Cappuccino Mini Chip Muffins

Who doesn't like homemade baked goods? Most people do not make their own baked goods, and I am not counting making a box cake or brownie mix as "homemade" even though it was made in your home. Sure most of you who are reading this blog make your own cookies, cakes, muffins, and brownies, but you are foodie people and it is just what you do.

I think the days of baking have fallen by the wayside. With the rush, rush of everyday life, making a batch of chocolate chip cookies or pumpkin muffins is a thing of the past. Stopping by the local grocery store for a package of super sugary treats with an ingredient list longer than the phone book is the norm. Instead of the packaged treats, pick up a bag of Nestle Semi- Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips which are perfect in Cappuccino Mini Chip Muffins.


It only takes a about 30 minutes to bake up a batch of mini muffins; about the same amount of time it takes you to run to the grocery store to buy the same treat. And your version will taste so, so much better.

Bake up a batch today.


Cappuccino Mini Chip Muffins

adapted from a recipe in The American Country Inn and Bed & Breakfast Cookbook

makes about 30 mini muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt butter with milk. Set aside to cool. When cool, add egg and vanilla extract and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add butter/milk mixture and stir to just combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 10 - 11 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes and then remove from pan.

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

You need big chunks of apples to make a good Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake. I like my to see the apples when I slice off a fat piece of cake to go with my morning coffee.

One of my twin sisters gave me the Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake recipe. The Family usually requests Great Aunt Rose's Pound Cake about once every couple of weeks. This week I replaced that old standby with a new cake that is a nod to all the fall apples around these days and still has a little bit of a pound cake taste to it.

I don't think they were disappointed with the new bundt cake on the cake stand. It was gone within a day and a half.




Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

3 large MacIntosh apples, peeled and sliced in thick pieces
2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup apple juice
6 large eggs, beaten

In a large bowl, combine apple slices, 1/4 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-cup bundt pan with cooking spray and dust with flour. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine remaining 2 cups of sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well and pour in oil, vanilla, apple juice, and eggs. Stir to just combine the ingredients and the flour mixture is incorporated.

In the bundt pan, put about one-half of the batter and top with the apples making sure they don't touch the sides of the pan. Top with the remaining batter. Bake for about 1 hour or until the top of the cake is golden brown. A long skewer should come out clean when inserted into the cake.

Cool on a baking rake for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the pan and invert cake on a platter.

Looking for more apple desserts? Here are a few more recipes you may like:

Apple Turnovers Filled with Spiced Cream Cheese

Petit Apple Crumb Tarts

Caramel Apple Crumb Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Citrus Glaze

Instead of a purchased coffeecake or Dunkin Donuts, I like to have a homemade bundt cake or muffin with my morning coffee. Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are a quick recipe for you to throw together (all the ingredients are combined in one bowl) and will bake up in about 20 minutes - about the same time it takes you to run to the bakery for donuts. The muffins are good, but it is the glaze that puts them over the top.

No Thank You boy can devour about a half dozen Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins in one sitting. See if you can beat his record.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

makes about 24 muffins

for muffins-
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/8 cups canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 cups milk

for glaze-
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard sized muffin pan with muffin liners or spray with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix until just blended. Fill muffin cups a little more than 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 - 24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes and then pour over muffins. Dust with powdered sugar when cool. Let glaze harden before enjoying with your morning coffee.

It makes a large batch - stash a few in the freezer!!

Sunken Raspberry Poppy Seed Treasures

In honor of Mother's Day, I have taken the week off from preparing dinner. That does not mean we are resorting to take out or pizza every night. My decision was actually prompted when I decided to clean out my freezer on Monday. Here is a list of dinners I had packed away for future use and kinda forgot about:

3 pounds of Pulled Pork for sandwiches
2 containers of Chicken Verde
4 Veggie Burgers
Enough Grilled Soy-Lime Skirt Steak for fajitas

I can't go a day without cooking or baking so this week I'll be posting about my baked goods. Yesterday I had a spare hour that I thought I could put to better use than trying to tackle the ever-growing mound of laundry. No Thank You Boy loves my Poppy Seed Bread. Not wanting to make the same old recipe again, I created Sunken Raspberry Poppy Seed Treasures. The poppy seed muffin has the hidden bonus of raspbery jam and is topped with a orange-raspberry glaze.

