Week 4: "I'm Bananas" Banana (Nut) Crumb Muffins

I love bananas. And all desserts that taste of or like bananas: Chunky Monkey ice cream (or other banana-based ice creams), banana splits, banana cream pie, banana fudge cookies, etc. I'd say, really, that they're my one true weakness in life... since I'm not actually a hugeee dessert person. (Exceptions mostly for things that taste of, like, or made from fruit. Clearly, banana falls into this category.)

Our torrid love affair began in the first grade. I was invited to a family friend's birthday party, and they served a Big Bird birthday cake (extra points for the Sesame Street theme)-- a big, yellow, creamy, and banana-heavenly cake that I've never forgotten. It was love at first bite (in a totally non-creepy, non-Vampire way).

It was only natural, then, that I'd want to make some sort of banana muffin. In anticipation/preparation for week 4, James and I stocked up on bananas a week in advance. The bananas were exciting: soft, brown(ing), and over-ripe to perfection for our...

Banana (Nut) Crumb Muffins

Caroline came out for the first time (the gang's complete!) and mixed zealously. She also did some whispering. This, as we shall see in subsequent weeks, turned out to be key for the success of our muffins.

Myla came bearing gifts... she made chocolate chip cookies!-- which we devoured quickly-- to help fuel our tired arms.

James tried to sneak one too many tastes of the batter-- on the one hand, it's great because it means that the batter is delicious. On the other hand, though... we have a lot of muffins to make :p

And Pete made more crumble-- using brown sugar this time and a slightly different ratio of ingredients. Not to worry, though: the resulting crumble was just as delicious as our first.

They look delicious, no? Mmmm.

I didn't make any drastic changes to the recipe this time around-- I just added an extra banana, a pinch more cinnamon, and 1/2 a cup of walnuts (banana and walnuts = love). I did think about adding vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg-- as some users suggested-- but, in the end, I decided against it. And I definitely think that was the right decision: the banana flavor released slowly, tantalizingly in my mouth, and I think the additional spices would probably have detracted from that.

We did over-mix the batter-- I forgot to stop the gang, despite the "warning" in the recipe--, but it didn't seem to affect the end-product too much. The muffin was extremely moist! It was difficult not to scarf it down, actually, but I think it's best savored and enjoyed... seriously, it's banana heaven. And 3 out of 3 taste testers agree. (Okay, I just made that number up, but we DID get a number of "These are the best muffins ever!" comments and quite a number of repeat requests.)

Wanna have a go at it? Here's the recipe:

"I'm Bananas" Recipe (Banana (Nut) Crumb - Modified; Original/Base Recipe here, Courtesy of Lisa Kreft, AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients:
Muffin Batter:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur's)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 over-ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup walnuts

Crumble:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (King Arthur's)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease the muffin tin or line with muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1-1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat together the mashed bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon of butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle over the muffins batter.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

Yes, we have no bananas!

Week 3: "It's Fall" Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Nothing says "Fall" quite like pumpkin. (Well, except beautiful falling leaves. And maybe cider. But I digress.) Which is why, for Week 3, we made...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This was another of the first batch of muffin recipes I found on-line. I'm actually not a huge fan of pumpkin-- I basically only eat it as part of my vegetable tempura-- but both the recipe and the pictures looked delicious, and I thought they'd be seasonal and appropriate. (We've clearly already established that "pumpkin" = "Fall." Please see the above (pathetic) excuse for a proof.)

These muffins, however, very nearly didn't get made.

The (mis)adventure started the previous Sunday afternoon, when James and I went to the store. (And ran into a pair of star-crossed lovers frolicking in the leaves, but that's an entirely different story.) Actually, to be more accurate, we went to two stores... neither of which had either canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree! We asked a sales clerk at the second grocery store whether or not they stocked it, and she informed us that no, not only did their store not carry pumpkin, but there was no pumpkin to be had anywhere in Hyde Park!

Depression.

James had quite a time trying to console me, and we were both really confused as to why, so close to Thanksgiving, any large-ish grocery store would even think of not carrying pumpkin. Seriously, not the greatest of business decisions.

Luckily, though, Gary came to the rescue. He very generously took me to a grocery store outside of Hyde Park a few days later, and I got some pumpkin puree and miniature chocolate chips.
Aside: We later discovered (and I was just reminded by Peter) that the pumpkin shortage was actually nationwide. Bad crop season :( We're happy/thankful we got some, though, and I made sure to stock up!

Come Sunday, we were ready. We were also +1; Myla joined us for the first time! (And yes, there was dancing.)

We're such a happy little family :p

The results:

I don't know whether or not you can tell from these pictures, but the muffins were extremely thick. You could sort of see the curves and curls of each dollop of batter, which was interesting.

