Cinnamon Muffins

Behold, my second creation upon entering the world of self-rising flour!

The only other time I used self-rising flour was when I made my birthday cake.  And now that I have all this self-rising flour laying around, I might as well do something with it, right?

So naturally, I looked up the nummiest and simplest recipe I could find for self-rising flour and here it is: cinnamon muffins!  I'm sure it's called something else on the Betty Crocker website, but in the meantime, I'm just going to call them plain ol' cinnamon muffins.

But first, a debate I just thought of.  Yes, it is related to muffins.

The question is: wrappers or no wrappers?

My personal choice is no wrappers.  Muffins have that heavy-duty feel to them, and wrappers just make them look flimsy and sweet.  A real muffin has sugar in it, true, but it's not so obvious as a cupcake.  Cupcakes need wrappers, or else they're a mess.  Muffins can stand alone, therefore proving that they are far superior to cupcakes.  See my full rant here.  It's not very long, don't worry.

So there you have it.  If you have a personal opinion, O Wandering Internet Foodie, then I'd love to hear from you in the comment section at the bottom of this post!

Now, breakfast!

Cinnamon Muffins
REQUIRES COOLED MELTED BUTTER

Muffins:
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted, cooled
1 egg
Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 stick butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Grease bottoms of 12-count muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon with a fork.
3. In a small bowl, blend milk, melted butter, and egg.  Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  The batter should be slightly lumpy.
4. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, each cup about 2/3 full.
5. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl.  Melt 1/2 stick butter and place in small bowl.
7. Remove muffins from cups and dip into melted butter.  Dip again into cinnamon-sugar mixture and set on serving plate.  Serve warm.  Makes 12 muffins.

Breaking it down:
Combine your dry ingredients...

Add to your wet ingredients...

Scoop into greased muffin cups...

Bake about 15 minutes...

Make your cinnamon sugar mixture...

Then dip your muffins into butter and dunk in the cinnamon sugar!  I'd make a little extra cinnamon sugar just in case... I coated my muffins pretty liberally with the butter and sugar and only got 9 of them done.  What's wrong with extra cinnamon sugar, anyway?  Just butter some toast and sprinkle it on, and you've got a delicious breakfast!

Aren't they scrumptious-looking?  I can assure you, they are scrumptious-tasting, also! :D
-JJ

Cinnamon Roll Blondie Bars

Ohh, these are gorgeous.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Delicious.  They are cake with cinnamon sugar and wonderfulness.

And they are sooo easy to make.

Now, I associate memories with this.  The Bourne Legacy, for one.  This was what I ate the morning after I saw the midnight premiere.  Double-yum!

First off, before anything else, I've gotta break this recipe title down:

Cinnamon - always glorious

Roll - Cinnamon rolls.  YUM!

Blondie - Delicious.  As always.  Especially when connected with the Bourne Legacy.

Bars - Easy to eat.

So, glorious YUM delicious easy to eat.

Sounds do-able, doesn't it?

I got this recipe from the amazing Domestic Rebel, who makes awesome stuff with the simplest ingredients.

And now, without further ado, the recipe:

Cinnamon Roll Blondie Bars

1 box yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 can cream cheese or vanilla frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil, and vanilla with a wooden spoon.  Stir well.  The dough should be soft but stiff.
4. Spread batter into prepared pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
5. Bake 14-16 minutes or until center is set and edges are slightly golden.  Remove from oven.
6. Soften frosting in can 10-15 seconds in the microwave.
7. Allow bars to cool thoroughly before drizzling with softened frosting.  Let cool and cut into bars.  Store in an airtight container.  Makes 15-18 bars.

Now, breaking down the recipe;

Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, and vanilla...

And spread it in your prepared pan.  Grease that pan liberally!  Bake for about 16 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Combine your brown sugar and your cinnamon.  I advise you to not use all of it on the bars like I did.  The cinnamon sugar on top is really good, but all of it is WAY too much.  Save some for oatmeal!

Spread that cinnamon sugar mixture over your baked bars...

