Just Doodling!

Hello Sweets,

I am fighting some sort of sore throat :(  It has made the packing for my move almost none existent, and that will make it for a hectic week and a half before I move.  My body is fighting so hard that yesterday I would pass out at any moment, and that was more annoying than most realize.  Normally  I would be over the moon happy that I am sleeping, because I have a lot of trouble doing so.  However, when you need to get certain things done it's a bit of a pain, since you don't get much done... at all.

Since I am bed bound for today I decided to get a jump start on my post, and that's when I realized I missed a recipe from last November.  How did I miss such a delicious recipe?  I have no clue lol, but I found it now and that's all that matters ;)  Today's recipe is a favorite of Nathans, whether I am making a cookie or a muffin he is sure to love what comes out of the oven!  I know there are many more different variations of the snack I'm showcasing today, and I even came across a  website that was full of different recipes.  Needless to say I am very excited to try out some new recipes, that is once my body decides to cooperate again :p  I guess I should tell y'all what we're making today, as my title sneakingly suggests we're making snicker doodle muffins!!  This recipe is NOT mine, but I found this delightful treat on In Praise Of Leftovers.  Check her blog out, it's full of yummy goodies :)

 Snicker Doodle Muffins

Ingredients
(muffins)

1 1/2C + 2Tbs flour
3/4C sugar
2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp nutmeg
1/2C milk
1 egg, beaten
1/3C butter, melted

(topping)
1tsp cinnamon
1/2C sugar
1/3C butter, melted

 

Direction:

1)  Combine the first five ingredients.

 

2)  Add milk, egg, and 1/3C of melted butter, mix gently to combine.

 

3)  Butter a muffin tin, and fill muffin cups 1/2 full.

 

4)  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until tops are light brown and springy to the touch.

 

 5)  While muffins are still warm, dip in butter (from topping half).

 

6)  Roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture.

How cute is it that Nathan is helping me :)

7)  Serve warm.

 

great texture

Sooo yummy

 These are some of the most delicious muffins I've ever tasted, and they are even good when they're not warm.  I can't even begin to describe how good they are, but I can tell you that they are not overly sweet at all.  Also unlike some of the other recipes you'll find online there is no cream of tartar or vanilla, but you would never notice.  These are a perfect addition to any breakfast, or just as a snack.  All in all a perfectly delicious treat!

I can't tell you how frustrated I was last night trying to find this dang recipe lol, but by some sort of miracle when I searched on google today it just popped up.  I feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, a cinnamon sugar weight that is ;)  Tomorrow we are going to travel back to November for an American Thanksgiving treat, and I promise you that it is to die for!  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

I'mmmmmm back...with muffins!

Hello Sweets,

Well I did it, I mustered up the energy to bake a little somethin' somethin' ;)   I honestly still don't feel too awesome, but my soul mate is coming in this week so I need to have some goodies made for him.  Yes I know I spoil him rotten but he does the same for me so I can't complain, but I wouldn't anyways because I love it, and him!!!!!

So the title of the post sort of gives away what I'm going to share with y'all, but it's delicious none the less so I'm sure you'll read all the way through :)   Here in good ol' Canadia, instead of Dunkin' donuts we have Tim Horton's!  They have delicious coffee and treats, and one of my favorite treats is there chocolate chip muffins. Now I know what you're thinking, what's so great about a chocolate chip muffin?  Normally nothing lol, but these are topped with coarse sugar that give it a little caramelized sweetness :)   So when I came across this little gem of a recipe, I knew I had to make them. 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2c flour

3/4c mini chocolate chips (I may have added a little more lol)

1/2c sugar

1Tbs baking powder

1/2tsp salt

3/4c milk

1/3c coconut oil

1 large egg

2Tbs brown sugar

3Tbs coarse sugar

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 400F.  Spray muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray or line with paper. 

2)  Combine flour, chocolate chips, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix well.

 

3)  Combine the milk, coconut oil, and egg in a medium bowl and mix well.

 

4)  Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until just moistened.  Fill cups 2/3 full.

 

 

5)  Combine remaining sugars in a small bowl and mix well.  Sprinkle on top of batter.

 

 

 

6)  Bake muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool in pan for about a minute.

 

These little yummy treats are just what I was hoping for ;)  A delicious little snack, that's not to chocolaty or sweet.  They taste better than the Tim Horton's one, sorry Tim's lol.

