Pumpkin Spice Spice Baby Muffins #MuffinMonday

Pure pumpkin puree and cinnamon flavor a fluffy, tender muffin, topped with crunchy pumpkin seeds and a melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin spice white chocolate kiss candy. 

My self-imposed pumpkin moratorium is over. While a chill isn’t exactly in the air yet here in Dubai, I can finally see that there is hope for autumn and soup and pumpkin recipes. It’s been an extended summer of flights to family and friends and even having family visit me. Bless my mother; she came to Dubai in the hottest month to keep me company while my husband traveled on an extended business trip. We did see some sights, the ones that were inside and air-conditioned. Because that is what makes life tolerable when temperatures soar. The top temperature while she was here was, according to my external car thermometer, 52°C or 125.6°F. So, you are going to laugh at me but the current temperature of 34°C or 93°F actually feels cool. I know, weird, right? But it’s true, at least for the first five minutes outside. I am looking forward to the trend continuing. And I am finally baking with pumpkin.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 190g all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 15 oz can or almost one cup or 215g pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For topping: 1/4 cup or 40g pumpkin seeds and 12 pumpkin spice kiss candies

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and either grease your 12-cup muffin pan or line it with paper liners.

In one big mixing bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside.

In small mixing bowl, whisk the pumpkin, eggs, oil and vanilla extract.

There you have the difference between brands of eggs here.

Fold the liquids to the dry mixture, stopping when they are just mixed if you are using all-purpose flour but stirring until completely and thoroughly mixed if you are using the gluten-free flour blend.

Divide the batter between your prepared muffins cups.

Push one pumpkin spice kiss into each cup and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds all around.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted next to the kiss candy comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Remove from the muffin pan and finish cooling on a rack.

Enjoy!

Saucy Pulled Pork Cornbread Muffins #MuffinMonday

Pulled pork with barbecue sauce is a great savory filling for cornbread muffins, perfect as a take-along for tailgating parties or game day buffets. 

I made slow cooked pork in the crockpot a couple of weeks back. Nothing remarkable about it except that I did use a cloudy apple juice with ginger that I buy in my nearby supermarket. And I hummed in a few ounces of raspberries from a punnet that was getting past its best. As it turns out, apples, ginger and tart raspberries all make delicious slow cooked pork shoulder. We ate the roast the first night sliced, with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. 

Then I shredded the leftovers and added homemade barbecue sauce and we enjoyed barbecue sandwiches on lovely Portuguese rolls, coleslaw on the side, another night. Which left about one cupful of saucy pork as leftover leftovers. I was fully prepared to eat that with a spoon. I warmed it up the next morning and took a bite, but I just couldn’t get over the idea I’d had in the middle of that night before. My husband laughs because there is always a small part of my brain that is planning a meal or working on a recipe, no matter what else the rest of my brain seems to be concentrating on. I put the spoon down and put the bowl back in the refrigerator to chill. 

I had to use that pork to fill some cornbread muffins. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 180g fine yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 or 190g cups flour

4 teaspoons sugar 

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup or 355ml milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light vegetable oil plus more for the pan

Filling: One cup or 250g pulled pork with barbecue sauce

Optional for garnish: Small pickles or slices of pickle

Method

Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C. Prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by oiling it liberally with canola or non-stick baking spray. 

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your milk, egg and oil. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat until fairly smooth, about one minute, making sure to scrape bottom and sides well.  

Divide about two-thirds of the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Add a generous teaspoon of the chilled pulled pork to each. 

Top with the remaining batter.

Add the pickle garnish if using. Mine were the little French cornichons. I drained them on some paper towel, sliced them partially through twice with a sharp knife and fanned them out. A slice of dill pickle would work as well. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on top and on the sides. 

Remove to a wire rack to cool a little before eating. Do be careful with the first bites because the pork will be quite hot inside. 

Serve with coleslaw on the side to complete the saucy pulled pork muffin experience. 

Enjoy! 

Ripe Persimmon Muffins #MuffinMonday

Soft and sweet, Hachiya persimmons really shine in these ripe persimmon muffins. Read further to learn more about this interesting fruit!

With a botanical name that means food of the gods, persimmons have lofty aspirations. They come in two main varieties, the Fuyus which are still somewhat crunchy like an apple when ripe and the Hachiyas which aren’t edible until they are soft with the sweet pulp almost bursting out of their taut orange skins.

That pulp is the most gorgeous color and is splendid in baking, especially muffins. Some say the flavor is like pumpkin, but it puts me in mind of the idyllic, albeit fictional, marriage between an apple and a ripe peach. 

