Mango Muffins

So, the Tuesdays with Dorie folks made Dorie's mango bread a few weeks ago. It looked totally good, but when I saw that Caitlin made muffins instead, I was sold. I am always up for a good muffin recipe! And mangoes were super-cheap at the market that week, a sign of fate that I needed to try these out.

Now, I must say: WATCH THE TIMER WITH THESE. The bread may take 90 minutes, but these muffins are going to take probably a third of that - I say 'probably' because I set my timer for 40 minutes, and out came hard-as-rock muffins. I stuck them in a tightly-lidded container and they softened up nicely by the second day, but they were still kinda brown.

Yummy nonetheless, though! The chunks of mango do a lot to moisten these guys up (you'll see for yourself if you mix up some of this batter), and the flavor is a.m.a.z.i.n.g. I am not a giant fan of deeply spiced things in the spring/summer (I want light and fresh instead!), but these were just delicious and not too heavy, which I loved. Plump raisins, juicy mango, fantastic mix of spices. Once again, Dorie's recipe is a winner...

Mango Muffins

(adapted from Dorie's Baking: From My Home To Yours)

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
3/4 c. flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower oil
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. (packed) light brown sugar
2 c. diced mango
3/4 c. golden raisins
Grated zest of 1/2 a lime

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the top of a muffin pan, line muffin cups with paper liners, and put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other. (This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the muffins from overbaking).

Whisk the eggs and oil together.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Rub the brown sugar between your palms into the bowl, breaking up any lumps, then stir it in. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, switch to a sturdy rubber spatula or wooden spoon and mix until blended — the batter will be very VERY thick (really more like a dough than a batter) and not easily mixed, but persevere, it will soon come together.

Stir in the mango, raisins, and zest. Scrape the batter into the muffin cups in pan, and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake the bread for 30-40 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. (If the muffins look as if they're getting too brown as they bake, cover tops loosely with a foil tent). Transfer the muffin pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before unmolding. Invert muffins and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Shamelessly stolen from Pea's blog (these were all the rage in the food blogging community a few years ago, so I patiently waited to post my version).

These are something I could make all the time, and for good reason - they are EXACTLY like the cookie, only in a nice muffin form. The rolling of the batter in cinnamon sugar yields a muffin that has a sugary crackled crust, exactly like the cookie. The muffin interior is so moist and soft and yummy - oh my goodness, heaven. I'm not a gigantic fan of snickerdoodle cookies (they are just *okay*), but man. I could eat these muffins every day of my life.

Just a note for first timers making these: coat your palms in the cinnamon sugar and just plop a scoop of batter on one hand, and bounce the batter quickly between the bowl of sugar and your hands before plopping in your muffin tin. You'll be a MESS, yes, but it also works like a charm.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

(from Peabody)

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

¾ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. cream of tarter

¾ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1 ¼ c. sour cream

2 ¼ c. all purpose flour
1 c. sugar + 2 Tbsp. cinnamon, mixed together for rolling

Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.

In a separate, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and cream of tarter.
Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar. Place muffin into a greased muffin tin.

Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 12 to 14 muffins. Bake them for approx. 20-22 minutes in a 350F oven or until they are golden brown.

Banana Crunch Muffins

I have been on a muffin kick lately - we are usually cereal or toast eaters for breakfast, but lately I've just wanted a nice bakery good instead. And muffins are much healthier than fried and iced donuts ;)

Now, these aren't the healthiest muffins but my GOSH -they are good! The chunks of bananas in the muffin help to keep it moist and ensure you really get that banana flavor. The granola, nuts, and coconut help to give a great texture as well. And that crunchy topping is genius. I just made sure that I bought extra coconut/almonds/granola to make the recipe, and mixed them all together to top the muffins. Worked perfectly.

Um, this recipe makes a TON of muffins too, by the way. I halved it and still got 15 muffins out of it (!). Enough for lunches and snacks for the Hubster. And believe me, these still didn't stick around for long.

Banana Crunch Muffins

(from Ina Garten)

Ingredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour
2 c.sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp.baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 c. whole milk
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 c. medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 c. small-diced almonds
1 c. granola
1 c. sweetened shredded coconut
Additional granola, almonds, or shredded coconut for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Geneva's Sweet Cherry Muffins

Shall we talk about what a crap-tastic week it's been? No? Can't I divulge a wee bit? Pretty please? Well settle in, because I'm going to anyway (pouty face). It's my blog, so you're stuck ;)

I had a work trip. It was long, that's all I'm going to say. I got back with all intentions of doing the latest Daring Baker Challenge and posting it (I had a whole 3 days to do it), but suffice it to say that was way too ambitious on my end. Too much work and work and work and employee dramz and more work. So no challenge for me, my first miss. But, instead: please check out my fellow Daring Bakers and their amazing takes on Danish Pastry.

We paid our first mortgage payment (yay!) as well as made a rent payment on our old apartment (boo!), bright and early yesterday morning. Then that evening Hubs' car broke down. Another $550, hurrah.

I decided to walk home from work (2 mi.), not the brightest idea when it was 90 F and humid today. Then, I ruined dinner: nothing is as amazing as crunchy potatoes. That were in the oven for an hour, so hmmm, that makes me nervous about our new oven. Then I sat in our new, week-old, lovely and gorgeous leather club chair, and realized - one of the supports in the arm has either fallen away, or was never there to begin with. Yet another headache. Grr. Not a good week my friends, not a good week.

So, I decided to perk things up the best way I could. I made muffins.



Not just any muffins, though! I made cherry muffins! These were fantastic, they didn't rise too well or dome like those store-bought things, but they sure hit the spot. Very moist, tons of flavor. And a nice crunchy hazelnut topping, to boot. I think I'll tinker a bit with this recipe, get some more rise out of them, but otherwise I think they turned out perfectly. At least they brightened my mood, anyway.

Geneva's Sweet Cherry Muffins

(from Hacienda Nicholas Inn, Sante Fe, NM)

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. chopped sweet cherries, pitted (or use frozen)
2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. vanilla (or plain) yogurt

Heat oven to 375 F. Grease 12 muffin cups, including area between cups. In a medium sized bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla, baking powder and salt. Then add the cherries.

Mix in half the flour, alternating with the yogurt, until completely mixed. In a small bowl mix together:

1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped hazelnuts
1/4 - 1/2 t. nutmeg

Scoop batter into muffin tins, filling half way. Sprinkle on almond mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 30 minutes before removing from pan.