the night before and it should be perfectly thawed in the morning.

I always keep a couple bags of Muffin batter and unbaked Scones (Scones Recipes Here) in the freezer. 

White Cupcake Liners

These aren't just any cupcake papers. 

Most cupcake papers are only 1 inch tall and 2 inches in diameter and Jumbo papers are taller, but are 2 1/4 inches in diameter - too big to fit in a standard cupcake pan.  These liners are 1 1/2 inch, for a nice and tall cupcake, but are only 2 inches in diameter, fitting perfectly in a standard pan. 

It took me forever to find these perfect cupcake papers!  Sometimes it is the little details that help make your treats look their best.

Blueberry Crumble Muffins
the upgraded classic


1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cups granulated sugar
2¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
6 oz. fresh blueberries
.........
Topping
½ cup + 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

For the muffin batter, stir together flour sugar baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl.  Add melted butter, eggs and milk and stir just until combined.   Fold in blueberries.  With an ice cream Scoop (sold here), scoop batter into a muffin tin lined with Cupcake Baking Papers (my favorite here- the secret is that they are a little taller than average, fitting in a standard muffin pan, but making a plumper muffin/cupcake).

For the topping, combine flour, brown sugar ans salt in a medium bowl.  Cut butter into small cubes and put it into the flour mixture.  With a fork, work the butter into the dry mix until it is a crumbly texture.  With your hands, crumble the mixture on top of each muffin.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

**To make ahead, scoop batter into a Disposable Piping Bags and keep in the fridge or freezer.  If you keep the batter in the freezer, just put the bag of batter in the fridge the night before and it should be perfectly thawed in the morning.

Products Used :

Muffin Liners (Brown or White available)
Disposable Piping Bags
Scoops

Baking at The School House | Basket of GF Banana Muffins

I did some baking at The School House in the Blue Kitchen this week.  I just love the light in that kitchen : )

We have had the longest and most boring winter.  I got very, very lazy in the kitchen.  I'm sure we can all relate, especially if you have kids - too often I've taken the easy way out lately.  For me, that means Pasta, Pasta, Pasta.  It is just too easy to throw in a pan, add some veggies and meat, come up with a sauce, boom, dinners done in about 30 minutes and everyone is full and satisfied.  I was loving this solution, until I realized that I was also eating those leftovers for lunch.  And usually a PBJ for breakfast.  That is a lot of pasta and bread... especially when there wasn't much else going on for nutrition's sake.

For spring, I'm going to try to brighten up our meals for a bit.  For all of you that said this back in January, bravo.  It took me 3 months to get on board!  I've been doing some research on what kind of foods I want to focus on and what I could focus less on.  It is pretty obvious that focusing our meals around pasta and/or bread was not helping me get a balanced diet - I was missing a lot of daily vegetables and nutrients (especially magnesium - turns out that seems to be what I don't get enough of).

So, here we are.  I'm going to do a couple of weeks Gluten "Light" and see how I feel.  I'm really not into avoiding foods, but more into adding better things in - that is the goal for me - eat more colorful vegetables (especially greens, which I was not good at), nutrients and add more healthy nuts.  And not eat pasta for every meal.

With all of this said - there are SO MANY OPINIONS* about this out there.  I'm sure many of you have experience with this, but I really want to stay away from too many extremes.  I love being active and having the energy to do so, so I'm hoping adding some of these healthful things to my day and lightening up on the flour intake will help me just feel better.

*To the Celiac population : I did not mean to be insensitive to your disease : )  I am not claiming that your disease is a fad, only that it seems a lot of non-celiac people are trying to be gluten free to solve a number of ailments and or weight issues and therefore the GF lifestyle has become a trend among non-celiacs.  It seems to be the most recent "magic bullet" which I'm always weary of.  This post was merely my weariness to this phenomenon to be the cure-all that many claim it is.  I completely empathize with your celiac diagnosis, as after trying it for a week, there seems to be gluten hiding everywhere.  

It seems that many people are sensitive to this topic... and to gluten!  I didn't mean to offend anyone, just exploring this new idea for myself personally.  I was directing this post more to people, like myself, who stay away from the newest thing that everyone else is doing and try to just listen to my body and enjoy food.  I'm just personally curious if after avoiding gluten for a while, if my body will tell me that that's my answer - and honestly, I hope not!  It is hard : )

......