Got any muffin ideas for me?
So I’ve been at this muffin-baking thing for a while now. In fact, if I have counted correctly, this is my 124th muffin recipe baked and photographed for this space. I firmly believe that if flavors go together nicely, they are going to make a nice muffin. I have a list about 12 or 15 ideas long for future muffins, both sweet and savory, but I am always on the lookout for new ideas or ingredients.

Enter, the persimmon. 
The persimmons I have eaten before are the short, squat type (Fuyu) that are bright orange but kind of crunchy. From the top, they look the same as the large basketful that caught my eye at the market here last week, but when I reached in to choose a couple, the skins gave way, even in my gentle grip. These persimmons were clearly on their way out! And they were oval, not short and squat. Intriguing. 

I’m not that easily discouraged, so I chose the least mushy ones and brought them home. A quick internet search revealed that it’s "the mushier, the better" for this oval variety (Hachiya) so I let them soften all the way, before peeling them and mashing the pulp for muffins.

Two Hachiya persimmons yielded about a cup and a half of pulp.

Ingredients
For the muffins:
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1 cup or 260g ripe persimmon pulp, mashed
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
1/2 cup or 130g ripe persimmon pulp
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
Pinch salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan or line it with paper liners.

If you haven’t already, peel and mash your persimmons.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the persimmon pulp, oil, egg and vanilla extract.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook your topping ingredients in a small pot over a medium heat until the mixture reduces and thicken slightly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.

When the muffins are completely cool, spoon a little of the persimmon topping on each. If it has thickened up too much to spoon, warm it slightly or add just a few drops of water and stir.

Enjoy!

Artichoke Dip Muffins #MuffinMonday

Rich muffins made with mayonnaise, Parmesan and artichokes, with just a small hit of heat from the jalapeño, these make great party food or a snack for the savory muffin lover in your life.

I am a fan of mayonnaise in all its forms, homemade and good quality store-bought, slathered on sandwiches, mixed through yolks for deviled eggs, heaped in potato salad. But I had never heard of mayonnaise cake. I must lead a very sheltered life. Last week in a Facebook group, the discussion was all about cakes made with mayo instead of eggs and oil/butter. And my first reaction was a resounding, “Eewww!” But I kept it to myself because of the risk of being pilloried; everyone else seemed really enthusiastic in the exchange of great chocolate and vanilla cake recipes using mayonnaise. Gag reflex in check, I even found a few versions online myself. I make homemade mayonnaise so I do know it’s just eggs and oil, I do. But still, a sweet cake with mayo? I guess I’m just not ready to go there yet.

But that discussion has been on my mind all week and it occurred to me that a savory cake, on the other hand, sounded like a capital idea. And what better to test that theory than with a savory muffin made with the same ingredients as my favorite artichoke dip, to wit, mayonnaise, artichoke, Parmesan and green chilies. With no eggs and no oil, just mayonnaise to fulfill both of those roles, I’m calling this one an unqualified success!

And since this is my blog and I can do what I want, I’d like to give a shout out to Eszther in the Shelf Drilling office in Dubai. Apparently she is a fan when my husband brings muffins in to the office and the savory ones are her favorites. And she reads my blog so I'm automatically a fan of hers. This one’s for you, Eszther! Hope you got one today.

Ingredients
1 can (14oz or 400g) artichoke hearts, drained weight 8 1/2oz or 240g
1 fresh jalapeño
1 cup or 150g finely grated Parmesan (This is one of the few times I recommend using the canister cheese rather than grating your own.)
2 cups or 250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup or 120ml mayonnaise
1 cup or 240ml milk

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan liberally with canola, butter or non-stick spray.

Drain your artichoke hearts completely, even giving them a bit of a squeeze in your hands to make sure all of the juice is out. Cut them into small pieces. Halve your jalapeño and remove the seeds if you want to tone down the heat, otherwise leave them in. Mince the jalapeño.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, Parmesan and baking powder and stir well.

In another bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, milk, artichokes and jalapeños.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed. Your batter is going to be quite stiff, almost a dough, but don’t let that bother you. Trust. They still turn out light and fluffy, as a muffin should.

Divide the batter/dough evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake in your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan to cool completely.

These would be also be great as mini muffins for a cocktail party or to accompany any lunch or dinner spread.

See? Very fluffy on the inside!

Enjoy!

