Good Morning Muffins

Saturday, Josh (my boyfriend) and I decided to take a day trip to Belle Isle in Richmond. It is one of our favorite places to go to relax on the rocks and explore the trails in the woods. I always wake up way before he does, so I decided to kill time by making some hearty muffins to take with us. I started with a recipe from 500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly. Neither Josh nor I really love raisins so I subbed some dried cherries, cranberries, and blueberries. I also added some chopped walnuts for a little crunch (Oh now I sound like Giada!). And I was fresh out of wheat bran, so I just added more oats. I ended up not pouring in all of the wet ingredients, because the batter was looking extremely loose. I had about 1/4 cup of wet ingredients left out. The muffins came out delicious and moist, but a little on the greasy side. Next time I'll probably reduce the oil by 1/4 cup. These muffins are a perfect portable snack for a road trip!

Oh yeah....... no pictures. Sorry.

MY NOTES: I omitted the wheat bran and added 1/3 cup MORE oats. I made my own buttermilk by mixing 2 tbsp. white vinegar with 2 cups minus 2 tbsp. whole milk. I substituted mixed berries for raisins. I added chopped walnuts. I got 16 muffins.

Oatmeal Muffins (Adapted from “500 Cupcakes” by Fergal Connolly)
Makes 12-16 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup wheat bran (I omitted this)
1/3 cup rolled oats (I used 2/3 cup oats)
Pinch of salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 lightly beaten eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup (6 oz.) raisins (I used ½ dried mixed berries (cherries, blueberries, cranberries) and plumped them in hot water for about 10 minutes)
½ cup chopped walnuts (My own addition)

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Grease or line a 12-cup regular muffin pan.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. In a large measuring cup, beat the buttermilk, eggs, and oil with an electric mixer until combined.
Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until almost blended. Fold in the raisins (and nuts).
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the muffins and cool on a rack.
Store in airtight container for up to 2 days (mine were still good after 4 days!), or freeze for up to 3 months.


Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: [none]

Soft Pumpkin Cookies w/ Craisins and Walnuts

After making the pumpkin roll, I had about 1 cup of pumpkin left. My original plan was to use it in vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls. However, when I went searching for the dry yeast it was no where to be found. Soooo, these cookies were plan B. And what a great plan B! They're so delicious. They're soft cake-like cookies that remind me of eating a muffin. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

The craisins and walnuts are coated in flour (a tip from Ina Garten). The dough was delicious! Heaping tablespoons of dough ready for the oven. Yummy cookies cooling and smelling great! Tada! The best pumpkin cookies I've ever tasted!

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Cookies w/ Craisins and Walnuts
Makes about 40

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into mixture until well blended. Fold cranberries and walnuts into mixture until incorporated. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on wire rack.