 

an up close picture so you can see the texture created with coarse sugar

Now I have to plan some other little surprise for my love, but since he is my editor and reads my blog, I will not be able to share them with y'all.  Not right away anyways lol.  Maybe I'll do a mash up post while he's on the plane :) sneaky sneaky.  For now I have some household chores to get to :p  Until next time....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

A "Spicy" Pear

Hello Sweets,

I hope you all are having a fantastic Friday, after all it's the weekend!!  I'm going to see my grandparents this weekend, and I am going to make them an offer that I'm pretty sure they won't refuse.  I'm going to offer to make them dinner a few times a week. They choose the protein and I will take it from there :)  They are the best grandparents you could ask for, so I figure it's the least I can do, not to mention it allows me to expand my cooking skills because anyone who has to cook for someone knows it can be a pain.  Not to mention my grandmother is from an English background, so she doesn't like to experiment with spices, or even stray from cooking instructions for that matter lol, and my grandfather is from Malta (close to Italy) so he is the complete opposite.  I think it will be fun, for me, for them, and it will give my readers more variety, so everyone wins!!

I know that I said today's post would have some type of reminiscence to my childhood, but since I didn't get any sleep last night, I ended up flipping through a cookbook that was given to me at Christmas from our friend Dave (you know from Impact's Views).  It's funny, every time I can't sleep I end up eating better and getting some things done, but I think a lot is that because my body never goes into rest mode so I'm burning calories that I don't really have.  As I'm flipping through the cookbook I remembered that I had pears in the fridge that I wanted to use in a new way, and I had this weird random craving for oatmeal. Then, like a sign from the kitchen gods, I flipped to the perfect inspiration:  Spicy apple and oat muffins. They even had an option to make it with pears at the bottom.  Now of course I didn't follow their recipe, but I'm not going to take complete credit when they were my inspiration for them after all :)

Canuckette's Spicy Pear and Oat Muffin 

(inspired by 1001 cupcakes, cookies and other tempting treats)

Ingredients

6Tbs coconut oil, plus extra for greasing

1C all-purpose flour

1Tbs baking powder

heaping 1/2C dark brown sugar

2C rolled oats

 1 1/2 pears, cubed

2 eggs

1/2C light half and half

1/2C fresh apple juice

heaping 1/2Tsp allspice

heaping 1/2Tsp cinnamon

heaping 1/4Tsp ginger

(I ended up omitting the salt)

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 400F.  Grease 12 cup muffin tin.

2)  Sift together the flour, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, and ginger into a large bowl.

3)  Stir in the sugar and 1 2/3C of the oats.

4)  Chop the unpeeled pears into bite size pieces (or smaller if preferred), discarding the core.  Add to the flour mixture and stir in.

5)  Place the eggs in a large bowl or container and beat lightly, then beat in the milk, apple juice, and oil.  

 6)  Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the egg mixture.  Stir gently until just combined; do not over mix.

7)  Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and sprinkle the tops with the remaining oats.  Bake for 18 minutes, or until well risen, golden brown and firm to touch, or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8)  Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These muffins would be a great addition to your breakfast, or even as your mid morning snack. They aren't overly sweet and have a lovely spicy scent and flavor.  The pear recipe in the book called for pear juice but I decided to stick with the apple juice because the pears I got were sweet and I wanted to subdue that as much as possible.  This is definitely the type of recipe that can be tweaked with different spices, and you can most certainly use almost any fruit, it's the kind of muffin you can reinvent each season with the seasonal fruit.  I think I'll experiment with nuts and seeds as well, you can never have too much goodness can you?

Dave if you are reading this, thank you for the awesome gift, it is definitely getting used and has been a great source of inspiration and guidance.  Now I need to really delve into my wine course book soon, so that I can become a "wine snob" lol, not really, I just want to become more familiar with the different types of wine for when Nathan and I go out for dinner, or just to grab a bottle to enjoy by the fire :)  Life with Nathan is honestly perfect, and at the risk of sounding mushy and cheesy, I've never been happier in my life and feel very fortunate to have found my soul mate and my best friend all wrapped into one :)

So now I am going to enjoy a nice cup of tea with a muffin, do a little recipe research because I still have to dress up or "adultify" lol my childhood snacks.  Not to mention I have a bunch more fresh mint that I want to use as well.  Do any of my lovely readers have a suggestions for the mint?  I would love to hear from all of you, whether it is feedback on a recipe, a story, or even a suggestion. I'm never to busy to read comments and messages from you :)  Until next time...................


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo