The best Thing I Had in My Mouth - Carrot-Ginger Muffin

You know what the best part about having a friend in pastry school is?  All her extra goodies.  My friend Shari loaded me up with ciabatta bread, olive focaccia, creme anglais, homemade marshmallows, and these carrot-ginger muffins.  These muffins were absolutely to-die-for.  They were so moist, and the texture and flavor were great.  I loved the combination of fresh shreds of carrot, chunks of ginger, and toppings of coconut, oats, and brown sugar.  Seriously, how can you go wrong?  I can't wait for her to graduate and start her own thing.

Rhubarb Muffins

What better way to start the day than with a homemade muffin - especially these rhubarb ones!  Adapted from the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook, the sweet, sugary crumble mixed with the tangy rhubarb is the perfect balance.  These are great right out of the oven, but I actually liked them better the next day.

Blueberry Muffins

First off, sorry for the long hiatus. I have been traveling through Kansas for my friend's wedding as well as been very busy with work. While I was in Kansas, I made sure to stay a couple nights in Lawrence so I could get my favorite treats. I had to make stops at:

-Wheatfields for my favorite hash browns, cinnamon rolls, as well as their kalamata olive loaves and chocolate chocolate cookies.
-La Parrilla for their rice bowls and margaritas
-Free State Brewing Company for their fish and chips and of course beer!

I just wish I could have made it to Rudy's and Papa Kenos...I guess I will have to make another trip.

I also stayed in this adorable bed and breakfast called Glick Mansion, and Chris the innkeeper made a blueberry blanket for breakfast one morning.

So before I left I made blueberry muffins in my dark kitchen (my flourescent light bulbs are burning out - so I apologize for the dark images). I got the recipe from Martha Stewart and they ended up coming out fine, but they were definitely lacking something. I am sharing the recipe with you today, but next time I make it I will add a couple teaspoons of grated lemon zest or even make a streusel crumble to go on top.

Here are the ingredients for Martha Stewart's Blueberry Muffins (makes 12 muffins):
-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tin
-3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
-1 large egg
-2 large egg yolks
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-1 cup milk
-1 3/4 cups blueberries

Some adaptations for next time:
Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest for the batter for a little zip or make a streusel topping. For directions on how to make streusel click here. It is from the same recipe I made for Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumb Bars.

For the blueberry muffins, begin by buttering the muffin tins and preheating the oven to 375 degrees.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl beat cream the butter and sugar on medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg, egg yolks, and vanilla to the mixture.
Reduce speed to low and alternate mixing by adding parts of the flour mixture and parts of the milk. I ended alternating about 6 times, starting and ending with the flour mixture until everything was combined.
Gently fold in blueberries by hand.
Divide the batter among the buttered tins and sprinkle generously with sugar. I ended up using natural sugar cane because the crystals are larger.
Bake until golden for about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Enjoy these muffins at breakfast or even freeze them in a ziplock bag and take them out whenever you need them.

Banana Crunch Muffins

All the food I write about I usually think is pretty good, but these banana crunch muffins are truly the most scrumptious treats I know how to make. In fact, I would say if you recreate one thing on this blog - bake these. This is an Ina Garten (from Barefoot Contessa) recipe - so you know it is good and fattening. Click here for her original recipe.

The muffins have a few steps to them and a lot of ingredients (hence why it always takes me a while to get around to making them - I never have all the ingredients at once). First off, it requires bananas - two which need to be extremely ripe (think black peel). You have to think about this in advance. I let my bananas ripen for a week. I have heard if you put an apple with the bananas in a paper bag they will ripen more quickly, but I have never tried it. The third banana can be a normal yellow peel. Besides bananas you add shredded sweetened coconut, granola, and walnuts to complete the sweet party in your mouth.