Packaging : 

Rectangle Basket (being restocked next week - all shapes and sizes)
Slate Linen Cocktail Napkin
Thistle Satin Ribbon
Basket Tag

Baking Supplies Used : 

Disposable Pastry Bag
Large Scoop
Jumbo Brown Cupcake Papers

Shop all Packaging & Baking Supplies >

Luckily this GF phenom has opened up lots of modifications for bakers, so this new "gluten light" adventures has also sort of made me excited about trying some old recipes with new modifications.

One of our all-time favorites is Banana Muffins (original recipe here for those all not interested in anything GF, like my former self) for breakfast.  I love a quick and easy breakfast and often have muffins and coffee every morning (what, isn't that healthy?!?!), so I wanted to take this favorite routine and make it a bit healthier.  I switched the regular flour for Glueten Free Flour Blend (I used Simply Balanced, Target's brand).  I also added 2 tablespoons of olive oil at add to the moisture factor since there isn't any gluteny gluten.  To pack it with extra nutrients, I tripled the nuts and added lots and lots of walnuts.  I should have saved some to add to the top along with the banana chips (which are one of my favorite parts - don't skip the dehydrated banana chips!), but I forgot.  It is still a muffin for breakfast, but hey, baby steps.

The results?  They were good!  Really good.  In fact, I don't know that I could tell the difference between regular - when they were hot out of the oven with some butter.  I had one later for a snack and had to re-heat it to get the same effect.  I'd love to know what you think... and what you think about all of this GF business.  For the birds?  Or has it helped you?

Gluten Free Banana Muffins

5 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons of olive oil2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups Gluten Free flour blend (I used Simply Balanced found at Target)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup of dehydrated banana chips
Peel 3 bananas and place them in the mixer half of them in a KitchenAid fitted with the whisk attachment.  Add sugar and mix them together for 3 minutes until a frothy mixture forms.  Add butter, eggs and vanilla.  Mix together until combined.  Add flour, soda, salt, and nuts.  Mash up remaining bananas with a fork and mix them in.

If baking immediately, scoop the mixture into Brown Jumbo Cupcake Papers in a muffin tin with a Large Scoop.    Top with walnuts and dehydrated banana chips.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes until baked through.  Serve with soften butter.

Make Ahead : One of my favorite shortcuts that I use almost every week, is to make a large batch of muffin batter and keep it in the fridge or freezer in a Disposable Piping Bag.  If we want fresh baked muffins, I just get the bag out of the fridge in the morning, snip off the end, squeeze the batter into muffin papers, and in 15 minutes we have warm, buttery Banana Muffins.

If you keep the batter in the freezer, just put the bag of batter in the fridge the night before and it should be perfectly thawed in the morning.

Packaging :

Rectangle Basket (being restocked next week - all shapes and sizes)
Slate Linen Cocktail Napkin
Thistle Satin Ribbon
Basket Tag

Baking Supplies Used :

Disposable Pastry Bag
Large Scoop
Jumbo Brown Cupcake Papers

Shop all Packaging & Baking Supplies >

More details on the Blue School House Kitchen, here >

Banana Nut Muffins | Homemade Banana Nut Muffin Recipe

I shared this Banana Nut Muffin Recipe 7 years ago when I had started to blog more "seriously."  I still use this recipe all of the time - nothing better than warm banana muffins with coffee in the morning, especially when you can bake them fresh every morning with this little secret...



One of my favorite shortcuts that I use almost every week, is to make a large batch of muffin batter and keep it in the fridge or freezer in a Disposable Piping Bag.  If we want fresh baked muffins, I just get the bag out of the fridge in the morning, snip off the end, squeeze the batter into muffin papers, and in 15 minutes we have warm, buttery Banana Muffins.

If you keep the batter in the freezer, just put the bag of batter in the fridge the night before and it should be perfectly thawed in the morning.

I mentioned that we've been hosting a lot of guests this summer and this is one of my favorite tricks to an easy help-yourself-breakfast.  Just another way I like to pretend that I own a bed & breakfast : )

I always keep a couple bags of Muffin batter and unbaked Scones in the freezer.