The muffins were-- at least for me-- a little on the disappointing side. We'd already modified the recipe, but the pumpkin taste was still a little lacking. They were also, as I said, very thick in texture... which is fine, but not exactly what I was expecting.

Nevertheless, at least one person to this day declares that it was their favorite of all our muffins, so I'm going to declare it also a success. I'd like to try a different pumpkin muffin recipe next time, but, if I could make this over again, I think I'd go a little easier on the miniature chocolate chips... and add a 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to kick up the pumpkin flavor. (Don't worry-- I'll change the recipe straight away for you guys... you won't have to edit a thing! :))

And so, without further ado, the modified recipe:

"It's Fall" Recipe (Pumpkin Chocolate Chip - Modified; Original/Base Recipe here, Courtesy of Donna, AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur's)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour the muffin pan or line with paper.
2. Mix the sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the pumpkin and water. In a separate bowl, mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. Add the wet mixture and stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 25 minutes.

I'm not gonna turn into a pumpkin at midnight, I swear.
(That's what he said.)

Week 2: The "Infamous" Apple Pie Muffin

It's sort of fitting that our most popular muffin (although there are some awfully close runners-up) is also the one that launched my baking craze in the first place. I've already told you that the urge to bake was sudden and overpowering-- what I neglected to tell you, though, was that it was one recipe in particular-- the very one featured in this entry-- which really motivated me to venture into muffins (Remember: I've got a lot of experience in cookies, and I was also looking at scones that fateful night-- the evidence is still in my Favorites folder; this recipe really sealed the deal, though, and is almost single-handedly-- insofar as muffins have hands, anyway, ha, ha-- responsible for the Muffin Mafia).

Apple Pie Muffins

Okay, I see that look in your eyes. And yeah, it's a little disheartening, but it's also okay to be a little skeptical... as I know both James and Myla were when I first told them of the recipe. Apple pie? That old American favorite? That sugary, gooey dessert we eat with ice cream (and turkey and mashed potatoes, oh my)? How could it possibly be converted into muffin form? Was that even desirable?

What's truly ironic about the situation, of course, is that I don't even like apple pie. (Yeah; I said it.) But there was something about this recipe that spoke to me-- perhaps, it was the unorthodox ingredients and the unique description/concept itself-- sure, fruit is often used in muffins, but who'd ever heard of actual apple chunks? I loved the idea of trying something completely out there-- go big or not at all. (That's not really my motto in life, but it sounds good, yeah?)

James and I went shopping for the ingredients (we also searched for pumpkin puree-- for Week 3's muffins, but they were completely out... everywhere!), and we made the muffins (solo this time) Sunday night. (The gang hadn't formed completely yet back then, and Pete was busy with the World Series.) It took a bit of time, but the results were well worth the effort:

I know the crumble makes the muffins look a little suspect-- it's sort of just hanging out on top of the muffin, but I promise you that it makes up big time in taste what it lacks in looks.

Mmmm... so moist and tasty. Not too sweet, just soft, cinnamon-y apple goodness melting in my mouth.

The recipe is modified just a tad. I read through a bunch of reviews and comments on the website before deciding what to do: in the end, the change was something very subtle and minor: I tossed the apples in a mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar before folding them into the muffin batter. I was motivated in part by a love of cinnamon and brown sugar (hey, you can't go wrong!) and in part by a desire to keep the apples from browning in the batter overnight. They didn't turn brown, although whether or not it was due to the pre-mix toss is certainly questionable.
EDIT: A thank you to my very thoughtful friend and reader, Mingham, who suggested lemon juice. I do use either lemon juice or a slight salt-and-water mixture on my apples typically (to prevent browning), but I was worried that either treatment would be detrimental to the overall flavor of the muffins, particularly since the batter had to sit overnight... which is why I went with cinnamon and brown sugar instead ;)

The muffins were a huge hit. We got no less than three recipe requests... as well as a ton of "repeat make" requests.

They made an appearance at several Thanksgiving celebrations, and I'm planning on making them for my family over Christmas break.

Here's the recipe (notes and modifications included) if you want to have a go at it yourself:

The "Infamous" Recipe (Apple Pie Muffins - Modified; Original/Base Recipe here, Courtesy of Jan Brown, AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients:
Muffin Batter:
2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour (King Arthur's)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 cups diced apples (Red Delicious - absolutely do NOT use Granny Smith or other green apples... they do not bake nearly as well. Not sure of Gala, Fuji... but we used pretty ripe Red Delicious in ours, and they're basically standard for baking)

Crumble:
1/2 cup white sugar (I'm sure you can use brown sugar instead, but we used white in our original batch)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (King Arthur's - James swears by it)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir together 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the egg, buttermlik, 1/2 cup melted butter, vanilla, and 1-1/2 cups of brown sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Pour into the flour mixture. Toss the diced apples in a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the coated apple dices into the bowl as well. Stir just until everything is blended. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin, filling the cups to the top.
3. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven or until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed.

