Cranberry Almond Applesauce Muffins #MuffinMonday

These cranberry almond applesauce muffins are tender and sweet, but not too sweet! They are perfect for snack time or breakfast with the addition of rolled oats.

A couple of weeks ago, I made homemade applesauce because one of lovely ladies who help us care for Mom suggested that applesauce would be handy to help her swallow her pills. It is really is! 

The only problem is that I made so much applesauce (four apples worth) and Mom only eats a little spoonful a day so I was concerned that it would turn bad before we used it up. 

Enter these applesauce muffins! They use 2/3 cup or 173g of applesauce and are absolutely delicious. 

Cranberry Almond Applesauce Muffins

This recipe make a small batch of six regular size muffins. If you have homemade applesauce, by all means, use it but store-bought works fine as well. Just try to buy one without a lot of added sugar. These muffins don’t need it. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g flour

1/4 cup or 25g rolled oats

1/4 cup or 50g brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

1 large egg

2/3 cup or 173g applesauce

1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for greasing the muffin pan

1/2 cup or 45g dried cranberries

1/4 cup or 30g sliced toasted almonds

Optional for topping: more dried cranberries and almonds

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease a six-cup muffin pan. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, applesauce and oil.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold until they are just mixed. 

Add the cranberries and almonds and fold again. 

Divide the batter between the six muffin cups. Top with a few cranberries and sliced almonds, if desired. 

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

Cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy! 

It's the last Monday of the month so that means it's time for my Muffin Monday friends to share their recipes. Check out the links below: 

• Cinnamon Roll Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cranberry Almond Applesauce Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Filled Gingerbread Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Pumpkin Orange and Date Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Eggnog Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Cranberry Almond Applesauce Muffins!

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Peach Jam Muffins

These small batch peach jam muffins are just the right amount of sweet, perfect for breakfast or snack time. Use store-bought or your homemade jam to make them!

Whenever I think of peaches, I can’t help but think of my mom since it’s her favorite fruit. In past years I’ve balked at paying the out of season prices for peaches but Mom is on hospice care now, living with us, and I’d pay any price to buy her favorite things for her. Her smile lightens my heart and is worth any amount of money! 

For this month’s Muffin Monday, I baked muffins I knew she’d love with peach jam I put up a while back. And she did! She still gets so much enjoyment out of eating, which I am grateful to encourage. Yesterday evening I cooked her chicken livers with smothered onions, mashed potatoes and fried okra. She was in heaven! It’s not everyone’s favorite meal but it is one of hers. 

I like to swirl the peach jam through the muffin batter rather than make a homogeneous mix but you do you. You can also mix it right in. 

Peach Jam Muffins

Combine my favorite easy quick bread breakfast muffin recipe with your homemade or favorite brand of peach jam (or any jam, to be honest) to make these delicious muffins for breakfast or snack time.

Ingredients for six muffins

1 cup or 125g all purpose flour

2/3 cup or 132g sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup or 120ml minus 1 tablespoon milk (*instructions below)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons or 45ml canola or other light oil

1 large egg

1/4 cup or 60ml peach jam

*Put your lemon juice in a measuring vessel and then add milk up to the 1/2 cup or 120ml mark. Set aside.

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Generously grease cups and top of 6-cup muffin pan or line it with paper muffin cups.

Whisk your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.

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

All at once, add the wet ingredients to the dry. 

Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened. There may be little bits of flour showing and that's just fine. 

Spoon the peach jam on to the batter, then fold it in. You want ribbons of jam, not a homogenous batter. Unless you want a homogeneous batter. Again, you do you.

Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 6 muffin cups. Top with a little more jam, if you have it. Never mind if you don't. I was about at the bottom of my jar. 

Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes in your preheated oven, or until they are golden.

Mine kinda puffed up more than anticipated so the tops were overlarge but they were delicious and that’s what counts. Everyone loves a big muffin top, right? I’ve been told it’s the favorite part. 

Remove the pan from the oven and let the muffins cool for a few minutes before removing them from the pan and onto a wire rack.

Enjoy!

As mentioned above, it’s Muffin Monday, which means it’s time for my blogger friends to share their muffin recipes. Check out the links below

• Cranberry Orange Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Peach Jam Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Pecan Butterscotch Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pumpkin Stout Raisin Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Sourdough Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Peach Jam Muffins!

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Raspberry Yogurt Jam Muffins #MuffinMonday

Raspberry yogurt AND raspberry jam are whisked through the creamy batter for these tasty raspberry yogurt jam muffins. They are a real teatime treat!

I’ve been moving about the planet this month and somehow Muffin Monday snuck up on me! Whenever that happens, I know that I can flavor muffins with everyday ingredients that are typically in my refrigerator or pantry, like yogurt and jam. 

These were a hit with my taste testers although one did say that she’d rather I not brush the tops with extra jam because, while it was delicious on a warm muffin, her favorite part is the crunchy top once they cool. Sadly, the jam on top softens the crunchy top. Personally, I thought the jam glaze added a nice pop of extra flavor! You do you.

Raspberry Yogurt Jam Muffins

Feel free to substitute your favorite fruit yogurt flavor and jam if you don’t happen to have raspberry at hand. 

Ingredients

For the muffin batter:

2 cups or 250g flour

1/2 cup or 100g light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup or 120g sweetened raspberry yogurt

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

1/2 cup or 113g butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup or 60ml raspberry jam

1 egg

For the glaze:

2 tablespoons raspberry jam - optional.

Method

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

Whisk to combine your flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. 

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your milk, yogurt, jam, egg and melted butter.

Pour your egg/milk mixture into your dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Divide the muffin batter between the muffin cups.

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

Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Brush the warm muffins with the extra jam to glaze, if using.

Remove the muffins and cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month and that means it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out the recipes we are sharing below: 

• Buttery Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Ginger Apple Pear Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Pizza Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Raspberry Yogurt Jam Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Raspberry Yogurt Jam Muffins!

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Summer Squash Parmesan Muffins #MuffinMonday

Just picked summer squash and Parmesan cheese combine to make fluffy, flavorful small batch muffins that are perfect as a snack or for breakfast.

If I were a tv chef, this recipe would make just six muffins. Does it drive anyone else crazy when they just set aside a bowl of batter and don’t even use a spatula to scrape the sides? I know they have time constraints but, come on! It only takes a few seconds. Such a waste. 

One of the reasons I love using my silicone muffin cups is because when there is a bit of batter left over, I am not tempted to overload the cups. It’s just so easy to pop another one on the baking pan and make seven instead of six, or 13 instead of 12. 

Another reason I love them is because they don’t need greasing or lining with paper cups. Muffins slide right out every time. Living the dream. It’s the small things, folks. 

Summer Squash Parmesan Muffins

This recipe makes six or seven muffins, depending on the size of your muffin cups and whether you can be bothered to use a rubber spatula. It was adapted from one on the delicious. magazine website and was published in the September 2019 edition. 

Ingredients

1 summer or crookneck squash (approximate weight after removing seeds: 80g)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup or 80ml milk

1 egg

1 cup or 125g flour

2 oz or 57g grated Parmesan, divided

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Method

Cut the fat part of the summer squash in half and scoop the seeds out and discard (or compost) them. 

Grate the rest of the squash onto a paper towel. 

Fold the paper towel over to cover the grated squash and roll it up in a cloth towel. Wring as much juice as you can out of the squash, set aside. 

Heat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 7 holes of a 12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin cases. Or use silicone muffin cups on a baking tray.

Separate out a small amount of the grated Parmesan for topping. 

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, egg and milk. 

Add in the grated squash, flour, Parmesan, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and cayenne. Fold until just combined.

Divide the batter among the muffin holes and top each with a pinch or two of the reserved grated Parmesan. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch. 

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy! 

It's the last Monday of July - where has the month gone?! - so that means it's time again for Muffin Monday. Check out the recipe links below!

• Blueberry Basil Jam Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Double Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Lemon Poppy Zucchini Bread Muffins from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Sourdough Apricot Oat Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Summer Squash Parmesan Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Summer Squash Parmesan Muffins!

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Nectarine Buttermilk Muffins #MuffinMonday

These nectarine buttermilk muffins are tender and delicious. The ripe nectarines make these sweet enough without a lot of added sugar. They are so good!

In the UK, stone fruit is often sold with a label saying “ripen at home.” I shunned the peaches and nectarines for that very reason because in the States, when I pick up fruit in the supermarket and want it to smell like what it is! 

I finally had to get over that or I’d never get to enjoy a summer nectarine and I love them dearly. Like with avocados, the “ripen at home” fruit is a balancing act of leaving them be and then eating them all quickly. Or when they go a little too soft, baking them in muffins. Win-win. 

Nectarine Buttermilk Muffins

This recipe makes nine regular size muffins. I was super excited when I came across this pan in my mom’s house because it fits in my Ninja 9-in-1 oven. No need to turn the big oven on to bake! I use the bake setting so it takes just as long but the advantage is very little preheating time. These can also be baked in a normal oven, same temperature and time. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups or 190g flour

1/2 cup or 100g granulated sugar 

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup or 110g chopped fresh nectarines, plus extra for topping, optional

1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light, plus more for greasing pan (if not using paper muffin liners)

1/2 cup or 120ml buttermilk

2 large eggs, at room temperature

Optional for decoration: pearl sugar 

I used about 1 1/2 tablespoons

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 9-cup muffin pan with baking cups or grease the pan with a little oil. 

Cut part of a second nectarine into thin slices to use as topping/decoration. I used the nicest ones for the muffins and ate the rest.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the chopped nectarines and separate the pieces, coating them all with the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold until just combined. 

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. 

Top each with a slice of nectarine and sprinkle on the pearl sugar, if using.

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

Set on a wire rack to cool. 

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month so that means it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out the lovely muffins my friends are sharing:

• Blueberry-Topped Lemon Ricotta Muffins from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice 
• Cookies and Cream Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Half and Half Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Nectarine Buttermilk Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Roasted Rhubarb Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Banana Bread Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Nectarine Buttermilk Muffins!

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Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Waffles #BreadBakers

While the sourdough starter in these overnight sourdough cinnamon waffles adds flavor, the addition of buttermilk and baking soda makes them fluffy and light. 

Since we got back to Jersey a couple of months ago, I’ve nursed my sourdough starter back to robust good health and have enjoyed using it in a number of baked treats like sourdough baguettes, rolls and muffins. 

Since it survived the several months of abandonment, I decided it finally deserved a name so it was duly christened Jane Dough. The quart jar sports a label now with her name.

Jane is the most forgiving of souls. She lives in the refrigerator most of the time, but when I know I’m going to need her good services, she has place of pride on the countertop where she gets a decent meal (100 percent hydration which means 50g water and 50g flour, stir well) and sits out for a night. If it’s chilly, I warm her up by sitting her jar in a bowl of warm water first. 

Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Waffles

This recipe is adapted from one on the King Arthur Baking website. They used sourdough discard but I decided to feed Jane Dough up the day before instead because she was getting low and the half cup would have been a lot to use, leaving her dangerously small. If you have enough discard, certainly use it. 

Ingredients - makes 8 square Belgian waffles

For the overnight sponge: 

1/2 cup or 113g sourdough starter (fed or unfed)

1 cup or 125g flour

1 cup or 240ml buttermilk

1 tablespoon sugar

For the batter:

all of the overnight sponge

1 large egg

2 tablespoons canola or other light oil

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

To make the overnight sponge, stir down your starter, and remove 1/2 cup or 113g. In a large bowl, whisk together the starter, flour, buttermilk and sugar, 

Cover with cling film and leave rest at cool room temperature (about 65°F to 70°F) for about 12 hours, or overnight.

The next morning, beat the egg and oil together in a small bowl. As you can see off to the left, Jane Dough has done some good work overnight. Bubbling along nicely. 

Add it to the overnight sponge, stirring just to combine.

Add in the cinnamon, salt and baking soda and fold well to combine. 

To make the waffles: Pour the batter onto your preheated, greased waffle iron, and bake according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

Repeat with the remaining batter.

If you like crunchy waffles, I suggest serving them immediately. You can hold them in a warm oven till they are all baked but they do lose some of their crispness then. 

Serve with a generous smear of softened butter and lashings of syrup. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it Bread Baker day! We are sharing recipes for breads with spices. Many thanks to our host, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen. Check out all the links here: 

• Ajwain Paratha by Cook with Renu
• Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Ginger and Earl Grey Sourdough with Dates by A Messy Kitchen
• Fire Roasted Corn Fritters by Palatable Pastime
• Kardemummabullar (Swedish Cardamom Buns) by Culinary Cam
• Sourdough Chocolate Cardamom Bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Waffles by Food Lust people Love
• Stuffed Cheesy Braided Turkish Kebab Bread Rolls by Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Overnight Sourdough Cinnamon Waffles!

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Small Batch Cheddar Muffins #MuffinMonday

Perfect with soup or for a snack, these small batch cheddar muffins are tender and cheesy. The recipe makes only six but is easily doubled if you need 12. 

I’ve been baking mostly small batch muffins because it’s just me and my husband at home. We do have sweet neighbors we can share with but 12 muffins are still a lot. In the case of these muffins, however, I sorely miscalculated since I was planning to bring them to share with my mother, my sister and her twins. 

I really should have made 12! Six disappeared in no time and one of my dear nieces even said that she would love the recipe. So, Brontë, here it is! Muffins are the easiest bake ever and you can even bake these in the Ninja on the bake setting. Any questions, just let me know. (The rest of you can leave a comment if you have a question! Happy to help.)

Small Batch Cheddar Muffins

I’ve called these cheddar muffins because that is the cheese I had on hand but, really, any cheese of a similar texture would work beautifully in this recipe. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 1/2 oz or 100g grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 large egg

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for the muffin pan

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 6-cup muffin pan by brushing it inside with melted butter. Set aside.

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

Add the grated cheddar and gently toss with the flour mixture to coat the cheese.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and melted butter. 

Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and fold until just combined.

Divide the batter into the cups of the buttered muffin pan. 

Bake in your preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. 

Ideally, serve warm but these are also good at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the last Monday of the month so that means it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out the recipes my fellow bloggers are sharing below: 

• Buttermilk Crumb Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Magdalenas from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Small Batch Cheddar Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Zucchini Oat Muffins from Passion Kneaded

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Small Batch Cheddar Muffins! 

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