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!

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!

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.

I just want to apologize for my absence.  It really has been a terrible last 2 weeks and it’s still not over, but I can’t stay away any longer!  I’ve got to get back into the swing of things or I’ll go crazy!  We’ve had so much sickness in our home and it seems to keep lingering and changing into new sicknesses.  Insane!  It started with croup, turned into a cold, then the flu and now we all have those nasty colds that hurt you deep down in your chest.  Hopefully, one day we will feel human again, but for now we are just taking one day at a time.  Thank you for all of your nice comments and get well wishes!  It is very much appreciated!

So, obviously I have been obsessed with muffins this year.  I am a muffin freak.  I will admit it, I’m not too proud.  There is just something about that warm, delicious smell that peaks from the oven and fills your home with sweetness.  It just makes you feel warm and cozy.  I love that feeling, so I make muffins a lot. There is nothing wrong with that, right? So this recipe is similar to my Pumpkin Spice Muffin recipe.  Very similar in fact.  That is the great thing about this recipe.  I have tweaked it and messed with it and now it is perfect.  You can add any seasonings you like, switch out the fruit and make it to your own liking.  Instead of the pumpkin puree, I used bananas and I added sauted cinnamon apples.  These muffins cook up high and are very moist.  You can add streusels to the top, but this particular recipe I just sprinkled some sugar on top. Delicious!!! I hope you like them! 

In other news, check out my magazine debut.  I had a recipe featured and it was so exciting!  Check out Deborah from Taste and Tell’s recipe here too!  Utah Valley Magazine is a local magazine here in Utah Valley, but you can check it out here online.  Have a great week everyone!

Apple Banana Muffins

makes 12

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash nutmeg

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

3 cups apples, chopped and sauteed in 2 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon until soft

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time until well incorporated.  Add vanilla.  

3. Mix the milk and cream together.  Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk and cream to the mixer.  Do not over mix.  Add the bananas and apples and combine using a wooden spoon.  

4. Divide batter evenly between the muffin tins, filling to the very top and a little over. Sprinkle tops of muffins with sugar.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.

*Also seen on Cafe Zupas Blog

Happy Thursday everyone!  And a happy 100th post to me!  I can’t believe it myself, but I am officially not a newbie foodie anymore.  I’ve made it past the hump and now I’m an experienced blogger(chuckle).  I don’t know how experienced I feel quite yet, but maybe eventually it will come to that.  I’m still feeling a little out of sorts here lately but I hope to be getting back into the swing of things soon.  In honor of my 100th post I am doing a giveaway!  Yay!  The only thing you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite fall food is.  Anything you can think of will do.  I would love some good ideas!  You have until Tuesday, October 28th at 12:00 noon.  I will announce the winners shortly after that.  Would you like to know what the giveaways are? Here it goes…

My beautiful mother has kindly donated one of her gorgeous hand made French Linen Aprons.  Make sure you check out her site, My French Table.  She sells handmade French Tablecloths and Linens.  They are gorgeous and affordable.  So to one lucky winner, this apron will be all yours!

And for the last item, I received this wonderful cookbook in the mail, The Gathering of Friends.  It is a great cookbook with some great ideas for entertaining and beautiful recipes.  So, make sure you post your comment on this post before Tuesday so that you can have a chance at winning one of two fabulous prizes!!

Now onto the recipe!! These muffins are so delicious and moist and tasty that you can’t eat just one.  They are filled with fall spices and topped with a brown sugar cinnamon crumble and drizzled with a cinnamon cream cheese glaze.  You just can’t beat that combination my friends.  And I can only tell you that the aroma of your home while these are baking should be bottled up and made into a candle because it is delightful. I hope you enjoy them and have a great weekend!  Don’t forget to enter the giveaway and tell all your friends to enter too!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins 
recipe by Steph
makes 12 muffins

For the muffins:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup pureed pumpkin
For the Crumble:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoons melted butter
For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 ounces softened cream cheese
dash of ground cinnamon
dash of milk, if needed
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray regular muffin in with non stick spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, mix the butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk and cream. Add pumpkin puree. Do not overmix.
4. Divide batter evenly between the muffin tins, filling to the very top and a little over.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the crumble. Crumble on top of each muffin batter. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly.
6. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the glaze. Drizzle over the tops of the muffins.

I am still here in the big city of D.C. Probably enjoying myself a little too much now. Either that, or I’m crying my eyes out because I miss my babies so terribly much. Most likely the latter. I’ve never been separated from them for more than 1 night and we are now going on night 6. My biggest fear is that I’ll get home and they will take one look at me and make a little ‘heh’ sound and turn the other way. Either not missing me at all for one second, or so mad at me they can’t even look into my eyes. I’m sure it won’t be so dramatic, but I’m full of fear. I could eat fear for dinner.

We are visiting the White House today. We have so much to do in so little time. Hopefully we’ll be able to see everything we hoped to see.

But onto another amazing recipe. I was craving chocolate the other day and thought, what better way to get over that craving than to suffocate myself in chocolate. Maybe I won’t need or want another bite for a good month. We’ll see how much that works. These muffins are sooo moist and sweet and delicious. Hope you enjoy. I’ll be back home tomorrow from our trip, so I’ll be back with an amazing post next week and I’ll be sure to let you know how my trip went! Have a good weekend!

I decided to use my mini muffin pan, just because little muffins are so much cuter. Drizzled with a bit of lemon icing and these were the perfect little treat.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

For the muffins:
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick melted butter, cooled
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

For the icing:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter or spray 12 regular-size muffin tins or 24 mini-muffin tins. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with you fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients, and with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough-a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool the muffins completely on the rack before icing them. Mix the icing and lemon juice and drizzle over muffins. Enjoy!