Biscoff Muffins with Pecans #MuffinMonday

Creamy Biscoff spread added into batter makes a beautiful muffin that is just the right amount of sweet for breakfast or a snack. That is to say, just sweet enough but not too sweet, even with another drizzle of Biscoff on top of the crunchy baked in pecans. 

Hoarding or saving - tomayto, tomahto
From years of living in places where supplies were short and I had to haul essentials like peanut butter and pancake syrup in my suitcase each year after our long leave, I became a hoarder. Not on the lines of those poor souls who can barely move about their homes for the stuff piled high to the ceiling on that sad, sad television show,  but still. I would buy packets of taco seasonings, chocolate chips, smoked sausage and the like and use them sparingly until we came into the home stretch of spring semester when I knew that another home leave was close at hand. THEN, I was more profligate, adding chocolate chips to all baked goods, dicing the sausage into omelets and sharing peanut butter with the dog. Okay, that never happened. But you know what, I can now. Even my precious Jif (Fat reduced too!) is readily available here so I have tried very hard not to buy extra and hoard it. This does not apply to items purchased on holidays.

Last year I came back from a trip with a jar of Biscoff, that lovely spread, sometimes called speculoos after the Dutch spice cookies of which it’s made. For more than a year it’s been in my cupboard, mocking me. I was waiting for that special recipe, that great occasion that would warrant the opening of a bottle of cookie spread! Sad, huh? Well, today, I did it. The jar was opened to make muffins, to share with some lovely friends. Which makes this a special occasion. And that's the way this should work.

Do you hoard anything? What do you save just for a “special” occasion? Have you ever saved something so long that it is no longer good?

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/3 cup or about 90g Biscoff spread
1/4 cup or 60ml vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For topping
1/2 cup or 70g whole pecans
1/4 cup or about 70g Biscoff spread

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and either grease your 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper liners.

Chop your pecans roughly with a sharp knife.

In one big mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, oil, Biscoff and vanilla together thoroughly. Because of the raw eggs, resist drinking this silky rich mixture, no matter how wonderful it looks.

Fold the liquids to the dry mixture, stopping when they are just mixed.

Divide the batter between your prepared muffins cups. Scatter the pecans evenly on the muffin batter and press them down gently till they are stuck.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Drizzle the last 1/4 cup of the Biscoff on top the muffins. You can warm it briefly in the microwave if need be. I used an icing decorator bag and a small tip so the warmth of my hands was enough to get things drizzling.

Remove from the muffin tin and finish cooling on a rack.

Enjoy!

Honey Lemon Fig Muffins #MuffinMonday

Fresh ripe figs make a lovely muffin, with no added sugar and only honey to add extra sweetness and a little lemon juice to bump up the batter flavor. Top with slices of fresh fig and a drizzle of honey before baking. 

Well, hallelujah! Let all God’s fig lovers give praise. I finally found some ripe figs I could afford in what had been an otherwise disappointingly practically figless summer! First I made preserves, which turned out more like jam as the large figs fell apart, but a few of the smaller ones were reserved for muffins. These muffins here. Oh, and I may well have eaten quite a few just as is. Aren’t ripe figs the best? I can close my eyes and I am 10 years old again, up high in the branches of my grandparents’ fig trees, enjoying the breeze and eating my fill. Sweet!

Ingredients
6-7 fresh sweet ripe, but firm, figs (about 320g)
1 lemon, for zest and juice
1/3 cup or 80ml honey, plus more for drizzling before baking, if desired
1/4 cup or 60ml lemon juice
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1 egg
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light vegetable oil
2 cups or 250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by spraying it with non-stick spray or lining it with muffin papers.

Slice the ends off of your figs and discard. Now slice 12 nice circles from the middle of the figs and set aside. Chop the rest of the figs up roughly.

Combine your flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Zest your lemon into the bowl and stir well.

Juice the lemon and measure out 1/4 cup or 60ml.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your egg, honey, milk, lemon juice and oil.

That's the last of my dark Ugandan honey. Time to go back!

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until just mixed. There should be some flour showing. Fold in the chopped figs.

Divide your batter between the 12 muffin cups. Top each with a fig slice and push it in slightly. Drizzle on a little extra honey, if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pans and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Have you found sweet figs at an affordable price this summer? Or perhaps you are blessed with a fig-bearing tree. I’m rather fond of dried figs as well. Here are a few more recipes that might interest you.


Gram’s Fig Preserves – Just like my grandmother used to make them

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Gram’s Fig Spice Cake – My grandmother’s special recipe, with buttermilk glaze

Figgy Jam Muffins – for when you can’t find fresh but really need to bake with figs - this was me earlier this summer!