Monkey Bread Muffin Cups

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Monkey Bread.  If you have never had this ultra tasty treat before, here are a few keywords to descibe this evil addiction of mine:

addicting
sweet crunchy edges
caramel-y
cinnamon-y
lil’ bit of heaven

These are only a few of many I could probably use to describe these little heavenly buns. It’s like a cinnamon roll you can take a part piece by piece and there is nothing in this world quite like it. Just remember – you’ve been warned. I’m not going to lie that you can eat the entire thing without even blinking an eye.

I decided that because I can eat an entire recipe when I make it using a bundt pan, that I needed to make them in individual portions so that I can ‘somewhat’ control myself. So I used the jumbo muffin tins. It makes 6. Just to make it extra evil I drizzled some icing over the top. They totally don’t need it. They are amazing on their own. Trust me.

Monkey Bread Muffin Cups
makes 6 jumbo muffins

2 tubes of biscuit dough (I like pillsbury) (20 biscuits in total)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar

Spray your muffin tin with non-stick spray. Cut each biscuit into 4ths. So in total you should have 80 little pieces of dough. In a bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Dip each piece of dough into the cinnamon-sugar mixture until totally covered. Divide evenly between the 6 cups. (about 13-14 in each cup) In a saucepan boil the butter and brown sugar. Spoon about a tablespoon of the brown sugar/butter mixture over each muffin cup. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes or until baked through. Best when hot and fresh out of the oven!

Enjoy!

Baked on March 12, 2010 | Recipe Card: Muffins, bread, desserts | 20 Bites 

The Best Banana Muffins

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I crave banana bread on occasion. This is really strange for me because until I became an adult, I never really liked bread that had even a hint of fruits or vegetables in it…banana bread, zucchini bread, carrot cake, you know what I’m talking about. But now, I crave it. My kids love it. They have no idea what is in it, but they love it. And I can totally justify them eating it because it is awesome when you can feed them something and you secretly know it has some nutritional value (minus the sugar) to it. But anyways, I made these the other day and I have to say it is some of the best banana bread (muffins) that I’ve ever had.

I’m going to let you in on a cool trick too. Maybe you already know it, but I didn’t. I had to google how to ripen bananas quick, because I was craving these so badly. Yes, I’ve heard the whole paper bag with an apple trick, but I was just not feeling that. So I threw them into the freezer overnight and took them out the following morning to thaw out. They were perfectly ripen and I didn’t have to wait around impatiently. I also like my banana bread to have a little banana chunks in it. I use a whisk to get it all smoothed out but I like to leave it just tad chunky. So much better this way in my opinion.

Add some nuts or chocolate chips to it if you like, but I personally like these as just plain ole’ banana muffins. I sprinkle a little turbinaro sugar over the top before I pop them into the oven to add a yummy sweet touch.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo
Steph

Banana Muffins
makes 12

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
3 or 4 ripened bananas (about 1 cup mashed bananas)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons melted butter

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. In another mixing bowl, mash the bananas and add the sugars, egg and melted butter. Whisk together until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Don’t over mix. Evenly distribute between 12 muffin cups that have been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Baked on March 4, 2010 | Recipe Card: Fruit, Muffins, bread, breakfast, snacks | 7 Bites 

White Bread Loaf

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I know the whole world is in carb-conscious mode right now and probably will be forever but every once in a while I just crave a warm fresh loaf of white bread.  There is nothing quite like it.  Fresh and hot out of the oven slathered in butter.  Mmmm.  So this is the easiest recipe in the world and in an hour and thirty minutes you have hot fresh bread.  Of course you can substitute whole wheat flour for the all purpose but this is just the way I like it.  A little white bread once in while isn’t going to hurt you, it might just make you so happy you’ll be making it every week.  

Happy Baking!