Fall in love with Cinnamon all over again.

Week 1: Mixed Berry (Surprise!) Crumble Muffins

Our first attempt at muffins was really nothing to write home about (which is why they were merely glazed over in my last Muffin Entry... one might question the wisdom of my writing about them in this entry instead, but... the bunnies like for things to be detailed and in chronological order). Nobody had had time to go to the store, and we were forced to improvise with what we had on hand: sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, frozen mixed berries, and a tiny bit of skim milk (no whipping cream or buttercream-- tragic). We wound up going with a not-as-popular recipe for blueberry crumble muffins, substituting the slightly old frozen berries for the recommended cup of fresh blueberries.

Mixed Berry (SURPRISE!) Crumble Muffins

The muffin base was underwhelming. It was definitely moist, but the mixed berry taste was pretty dominant, and not in either a sweet or a tart way-- in a decidedly "they used frozen mixed berries" way :\ The vanilla was completely overpowered :\

The crumble was an entirely different story. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it saved the muffin, which, already unspectacular, would otherwise have been a bit bland. Crumble isn't the easiest thing in the world to make-- the recipe's typically straight-forward enough, but it's not easy to mix, and a lot of people actually wind up with not-so-great crumble.

Of course, those people didn't have our recipe (awesome ratio of ingredients, really), and they certainly don't have Pete (AKA The Enforcer) on their team. He really went at the butter and the sugar. The crumble was perfectly blended and utterly delicious. It even sparked a little bit of trash-talking and a challenge to a "Crumble Eat-off," which is exactly what it sounds like *whistles* We had plenty left over, and we used the same crumble the next week for our infamous apple pie muffins (pictures, custom-modified recipe, and rave reviews to come).

Here's the Crumble Recipe:
1/2 cup white sugar (I'm sure you can use brown sugar instead, but we used white in our original batch)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (King Arthur's - James swears by it)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

All in all, though, not a bad first attempt. Certainly good enough for us to try again-- and for our lovely taste-testers to grant us a chance at redemption :p

Hit me, baby, one more time.

The Origin of the Muffin Gang

The Muffin Gang, The Muffin Mafia, The "Family," The New Gradders... We are many things-- all of them lovely and loving. We're also, however, just a tad bit accidental.

It all started one fateful Wednesday night in October. I was sitting in my room, doing my Elements readings, when I was suddenly and inexplicably seized by an intense, overwhelming urge to bake.

I'm no stranger to baking (quite the contrary, in fact: one Christmas, I made over 100 dozen cookies for my friends), and impulsive urges actually visit me somewhat frequently. I decided to indulge the bunnies (yet again!) and proceeded to spend the better part of two hours surfing the web for muffin and scone recipes and "shopping" on Amazon for baking supplies. I'd never made either muffins or scones before, and I certainly couldn't afford all the pans, measuring cups, and glass bowls in my shopping cart, but, like so many other things in my life (ridiculous adds to My WishList at Victoria's Secret, anyone?), "dreaming" and "pretending" can really be half the fun.

Fast forward 24 hours, to when a huge group of us were sitting in the common area on the second floor.

I'd mentioned my silly little impulse (and subsequent fantasy browsing spree) at dinner, and James had expressed a surprising (well, to me!) amount of interest in my plans. It turns out that he'd brought a decent amount of baking supplies with him, but hadn't yet had the opportunity to use them. My mission? Convince him to let me use them, naturally.

I was showing him recipes on my laptop, and I really wasn't too sure he was on board-- it was either the recipes themselves or me-- one of us wasn't being particularly charming-- but my enthusiasm was apparently catching enough for a few others. Within the hour, I'd Amazon-Primed myself two lovely Farberware muffin tins, polled the others for opinions on recipes, and decided on a time and place for the First Muffin Make Ever! (I'd also fist-pounded Pete at least twice, but that's pretty ordinary for us.)

We came. We mixed-berried. We crumbled.
And that was the birth of the Muffin Gang.
We do: Sunday Night Mix + Monday Morning Bake = Warm, Fresh Muffins For Class
(We do branch out.)
We are: Amateurs :p No; seriously: The Family.

Tammy - The Godfather
James - The Advisor
Pete - The Enforcer
Myla - The Face AKA The Mascot AKA The Muffin Dancer
Caroline - The Assassin AKA The Muffin Whisperer

We love: Each Other :p and Muffins!

The adventure is only beginning.