Eggnog Muffins with Eggnog Glaze

These delicious eggnog muffins with eggnog glaze are redolent with bourbon, eggnog, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, are perfect for an easy Christmas morning breakfast or afternoon treat.

It's Muffin Monday at my house, so you know I had to make a Christmasy muffin for you. My current motto is Eggnog everything! If you agree, you'll also want to check out my grandmother's homemade eggnog recipe, my beautiful eggnog pound cake and easy eggnog mousse, a boozy dessert the adults will love.

Eggnog Muffins with Eggnog Glaze

Ingredients
For the muffins:
2 1/2 cups or 315g flour
1/2 cup or 100g light brown sugar
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml eggnog (store-bought or homemade)
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1/4 cup or 60ml bourbon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the eggnog glaze:
1 cup or 125g confectioners or icing sugar
2 tablespoons eggnog
1 teaspoon bourbon
Pinch salt

Optional: Decorative sprinkles

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C and prepare your muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with paper muffin cups. degrees.

In a medium bowl mix flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In a large bowl whisk your eggnog, oil, bourbon, eggs, and vanilla.

Fold your wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. A little flour will still show and that’s fine.

Divide your batter between the muffin cups.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly in the pan. Take the muffins out of the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, mix all of your glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.

When the muffins are completely cool, drizzle on the glaze and sprinkle immediately with decorative sprinkles, if using.

Enjoy! Here's to eggnogging all the things!

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Almond Joy Cupcakes #CupcakeDay

All the joy of coconut and almonds, baked into a dark chocolate cupcake, made easy to assemble by using the muffin method: one bowl of wet ingredients poured into one bowl of dry ingredients. What could be more festive or easier?

Every week on this blog, I celebrate Muffin Monday with a new muffin for you, sometimes sweet and sometimes savory. Muffin Monday is a made up holiday but that doesn’t make it less festive or important because if you can start your week out with something tasty from the oven, it’s going to be a better week automatically, than if you didn’t. This week, I am joining a lovely group of bloggers for another made up holiday: Cupcake Day. After all, what is a cupcake but just a dressed up muffin? That really is the dividing line for me. Muffins can be glazed but never frosted. A big pile of icing is reserved for cupcakes. For my Almond Joy Cupcakes today, I took the middle ground and topped the muffins with one toasted almond, as they do in Almond Joy candy bars, and poured a lovely heaping helping of semi-sweet chocolate ganache over the top, after stuffing the batter and the center with sweetened coconut flakes.

Many thanks to Coleen from The Redhead Baker who spearheaded this fun celebration and handled all the hosting responsibilities!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1/2 cup or 50g ground almonds
3/4 cup or 150g white sugar
1/3 cup or just over 27g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons or 200ml coconut milk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 oz or 100g semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 3/4 oz or 135g sweetened coconut flakes - divided

For the topping:
1 cup or 240ml whipping cream
8 1/2 oz or 240g semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pinch salt
12 toasted almonds

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

Combine your flour, ground almonds, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, coconut milk, oil and vanilla extract.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stop when it’s still quite dry looking.

Add the chocolate chips for the batter and about half of the coconut. No need to measure, just eyeball. Stir until just mixed.

Spoon half your batter into the 12 cups.

Use your fingers to make balls out of the remaining coconut.

Tuck one in the batter of each cup.

Top the coconut balls with the remaining chocolate batter.

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

Meanwhile you can be making the ganache. Put the cream in a little pot or a microwaveable bowl and heat till just before boiling. Remove from the stove or microwave and pour in the chocolate chips and the pinch of salt and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

Set aside to cool. It should thicken as it cools but should still stay a pouring consistency. If it thickens too much, rewarm it gently.

When the cupcakes are done, remove them from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.

When they are completely cooled, dab on a bit of the chocolate ganache and stick one toasted almond on top of each.

Allow to set a little then spoon on more ganache to cover the almond and the cupcake.

Enjoy!