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White Bread
makes 2 loafs

6-7 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 .25 ounce packets of Active Yeast
2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter

Using a small saucepan, heat water, milk and butter until hot to the touch. Using a mixer, mix 5 cups of the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add hot liquids and mix until well combined. Add in the remaining flour and any extra you might need to make a soft dough that does not stick to the bowl. Either knead in your mixer or knead on a floured surface for 8-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Cut dough in half and shape into 2 loaves. Place in 2, greased 9X5 loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 40-50 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. (For the last 5-10 minutes I cover my loaves with aluminum foil to prevent it from getting too brown) Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Baked on March 25, 2009 | Recipe Card: bread | 10 Bites 

Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Cheesy Toast Dippers

Wow, I was trying to see on my blog here the last time I posted a savory recipe instead of just desserts and sweets.  It’s been a while.  Welcome back savory.  I guess since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve just been making simple dinners, which means I’ve been using the recipes I’ve already posted about.  Sweets are just what I love and I think I get carried away sometimes.  But I wanted to share this delicious soup recipe because it is to die for.  I had never tasted a Leek before I made this soup, but I’ve seen so many recipes lately I wanted to try it.  In fact I craved it.  So I just went for it.  I threw in a little bit of this, a little bit of that.  It is perfect! I’ll definitely be making this again and soon because it was good.  I was so surprised that my kids, ages 2 and 4, were licking their bowls clean.  (They never do that.)  You have to make the cheesy toast dippers to ‘dip’ into the soup, because it was the perfect touch (in my opinion).  

Have a great week and I’m sure I’ll have something sweet to share very soon!  :)

Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Cheesy Toast Dippers

6 slices bacon, sliced
3 leeks, cleaned and sliced
6 or 7 potatoes, cubed
44 ounces chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup fat free half and half (you can use heavy cream if you’re feeling daring)

In a large soup pot, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside, but keep the bacon fat in the pan. Saute the leeks in the bacon fat for about 6-8 minutes or until soft. Add potatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and soft. Using a blender or food processor, puree half of the soup and add back into the remaining soup. Add the half and half (or cream) and mix until smooth. Use the bacon as a crispy topping.

For the cheesy toast dippers:
Slice a baguette into thin pieces and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with shredded cheese(I use cheddar) and sprinkle some dried parsley on top of the cheese. Place on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for just a few minutes or until the cheese is melted. Dip into the hot soup!

Enjoy!

Baked on March 10, 2009 | Recipe Card: bread, main dishes, soup | 5 Bites 

Banana Cupcakes With Cinnamon-Vanilla Icing

Thanks to everyone who watched Studio 5 today.  I love the support I receive!  It gives me warm fuzzies!  I had a blast and I am so surprised with myself on how much I enjoy doing these cooking segments.  I’m usually not the type of person who does anything close to this, but I find it invigorating somehow. If you missed it, I will hopefully be able to get a video of it here on my blog soon.  Just keep checking back. Anyways, thanks for all the support!  Now onto the cupcakes.

Is it a cupcake or a muffin? It originally started out as a Banana Muffin.  I had some ripe bananas I needed to use up and thought it sounded especially satisfying at the moment.  But then I had the idea to add the Cinnamon-Vanilla Icing and I’m pretty sure that when you add the icing it magically turns into a Cupcake. You can sure correct me if I’m wrong, but either way these are delicious.  And you can justify eating more because they are filled with fruit, right?  I think that’s how it works. Anyways, give them a try because they are delicious! 

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.  I know I plan to!!

Banana Cupcakes With Cinnamon-Vanilla Icing
makes 18 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium bananas)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using a mixer, beat the eggs, sour cream, butter and bananas; slowly add the dry ingredients and blend just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Top with Cinnamon-Vanilla Icing. Top that with chopped nuts if desired.  

Cinnamon-Vanilla Icing

2 ounces softened cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Using a mixer, mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until well combined. Add half of the confectioners’ sugar and mix until creamy. Add the milk, cinnamon and the remaining confectioners’ sugar and beat until creamy and smooth.

Baked on March 5, 2009 | Recipe Card: Fruit, Muffins, bread, cupcakes | 18 Bites 

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