And then drizzle your softened frosting/icing/whatever.  You can make homemade or buy it in a can.  Here's a funny thing - Jewel-brand cream cheese frosting is actually vanilla frosting.  There is no difference.  So, I thought I was going to be frosting these bars with cream cheese frosting - but I wasn't.  But the vanilla tasted just as good!  (And if you know me, you'll know that I'll take vanilla over cream cheese any day.)

Doesn't that look awesome?  Now cut it into bars, let it dry, and EAT THEM ALL!!!!!

Enjoy, lovies!
-JJ

Cinnabon Style Cinnamon Rolls

Collective sigh in appreciation of a good cinnamon roll.

And these are good cinnamon rolls.

Verrrrry good.

No more canned cinnamon rolls for me - this is my go-to big breakfast/brunch food.  Because they are DELICIOUS.  Just make sure you bake them long enough - so that they aren't doughy - and not so long that they're crusty.

Just the smell of cinnamon rolls reminds me of going to the mall.  Because there is always a Cinnabon somewhere.  It's just the fact of a mall.  Same with Panda Express and Subway.  Any mall, any highway oasis - you will find those two restaurants.

Now, I have only had a Cinnabon cinnamon roll like once or twice, but it's the smell I remember.  It's heavenly.  And what I can remember of what the roll tastes like, well, let's just call it good.

These are better.

So now, without further ado/reminiscing, I present to you the recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything!

Cinnabon Style Cinnamon Rolls
REQUIRES ROOM TEMPERATURE EGGS
REQUIRES RISING TIME (1.5 HOURS)
REQUIRES SOFTENED BUTTER AND CREAM CHEESE

1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 ounce yeast (1 package)

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Microwave milk 45-60 seconds.  Pour into large bowl.
2. Dissolve yeast in warm milk.
3. Add sugar, butter, salt, and eggs.  Stir well, and then add flour.  Stir well.
4. Lightly dust your hands with flour, and knead dough into a large ball.
5. Spray a bowl with cooking spray, and place dough ball inside.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon with a fork.
7. Flour a flat surface.  On it, roll out dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle.
8. Spread 1/3 cup softened butter on dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
9. Roll up dough longways and cut into 12 individual cinnamon rolls.
10. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.  Place rolls into the pan.  Cover and let rise until the rolls have doubled in size, about 30 minutes.*
11. Once risen, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
12. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.
13. While rolls bake, beat cream cheese and butter in a small bowl.  Stir in powdered sugar.  Add vanilla and salt and stir well.
14. Remove rolls from oven and spread frosting on warm rolls.  Serve warm.  Makes 12 rolls.

*You can refrigerate the rolls overnight at this point.

Breaking it down:

Make your dough.  Knead it into a large ball and let rise until it's doubled in size, like so.  You might try turning on your oven and placing the dough on the stovetop if your house is cold.  Or, if you make these in the summer, like I did, you can put a large bowl over the dough bowl and put it outside.  Jussayin'.

Form the dough into a rectangle - it should be 16x21 inches but mine was smaller - and spread with butter.

Sprinkle on that cinnamon-sugar mixture that you made... (doesn't it look delish??)

...and roll up your rolls.  Gorgeous.

Put those rolls in a pan and let them rise.  After they rise, you can cover them and stick them in the refrigerator overnight, which is what I did.  That way, you can sleep in and still get breakfast done on time!  Anyway, bake these beauties for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, beat your butter and cream cheese...

Add that powdered sugar...

And stir in vanilla and salt to make your cream cheese frosting.

Spread that frosting over your warm rolls so that the frosting oozes inside the rolls, making them taste ah-mazing.

And there you have it - beautiful, delicious cinnamon rolls with yummy frosting!

Yes, even I, whose belief is that cream cheese should be put on Ritz crackers and should NEVER be used in sweet things, love this frosting-and-cinnamon-roll combination.  Soooo delicious.

Enjoy!  I know you will! ;)
-JJ

Homemade Donuts

I'm back!  And I brought donuts!