Still Cooking…

So, I thought that since it was a stormy blizzard outside that I definitely needed to make soup for dinner. I don’t care what they say, I make soup all year round. Not necessarily on a hot day, but days like this require soup. I’ve been craving soup, salad and breadsticks from Olive Garden lately, but actually making it to the restaurant after a long day with 2 kids is impossible. So I made my favorite soup, Zuppa Tascana. It is basically thinly sliced potatoes, onions, italian sausage and chicken broth with a little cream and some kale added in just before serving. This soup is delicious! I made some breadsticks and added a yummy salad on the side, and that was dinner.

Zuppa Tascana Soup

1 lb Italian Sausage
2 large russet potatoes, sliced in half and than sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2- 32 ounce cartons chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 bunches kale, chopped
freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, if desired

Brown sausage in large soup pot. Remove sausage and set aside. To the pot add chicken broth, potatoes, onion, and garlic and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add cream and sausage to the pot and warm through. Add kale right before serving. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Nope, still in the kitchen…

Nope, not done yet…I still had more baking to do. I had a birthday in the family and had decided to bake cupcakes for the special day. I knew I wanted to make Carrot Cake Cupcakes, but couldn’t decided whether to make Dorie Greenspan’s recipe or The Sweet Melissa Baking Book recipe. Everything I have made so far out of Sweet Melissa’s has been gourmet. I decided to give her cake a try. Of course this recipe was made for a layer cake, but I thought it would work fine as cupcakes. They were delicious, but definitely would have been better as a cake. They just lacked the firmer texture of a cupcake. They were a little too soft and delicate to. But since they tasted so delicious, I decided to make the frosting and hoped that they would be enjoyed. I found these adorable cupcake holders (picture below) at Target and I loved the finishing touch. Now, I am exhausted so I’m going to curl up on the couch and watch “The Office”.

Carrot Cake with Fresh Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound carrots, grated medium fine
3/4 cup walnut pieces, coarsely chopped

For the Frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Zest of 1 orange
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 8×2 inch round cake pans. Line each pan with an 8 inch round of parchment paper.
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs at high speed until light and frothy, about 1 minute. Decrease the speed to medium and add the oil, sugar, and salt, and mix until just combined. Decrease the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
3. Remove the bowl from themixer. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the carrots and walnuts.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Spin the pans to level the batter. bake for 45 mintues, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a rack to cool for 20 minutes before turning the layers out onto the rack. Cool completely before filling or frosting.

Frosting:
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and zest. Start on low speed and then increase to medium-high speed and beat until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. Add the butter and mix on medium speed until just fluffy and smooth. Add the vanilla and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.

Frost between the layers and around the cake until smooth. The cake keeps in a cake aver in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It tastes great eaten at room temperature or chilled!

So, a while ago I won a wonderful cookbook from the delightful Tartlette. I was so excited to recieve the Sweet Melissa Baking Book! It is an awesome baking cookbook, and I want to make every recipe in this book. Melissa Murphy has an amazing Patisserie in Brooklyn, New York and I want to go there so badly. I’m sure everything is delicious, and one day I will make it there, for sure! So far I have made her Sweet Muffins, I chose to use fresh strawberries, and I’ve made her amazing Cinnamon Buns. Yum!!! I seriously devoured every bite and I can’t wait to make them again. For these muffins, I decided to add a pecan crumble topping to top them because I love that sweet crunch on my muffins. They were sooooo good, just like eating a gourmet muffin.

You will love them too. What I love about her recipes is that she gives you many different options of making them your own. Different fruits or different versions and I love that, because I can mix and match and make it according to my tastes. I hope you give these a try, because they are sooo worth it. These definitely are not low in fat, she uses cream and all the good stuff, but it’s worth every calorie!

Strawberry Muffins with Pecan Crumble Topping
adapted from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book

2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature ( I used 2% milk)
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup fresh fruit, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces ( I used strawberries)
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling ( I used a pecan crumble–recipe to follow)

Pecan crumble
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peal
1 tablespoon melted butter

Mix all ingredients until well combined.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12- cup muffin tin with muffin papers (or butter and flour the cups, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.)
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth – no lumps. Whisk in the heavy cream and milk until combined.
3. Add the zest to the flour mixture and with you hands, gently rub the mixture together, releasing the oils and breaking up the bits. Add the fresh fruit and gently toss with you fingers to combine. Make a well in the center of the bowl. Pour the butter mixture into the center of the well and, using a rubber spatula, gently pull the flour mixture into the center of the well until just combined.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup until full. Sprinkle pecan crumble (if using) evenly among muffin tops and gently press. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack and sprinkle with sugar (if not using pecan crumble.) Let cool to warm.

The muffins are best eaten the day they are made, but they can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for 2 days. For longer storage, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Defrost still wrapped at room temperature.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 recipe Struesel Topping (see below)
1 recipe Lemon glaze (see below)

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt,and cinnamon. Stir until well blended. Make a well in center of mixture. Place egg, butter, and milk in center and stir just until blended. Carefully stir in lemon zest and blueberries. Fill 6 jumbo muffin cups or 12 regular muffin cups. Sprinkle with Struesel topping. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with Lemon glaze.

Struesel Topping

1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbl melted butter

In a bowl, combine above ingredients and sprinkle over muffins.

Lemon Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbl fresh lemon juice

In a bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together. Drizzle over muffins after baking.