I made the mistake of only making a dozen. I don't know what I was thinking. No Thank You Boy ate 4 before his lacrosse game, My Middle one had a couple for herself, and The Husband commented this morning, "I really like your muffins." Wink. Wink.

Whip up a batch. It takes less than an hour and is more enjoyable than separating the colors from the whites.

Sunken Raspberry Poppy Seed Treasures

makes 1 dozen

for the muffins -
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
3/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons raspberry jam

for the glaze -
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon raspberry jam
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients for the muffins together except for the raspberry jam. Fill each muffin liner about half full. Add a teaspoon of raspberry jam and top with enough batter to fill about 3/4 full. Bake for about 18 - 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 - 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the glaze ingredients and bring to a boil. Let reduce for 3 - 4 minutes. Spoon glaze over muffins. EAT!

Petit Banana Cakes

A quick recipe to make you a hit at your next brunch, picnic, or morning coffee with friends, with your kids when they walk in the door after school, or the donation to a bake sale. I adapted a recipe from a fellow personal chef - Chef Leslee of the Daily Gourmet in the Boston area.
Petit Banana Cakes take the humble banana bread to a new level. I prepared the recipe in a large baking sheet, added a drizzle of ganache and VIOLA!!! An impressive presentation with a minimum amount of work.

Get your apron on and impress your friends and family!

Petit Banana Cakes

makes about 60 cakes with some leftovers for the cook

2 sticks unsalted butter -- softened
2 extra large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
6 very ripe bananas
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups flour - I used white whole wheat for a nutty taste
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
4 - 6 tablespoons half and half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12 x 17 inch baking sheet with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, combine butter, egg and sugars. Add bananas, breaking up and pressing against side of bowl. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda. Add to banana batter.

Spread batter into prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Tent with foil if the cake is getting too dark.

Remove from oven and let cool. Remove from baking sheet and cut into 1 inch by 3 inch pieces.

For ganache, melt chocolate and half and half in a small saucepan. Watch closely so the chocolate doesn't scorch. Add enough half and half to make a good drizzle consistency of the ganache. Let cool slightly. Put ganache in a ziploc bag. Trim off a small corner of the bag and drizzle ganache over the petit cakes.

St. Patrick's Day Take 2

As I posted earlier, The Husband requested that I make his favorite Irish dinner more than once a year on St. Patrick's Day. As The Day approached this week, I was not looking forward to making The Dinner again. It is a good meal, but just not one of my all time favorites.

"What can I do to make the most of this meal?" I said to myself. I added a brown sugar and Dijon glaze to the corned beef after it was finished simmering to add a sweet and spicy crust. With a half loaf of Spotted Dog still in the freezer that I could thaw and serve, I made Irish Mashed Potato Rolls as an additional to the bread basket.

No photo of the The Dinner. That is one plate of food I can never make look very appetizing. But, look at those Mashed Potato Rolls. They were amazing! "The highlights of the dinner," said The Husband, "were the rolls and the glaze on the corned beef." The rolls must have be good because he mentioned them before the corned beef. They were moist and slightly dense. A little sweet from the honey and benefited from a brushing of melted butter when they came out of the oven. My Middle One who likes either pb and j crackers or a Caesar salad for lunch each school day offered, "I can't wait to have a sandwich on one of these tomorrow."

I cooked a 4 pound, thick cut corned beef in the traditional simmering manner. When the meat was tender, I placed it on a baking sheet and slathered it with a mixture of 1/3 cup brown sugar and 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard. Baked it in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes and a nice crusty top formed. This is the only way I will make corned beef from now on. Or until I think of something better.

The rolls would be a welcome addition to the next holiday. Make them for Easter.

Mashed Potato Rolls

makes about 24 large rolls

1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/8 cup honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 cups all-purpose flour

Place potato in a small saucepan and fill with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Allow the cooking liquid to cool to about 105 degrees. Mash potato and set aside.

It is recommended to make this dough in a standing mixer with a dough hook. It will mix up in no time.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm cooking liquid. Add the honey, oil, salt, egg, flour and mashed potato. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. The dough will be slightly sticky. It will not form a ball like typically bread recipes. If using a standing mixer - highly recommended - knead on lowest speed until smooth and elastic, about 7-8 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place in a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter. Serve warm.