There are so many fantabulous donut recipes out there.  I'd prowl through foodie blogs and find gorgeous pictures of hot cocoa donuts and valentine's day donuts and I'd nearly explode from the cuteness.

And I'd be all like, I have to make those!

Except that I couldn't, because I did not possess a donut pan.

Until now.

Yes, for my birthday, my grandma gave me a donut pan.  (Love you grandma!)

DONUTS HERE I COME!

Now, you'd think me, being a chocoholic, would go straight for the chocolate donuts.  But I didn't.  I stayed strong.  But I made donuts anyway.

See, there were all these bananas lying around the house, getting spotty and rotten and totally unfit to eat by themselves.  (Honestly, if a banana doesn't still have some green in the peel, I will not touch it.  It's been defiled by this thing called "ripeness," which I believe will kill me if I eat it.  JK.  But I will not eat a ripe banana.  No.)

And banana bread is boring.  Really boring.  I mean, that's the go-to recipe for rotten bananas.

And I had a donut pan.

Banana donuts, baby!

And really, these are gorgeous tasting donuts.  And I decided to glaze them with a maple glaze because I thought that would make them really nummy.  I was right.

The donut recipe is from Rachael Ray and the glaze is from the doughnut book I got for my birthday. :)

Note: This recipe makes 6 donuts, because I only have a 6-donut pan.  If you want to make twelve, either double this recipe or use Rachael Ray's donut recipe.  (You'll have to double the glaze ingredients yourself.)

Banana Donuts with Maple Glaze

REQUIRES ROOM TEMPERATURE EGG

5/8 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg at room temperature

2 bananas, mashed

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease one 6-count donut pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a small bowl, combine sugar, egg, bananas, vanilla, and oil.
4. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.  Spoon batter three-quarters full into prepared pans.
5. Bake until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out dry, 12-15 minutes.  Let cool completely on wire rack before glazing.
6. Place powdered sugar into medium bowl.  Stir in maple syrup and milk, a little at a time, until the glaze is smooth and pourable.
7. Dip donuts into glaze, coating generously.  Makes 6 donuts.

Let's break it down:

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in one bowl...

 

Combine sugar, egg, bananas, vanilla, and oil in the other.

Combine the contents of two bowls...

Pour into your pan and bake about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare your glaze.  Combine powdered sugar, maple syrup, milk.

You may have some extra glaze left over, but I bet that won't be a problem, now will it? ;)

So after your donuts have finished cooling...

Dip them, let them dry, and enjoy!

For the record, I am now a HUGE fan of homemade donuts.  Or is it doughnuts?  Whatevs.  But they taste SO much better than the stuff you get from stores and grocery stores - but that's pretty obvious.  Still, I'm super excited about these - so get a donut pan and start baking! :D
-JJ

Coffee Shop Banana Streusel Muffins

These are awesome muffins.

First, there's banana in them.  Which makes you feel better about what you're eating because if it has fruit in it, it must be healthy, right???

Second, they're muffins.  And muffins are just amazing.  I'm not going to go into the muffin vs. cupcake rant again, don't worry.

Third, there's streusel on the top.  And I am entirely new to streusel.  I've never made it before, and I have never eaten homemade streusel before.  Coffee cakes from Jewel do NOT count.  Ever.

And here is what I have to say on streusel: it is crunchy.

If you like crunchy on top of a deliciously soft muffin, that sort of contrast-thing going on, then eat these the day you make them.

If you're like me, and think it's weird to be taking bites of crunch and then suddenly you're eating more soft and it's freaking out your tongue and your mouth just goes, "whaaa???" - well, if you're like that, WAIT ONE DAY.

Or maybe twelve hours, I dunno.  But cover them and wait!  The moisture from the muffins will be trapped inside the container, and it will soften the otherwise super-crunchy streusel, and then it will be deliciously soft all over.  And the streusel will still retain some crunch, and it will be perfect.

Uh-huh, trust me, I know everything.

Anyway, when I saw these on In Katrina's Kitchen, I just had to make them.  Anything good enough for a coffee shop is good enough for me.

Speaking of coffee shops... (bear with me, I'll post the recipe in half a mo!)

My friend and I constantly argue about our favorite chain coffee shops.  Of course, local shops are the best, hands down.  But where we live, there are two huge competitors: Starbucks and Caribou Coffee.

When we were arguing, I'd only been to Caribou once or twice, and I'd been to Starbucks loads of times, so of course I stuck up for the shop where I discovered cake pops.

But then I tried Caribou's hot chocolate.  It is to Starbucks' hot chocolate as a bowl of homemade butter pecan ice cream is to a McDonald's vanilla soft serve cone.  As in not even close.

So, my decision is this: go to Starbucks for food, go to Caribou for beverages.

And now, without any more ado (because I've done a lot of ado today), the recipe:

Coffee Shop Banana Streusel Muffins

REQUIRES SOFTENED BUTTER

Muffins:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten/forked

4 ripe bananas, mashed

Streusel

5 tablespoons butter, melted

2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

optional: pinch of salt

Muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease muffin pans with shortening or cooking spray, or line with muffin cups.  (use a 6 standard cup and a 12 standard cup)
2. In a large bowl, whip mashed bananas 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
3. In another large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar.  Add eggs, beating after each addition.  Mix in whipped bananas.
4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt with a fork.
5. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet.
6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans.

Streusel:

1. Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl.  Transfer to a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, cinnamon (and optional salt) with a fork.
3. Add to butter.
4. Crumble WITH YOUR FINGERS until mixture is moist and crumbly.

Assembly:

1. Drop streusel on top of muffin batter.
2. Bake 15-18 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pans.  Store in an airtight container.  Makes 12-15 standard muffins.

Breaking it down:

Mash those bananas!

I think this is a potato masher, but I've never used it on potatoes.  Only bananas.

Whip up those bananas, and then beat butter and brown sugar.

Add eggs, beat well, and add banana puree.

Mix together, and combine with dry ingredients.

Pour batter into muffin pans.

Melt butter...

Combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, and flour....

Crumble with your fingers, and drop crumb topping on top of the muffin batter.

NOM.  Lol, I kind of got carried away with the streusel pictures.

Bake 15-18 minutes.  I made a double batch and ended up with 30, although I should have ended up with 24... It all depends on how whipped your bananas become.

Remove from pans and enjoy!  And of course I eat my muffins with a fork.  But more about me and my weird fork obsession later.

Enjoy them while they last! (It won't be long ;D)
-JJ

Chocolate Chip Muffins

There are breakfast people, and there are non-breakfast people, and then there's me.

I used to love breakfast, and now I'm like, most important meal of the day?  Meh.

Except I really like bagels.  Bagels are just delish.

The best part about breakfast, some say, is that you can basically eat crap.  Well, you shouldn't, but you can.  Like donuts.  And pastries.  And pancakes.  And waffles, if you like them (don't hate on me because I don't :P).

And muffins!

I love muffins.  Cupcakes can go die in the hole.  Muffins win hands down.  There's just something more there about them.  Like I'm chewing something sturdy, instead of eating a small portion of cake with too much frosting.

Anyway, that's my muffin vs. cupcake rant.  And here are some delightfully easy-to-make chocolate chip muffins, courtesy of Allrecipes and the fact that I had way too many mini chocolate chips lying around from those dice cake pops.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin pan with paper cups, or grease/Pam it.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, beat egg, milk, and oil with a fork.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients until just combined.
5. Stir in mini chips.
6. Spread evenly into muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes clean (try not to hit a chip!).
7. Cool 5 minutes before removing from tin to a wire rack.  Makes 12 muffins.

Breaking it down:

Combine dry ingredients...

Beat wet ingredients...

Blend...

Stir in chips...

Spread in muffin pan...

Bake 18 minutes, cool 5 minutes, and enjoy!

Have a scrumptious morning!
-JJ