These are the Large 18" Disposable Bags (100 for $16) and hold enough batter for about 8 large muffins baked in my Brown Jumbo Cupcake Papers.  I use the Large Scoop to portion them as I put them in the bag.  I scoop = 1 muffin

A double batch of the recipe below will make about 3 bags or 24 muffins.

We've been having warm muffins a couple of times a week this summer - one of my favorite shortcuts of all time!

The original post & recipe is below :

Muffins are completely underrated.  Or should I say, homemade, really good muffins are completely underrated.  My muffin perspective had been tainted by the bad muffins I would grab at the coffee shop or the airport.  These muffins, baked weeks (or months!) ago are too sweet, too dense, too greasy and too heavy.  They made me forget how incredibly moist, buttery and delicious a fresh, baked-from-scratch muffin can be.

Treat yourself to a real treat tomorrow morning and whip up these muffins.  It won't take you more than 10 minutes to stir them together and 20 minutes to bake.  If you're really organized, you can make the batter the night before and bake them in the morning.  Your house will be brimming with the best Banana Nut aroma as it bakes - the smell is almost as good as eating the actual muffins... a great way to wake up.

I suggest making these muffins and your own "Pumpkin Spice" latte (recipe coming tomorrow!) on a Saturday morning - your house will feel cozier than the most charming coffee shop... and the muffins will be much better.

Banana Nut Muffins
better than the bakery...

New! Printable Recipes, here.

4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nuts, finely chopped

Peel the bananas.  Mash them roughly with a fork - leaving some chunky pieces for texture.  Place half of them in a KitchenAid fitted with the whisk attachment.  Set aside the other half of the bananas.

Add sugar to the KitchenAid, whip them together for 3 minutes until a frothy mixture forms.  Add butter, eggs and vanilla.  Mix together until combined.  Add flour, soda, salt, remaining bananas and nuts.  Stir until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Scoop the mixture into Brown Jumbo Cupcake Papers in a muffin tin with a Large Scoop.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes until baked through.  Serve with soften butter.

Products Used :

Large 18" Disposable Bags (100 for $16)
Brown Jumbo Cupcake Papers
Large Scoop



Can't you just taste them now - look at that melting butter!

I used mixed nuts, because that is what I had.  You can use any combination you like.

Mash the bananas with a fork - leaving it a little chunky for texture.

Whipped Banana Sugar mixture... yum.



See more Breakfast & Brunch Recipes, here>

Blueberry & Orange Muffins

I'm re-sharing this recipe, as Emma and I plan to go blueberry picking soon... yay summer!

.......

 

Not only do we have a lot of blackberries around here, but we also have (had) a lot of blueberries.  We've made gobs of blueberry muffins this summer and I needed a twist of something new.

I added some orange juice and zest to our most recent batch and love how it turned out.  It was just the right amount of something different.  I was considering even doing an orange glaze on the top - I love anything with a glaze, but opted for a crunchy sugar sprinkling instead.

I also baked these a little longer than I normally do because I had a craving for a browned sugar top.  Don't ever underestimate the power of texture when it comes to food.  Yum!

A morning baking at the baking counter - I really do love having a big separate area to spread out on. 

Here's one of my favorite tips : I put extra batter in a Large Disposable Pastry Bag.  I can keep it in the refrigerator for a couple of days or in the Freezer for months.  When we want muffins, I just get it out and squeeze it individually into the muffin papers.  If it is in the freezer, I get it out the night before and put it in the fridge to thaw.

I love the Jumbo Brown Cupcake Papers for muffins - just like a bakery.

This is the morning we went blue berry picking with our friends.  Sweet Emma. 

I think she tried a green one ; )

Blueberry Orange Muffins

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cups granulated sugar

2¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup milk

4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

1 orange, zested and juiced

6 oz. fresh blueberries

....

coarse sanding sugar*

For the muffin batter, stir together flour sugar baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl.  Add melted butter, eggs, orange juice, zest and milk and stir just until combined.   Fold in blueberries.  With an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into a muffin tin lined with papers.

Top generously with coarse sanding sugar.

Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes.

I sprinkled generously with sanding sugar before baking.

Love that crunchy sugar top!

Favorite Baking Supplies Used : 

Brown Jumbo Cupcake Papers
Scoops
Disposable Pastry Bags