Looking for ways to make this week even better? How about baking one - or many -  of these 26 wonderful cupcakes?

• Almond Joy Cupcakes by Our Eating Habits
• Almond Joy Cupcakes by Food Lust People Love
• Buttered Rum Cupcakes by Adventures in All Things Food
• Candied Buddha's Hand-Eggnog Cupcakes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Cupcakes with Candied Butter Pecan Frosting by From Gate to Plate
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes by The Cooking Actress
• Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting for 2 by Kate's Recipe Box
• Chocolate Cupcakes with Red Velvet Frosting by {i love} my disorganized life
• Cone Head Cupcakes with Ice Cream Frosting by The Spiffy Cookie
• Cranberry Apple Cupcakes by The Pajama Chef
• Cranberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Cupcake Christmas Wreath by Lick the Spoon
• Dark Chocolate Rum Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream by Lemony Thyme
• Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Gingerbread cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting by Eva Bakes
• Hot Cocoa Cupcakes by The Redhead Baker
• Lemon Cupcakes by Miss Information
• Maple Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mint Chocolate Cupcakes by Basic N Delicious
• Nerds Cupcakes by Amy's Confectionery Adventures
• Peppermint Cream Cookie Cupcakes by Take a Bite out of Boca
• Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes by Kosher Kitchen
• Peppermint Patty Cupcakes by Comfortably Domestic
• Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Biscoff Marshmallow Buttercream by Making Miracles
• Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Vanilla Candy Cane Cupcakes by Noshing With The Nolands
• Vegan Midori Melon Cupcakes by NinjaBaker

Chocolate Orange Muffins #MuffinMonday

Bitter orange marmalade, cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate chips make a great muffin that will remind the fans of chocolate oranges of their favorite stocking stuffers. 

As we head into December and Christmas draws nearer, my muffin thoughts turn to flavors that are popular at this time of year. Chocolate oranges are a standard seasonal candy in the UK and they are also stocked regularly in Dubai this month. Is orange flavored chocolate popular wherever you live?

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups or 220g flour
1/3 cup or 70g sugar
1/4 cup or 20g dark cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil
1/3 cup or 105g orange marmalade
1 egg
1/2 cup or 95g semi chocolate chips

Optional glaze: several teaspoons marmalade

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Prepare your muffin pan by buttering it liberally or lining it with paper muffin cups.

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder salt and in a large mixing bowl.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the milk, canola, orange marmalade and egg.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until just mixed through. Some flour should still be showing.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cups.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes then remove them to a wire rack. Spoon a little marmalade on top while they are still slightly warm, if desired.

Enjoy!

Almond-Stuffed Date Muffins #MuffinMonday

Almond-stuffed dates are a particular treat in the Middle East, especially at holiday time. What better way to celebrate the upcoming UAE National Day than with almond-stuffed date muffins? 

I’ve been thinking about these muffins since back in October, planning ahead for the 43rd UAE National Day on Tuesday, 2 December. I decided that rather than posting them next Monday, it would be better to post early, in case anyone wants to make them for next week. I can highly recommend the classic combination of almonds and dates. They make tender, tasty muffins, and pretty decorations on top.

If you'd like to read more about my time in the United Arab Emirates, check out my date syrup muffin post from last year's National Day.

Ingredients 

2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 8 3/4 oz or 250g dates stuffed with almonds
1 cup or 240ml whole milk
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or another light oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Grease or line your muffin pan with paper muffin cups.

Set aside 12 stuffed dates and then use a sharp knife to chop the rest of them into small pieces.

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

In a smaller bowl, beat together the milk, egg, oil and vanilla.

Add in the chopped almonds and dates to the liquid bowl. Use a fork to break up the sticky dates into their individual pieces.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold gently until just mixed through.

Divide the batter between the cups in your prepared muffin pan and top each with one of the reserved almond-stuffed dates.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Remove from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Almond Cherry Muffins #MuffinMonday

Toasted almonds, ground almonds and almond liqueur complement the dried cherries perfectly in this tender muffin. Superb for breakfast or teatime. 

