Muffin Monday: Carrot Spice Wheat Bran Muffins

The signal in my apartment is just getting on my nerves. I can’t get decent internet, mobile and even television signal.

it’s just so frustrating. Have you ever experienced times like this? Like you want to scream your lungs out or even rip the nearest thing that you can get your hands on. At the moment, I can’t even upload the photos for this post. Talk about inconvenient!

Anyway, Mondays are not made for frustrations or bad vibes but for muffins like this one! Do you agree? Say “AYE!”



If you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, having these for breakfast would definitely turn your mood around. Who said nutritious can’t be delicious? I’ll feed you one of these muffins, and you’ll be a convert! ;)

Okay, that didn’t sound like me at all. See, I am not really fond of carrots. If they’re part of any meal, expect them to be left untouched. My Mom always made the best carrot cake, but I never really learned to loved it.

So just imagine how hard it was for me to start baking these muffins. I’m glad I did, though, as these were really tasty… and didn’t taste like carrots. At all.

Carrot Spice Wheat Bran MuffinsAdapted from Whole Foods For The Whole Family by LaLeche League International Cookbook  

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts  

For the topping: 

1/4 cup brown sugar mixed with
1 tbsp cinnamon  

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.  

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients- flour, soda, powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice.  

In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients- honey/brown sugar, egg, buttermilk/yogurt, oil, vanilla and the carrots, raisins and nuts.  

Gently mix wet and dry ingredients together until just moistened.  

Spoon/scoop batter into prepared muffin pan then top with a teaspoon or so of cinnamon topping.  

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  

Notes:

• I didn't have whole wheat flour available so I subbed it with 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup wheat bran flakes (I used the cereal kind).

• I used grated and minced carrots.

• I used skim milk mised with a teaspoon of white vinegar.

• They came out a bit crumbly, I might add a little more oil and milk next time.

• VERDICT: I never thought carrots can be this tasty!

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

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How cool is that?! :)

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Muffin Monday: Jam-filled Muffins

I have been meaning to join several weekly blog round-ups like Tuesdays with Dorie and Sweet Melissa Sundays. I think it’s  a good way to expand my baking portfolio, if there’s such a thing as that. It would greatly help me conquer my baking and kitchen fears and push me to go up a notch. The only problem I had was that these communities had one main requirement: that you own the cookbooks that inspired them. I certainly don’t mind buying these books, but you know how much they cost nowadays, it would definitely burn a hole in my pocket. Maybe next time, I thought.

So just imagine my joy when I stumbled upon a blog last week which was part of a weekly round-up that didn’t require cookbooks. Oh what sheer luck! I quickly dropped a line to the administrator’s mailbox and waited. I got “approved” in less than 24 hours and well, the rest is history. Haha.

This is my first post for Muffin Monday. Thanks, Anuradha, for accepting me in. And thanks for such an easy recipe for this week. ;)

Okay, so yes, it is an easy one but like my other adventures, it definitely didn’t go without a hitch. My muffin lovelies would’ve turned out waaaay better had I not overfilled the muffin wells.

I should know better, right? I’ve been baking cupcakes for almost a year now. I should’ve known. Oh well, that’s the beauty of these kitchen adventures – you learn from them. And move on…

I think they still turned out great, you be the judge. :)

Jam Filled MuffinsTaken from AllRecipes 

1 3/4 cups Flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup jam – I used guava and a locally-produced coconut jam 

Preheat the oven to 400F  

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  

In another bowl, lightly beat eggs, milk, butter and lemon rind.  

Pour into the dry ingredients and the stir until moistened.  

Spoon half batter, make a well, add jam, spoon the remaining batter and bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden.

 

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Notes:

• I halved the recipe and got 6 muffins. Get the recipe converter here.

• Looking back now, I think I knew where I messed up – didn’t make a well after I poured the first half of the batter, I literally just plopped the jam over. MY BAD.

• VERDICT: They’re absolutely awesome.

I really still can’t get over my boo-boo today. I really should know better.

PS. A big thanks to Annapet, I saw Muffin Monday on her blog that fateful Wednesday last week. ;)

double fudge oreo crunch cookies.

It's been a month and I still have not posted anything substantial. I miss writing. I miss baking and taking photos of the what I bake.

I have not gone into a baking coma, it's just that I have a lot of things up my sleeve and have not had the time to update my tiny space in the WWW.

Anyway, since I am not my best self today, I decided to go over some photos saved in my drive to check if there are anything worth posting.

I have baked cookies back to back in the past four weeks, however, I have not snapped any good photos of them. TSK.

But I can't let the opportunity pass, can I? Definitely not.

I have seen these lovely Double Fudge Oreo Crunch cookies over at Jessica's site last month and have since made them weekly, sometimes even daily.

My batch came out darker than her recipe, I guess that's because I crushed the Oreo cookies way too much. But it was still delightful, to say the least.

I am posting her original recipe here -- I followed it to a T, no substitutions or anything. ;)

Double Fudge Oreo Crunch Cookies 

Taken from How Sweet It Is  

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup crushed Oreo cookies

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and crushed Oreos.

Refrigerate dough for 2-4 hours (or more). When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350, roll into balls or scoop with an ice cream scooper and set on baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely.