Category Archives: Quickbreads and Muffins

Blueberry Mango Muffins

We had one of those good/bad weekends. Ryan and I got in a silly fight on Friday night. I went to a beautiful birth on Saturday morning…only to miss the actual delivery by 2 minutes. We made dinner together. We went out to our favorite breakfast place. For the first time ever, we watched football in our own home. And then the snow came back. We’re currently sitting in at least a good 6-8 inches of white powder.

Blueberry Mango Muffins

Thankfully, the sun will come out tomorrow and we’ll be back up to almost sixty degrees by Sunday. The weather is a mysterious beast here in Colorado. But cold days call for baking, and Lulu and I spent Monday in the kitchen with mixing bowls, bags of flour, and dried fruit. These blueberry and mango muffins are the perfect way to fight off any cold-day-blues. And a sweet little girl is another great excuse to light a fire and stay warm indoors.

Blueberry Mango Muffins

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut sugar

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, softened

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups full-fat yogurt

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

3/4 cup diced dried mango

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a standard, 12 cup, muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together softened butter and sugar until creamy. Add in eggs. Stir until combined. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the yogurt. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in dried and frozen fruit. Divide evenly among muffin cups (these will be large muffins!). Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Pear Butternut Squash Muffins

Remember the butternut squash bread I made last week? Well, I’ve taken it one step further. On Sunday morning, after a blast of cold air arrived, I chopped up a ripe pear, shredded a cupful of butternut squash, and pulled out my mixing bowls. These muffins rose beautifully in the oven and made my entire house smell like the very best parts of fall.

Earlier this week, I photographed another birth. This first time mama labored with such strength and beauty…but oh-my-heavens what a long birth! I left my house at 4:00pm on Wednesday and didn’t return home until 10:00am on Thursday morning.

KeeganPreview

I’ve gained even more respect for my sweet sister, who works as a night nurse, in West Virginia. After staying up all night to capture Zebulon’s entrance into the world, I could barely function. And I feel like my body is STILL trying to catch up from that missed night of sleep. But was it worth it? Absolutely. And there’s little that a strong cup of coffee and one of these muffins can’t fix.

Pear Butternut Squash Muffins

1 ripe pear, unpeeled and chopped

1 cup shredded butternut squash

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

2 eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper wrappers. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together butter and coconut sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs, beating well after each addition. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk into butter-sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in butternut squash and pear. Scoop into prepared muffin pan. Upon placing in oven, reduce temperature to 375 F. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until muffin domes have peaked and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Walnut Oatmeal Muffins

Some days come easier than others. I love being a mother, but I had no idea how difficult it would be to find balance between motherhood and my own creative passions. I had no idea how guilty I’d feel for leaving her with a stranger, a friend, or even a family member. I had no idea how gut-wrenching it would be to hear her cry because I wasn’t right beside her…or because I wasn’t going to nurse her for the 100th time that morning. And yet, I’m realizing, more and more, how crucial it is for my health AND her health for there to be times of separation. Not long or lasting, these moments of separation allow both of us to learn more about ourselves and the world we live in.

So we’re working towards that goal, and right now, it’s messy. She screams when I hand her off, and I just have to tell myself, “this is good for her, this is good for you,” over and over again as I walk away. Of course, when I return, there is much joy and laughter and baby kisses. But those agonizing thirty or forty minutes are hard on both of us.

The good news is that I’m carving out time for me to write. For those of you who don’t know, I have my MFA in Fiction, and my soul breathes so much freer when I’m putting in an hour or two of writing each day. I’m also carving out time to sit and stare. To allow my mind to wander as I sip on a cup of coffee or eat a sweet snack like these walnut oatmeal muffins. As a mother and as an American, it’s hard not to get up in the constant go-go-go mentality. I’m learning that in these moments away from Lucy, I need to slow down, think, examine, and rest.

These walnut oatmeal muffins are the product of several weeks of experimentation. I made about four batches before I hit on the right ingredients and proportions, but now I’m so happy with them that I make a new batch every week. They are slightly sweet, warming, and full of chopped walnuts. They make the perfect mid-morning energy boost. I eat one along with my cappuccino most every day.

Walnut Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup cooked oatmeal

4 tablespoons melted butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 banana, mashed

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine cooked oatmeal, melted butter, beaten eggs, and mashed banana. Stir until combined and set aside. In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Toss walnuts in flour mixture. Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring only until combined.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for five minutes in pan before removing.

Bountiful Berry Muffins

Lucy was born in the height of June last summer. Berries had come to market and their sweetness was unmatched. I ate berries each morning and spent the days waiting for our little girl to make her arrival. For that reason, Lucy will always be my strawberry-girl.

Now, she’s eating berries of her own. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries…she loves them all. But as any parent knows, babies and toddlers can be rather inconsistent in their eating habits. One day she’ll eat a dozen, the next day she’s content with just two or three. So after a few days of more milk than berries, I had some very ripe fruit in my refrigerator.

These berry muffins seemed like the perfect way to use up our uneaten produce…and after we took our first bite, we knew we’d now be going out to buy more berries just so we could make these again soon. This recipe calls for whole milk yogurt. And If you haven’t made muffins with yogurt before, you should. The yogurt adds moisture and a slight tang. It’s a perfect compliment to sweet berries. And berries: use a lot of them. I folded in blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. My batter turned purple with my first spoon stroke.

Bountiful Berry Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup whole milk yogurt

2 eggs

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 1/2 cups berries, mixedPreheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Toss the berries in the flour mixture to prevent sinking.In a larger bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, 2 eggs, yogurt, and butter until smooth. Gently fold dry ingredients and berries into wet ingredients. Do not overmix. Scoop batter into a standard muffin pan lined with paper tins or greased with butter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Very Banana Muffins

A good day. May 9th. Ryan and I are celebrating our FIVE year wedding anniversary today. Over the last five years, we’ve walked through good and bad. Suicides and car accidents. More funerals than I ever thought we’d have to attend. We’ve moved across the country….three times. We’ve traveled across Europe and started creative businesses. We’ve fallen deeper in love. We’ve experienced unspeakable heartache and uncontainable joy. And of course, we brought this little light into our world. We are so blessed. This morning, we went to the church we got married at and took these pictures.

I am still very much in love.

And because this post is full of good things, I had to share my favorite banana muffin recipe. I make these every single week. Four large and ripe bananas lead to a moist and sweet muffin that needs no additional sweetening. No sugar, no maple syrup, no honey. Once you make them, you won’t go back. You don’t need sugar when you’ve got a bunch of ripe bananas! These are especially ideal for little ones. I love baking treats that aren’t loaded with preservatives and sugar. I think you will too.

Very Banana Muffins

4 LARGE and RIPE bananas (if bananas are small, use five)

4 TBSP butter, melted and cool

1 egg

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat flour works well too)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line six regular muffin tins (you can also make a batch of 12, but the muffins won’t be quite as large).

In a bowl, mash together bananas until smooth. I will often use my kitchen aid and paddle attachment to achieve the desired consistency. Add in melted butter and egg. Stir until well combined. Add flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cinnamon. Fold in dry ingredients with a spatula. Do not overmix. Distribute batter into prepared muffin tins. If using six muffin tins, your batter will almost overflow. Don’t worry. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.