I was thinking the other day, as I made the chocolate shot cookies, that they would also be great with almond flour, for a sort of almond shortbread. Or maybe I could substitute coconut for the oatmeal and roll them in some toasted coconut. All of these things may happen one day but meanwhile, it’s Muffin Monday so I decided to take the first idea and muffin with it. You know, like “run with it” but in a muffinly way. At the suggestion of my friend and fellow blogger, Ishita, I celebrated the fact that I now have a liquor license, which permits me to buy alcohol in Dubai, and added a little Amaretto! I also added dried cherries because almond and cherry is a classic combination and when you are making up new verbs and celebrating being 18 again at the age of 51, you have to show that you aren’t a completely crazy renegade or no one will take you seriously. That’s a fact.

Despite the expiration date, I just got the card. It seems the date starts
from your application, even if it takes them more than a month to process. 

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour as my jumping off place.

Ingredients
1 cup or 200g granulated sugar
1 cup or 125g flour
1 cup or 100g ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon Amaretto or almond liqueur
1 cup or 140g dried cherries
1 cup or 75g shaved almonds, lightly toasted

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and either grease your 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper liners.  (I use paper liners but give the whole thing a quick spray with Pam so that any drips will clean off easily.)

In one big mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients: flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In another small bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk, oil and liqueur.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

There should still be some dry flour showing. Take out a good handful of the cherries and the toasted almonds and set them aside for decorating the muffin tops. Fold the rest of the cherries and almonds into the batter.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Top each with some of the reserved toasted almonds and poke a piece or two of dried cherries into the batter.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

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

Enjoy! Have you muffined anything lately?

P.S. I have two giveaways ending shortly. The great Cookie Week baking package including baking ingredients, equipment and four cookbooks ends at Midnight New York time today!

And the Food Truck Road Trip - a Cookbook giveaway ends at Midnight New York time on Tuesday, that is to say tomorrow.

Don't miss your chance to enter and win! 

Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins #MuffinMonday

Ground hazelnuts add richness to these chocolate muffins and perfectly complement the surprise Ferrero Rocher hazelnut candy baked in the center of each.

Sometimes when I am at the grocery store, I browse the candy/sweetie aisle for muffin inspiration. There are such a lot of great combinations of flavors on every shelf, some classic like chocolate-covered cherries, others a little more “out there” like chocolate and lime or chili peppers. At first I was just planning to bake chocolate hazelnut muffins and then I thought to myself, “I wonder what would happen if I stuffed an entire Ferrero Rocher chocolate-covered hazelnut candy in the batter” and then I had to try it.

There was always the possibility that the chocolate surrounding the hazelnut would get molten and cause 12 mini explosions in the oven, sending muffin batter everywhere. Some part of me was hoping for that result, but the better part of me was counting on the candy staying intact and creating a lovely surprise at the center of each muffin. I’m pleased to tell you that, as you can see from the photos, my better part won! The other part was just slightly disappointed but these great muffins are sweet consolation. Clearly I need to get out more.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour (or an equivalent amount Dove Farm’s gluten-free flour mix)
1 cup or 110g coarse hazelnut meal or ground hazelnuts (I did mine in the food processor.)
3/4 cup or 170g golden caster sugar (Normal white sugar can be substituted.)
1/4 cup or 20g extra dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1/2 cup or 125g sour cream
1/2 cup or 115g unsalted butter, melted then cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 Ferrero Rocher chocolate-covered hazelnut candies

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.   Put liners in muffin cups or grease well with butter or non-stick spray.

Whisk together your flour, ground hazelnuts, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk together milk, butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in another bowl until combined well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, if using normal flour, fold until just combined. If you are using the gluten-free mix, stir well until no flour is showing.

Divide the batter among muffin cups. Decorate each with a Ferrero Rocher chocolate and push it down gently into the batter.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin alongside the chocolate candy center comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!