Ham and Honey Mustard Muffins #MuffinMonday

These ham and honey mustard muffins are the perfect breakfast or snack for anyone who loves honey mustard glazed ham at Christmas. Why not enjoy those flavors all year round, in muffin form?

I almost didn’t participate in this month’s Muffin Monday. More than a month ago, before we moved away from Dubai, I baked these ham and honey mustard muffins. I figured that I would be so busy near the end of April that baking might not be possible. And I hate to miss Muffin Monday!

Sure enough, things have been crazy here. Our shipment arrived on Saturday and we are up to our ears in stuff to put away. This house is just not big enough! (Or more likely, we have too much stuff, but I'm trying not to think about that.) Finally last night I got around to writing this post and editing the photos. Much to my horror, the ham and honey mustard muffin folder was full of the wrong pictures! I had deleted the right ones by accident.

In the middle of the night it suddenly occurred to me that I needed to check the trash folder again, but with the sd card in the computer slot. And much to my relief, there they were! I am delighted to be able to share this recipe with you after all.

Ham and Honey Mustard Muffins

The sweet honey and sharp yellow mustard are the perfect complement to the smoky chunks of ham in these savory muffins. Use a good quality baked ham, not just sandwich slices for the best tasting muffins.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 1/2 teaspoon regular sea salt
Few good grinds fresh black pepper
7 oz or 200g smoked ham, diced
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 eggs

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan liberally with canola or butter or line with paper muffin cups.

Chop your ham into small chunks.  Put aside a small handful for topping the muffins before baking.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper and stir well.

Fold in the larger pile of ham and stir again.

In another bowl, whisk your milk, oil, eggs, mustard and honey.

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

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and top each with some of the reserved ham.

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.

Enjoy!

Make sure to check out all the other lovely muffins my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today!

• Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins from Simply Inspired Meals
• Ham and Honey Mustard Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Potato Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Whole Wheat Dinner Roll Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of 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 Ham and Honey Mustard Muffins!

.

Easter Candy Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

Never mind that Easter bunny left too many sweets. This recipe will turn that excess into buttery Easter Candy Cookies your whole family will love.

I must confess that since our daughters left home for college, we have really tapered off on the buying of Easter candy. The first couple of years, I made up one sparse basket for their father and me to share. But the last few years I haven’t even done that.

This year, HOWEVER, my Creative Cookie Exchange friends decided that cookies with leftover Easter candy would be our April theme, so I went out and bought some candy. I couldn’t believe how many new varieties there were! M&Ms Eggs filled with caramel, peanut butter or hazelnut spread, just to name three treats I had never seen before.

On Saturday my whole family came round for a crawfish boil and these cookies were our dessert. They were very popular!

Easter Candy Cookies

For these cookies I used a mix of the peanut butter filled M&M eggs and the caramel filled M&Ms, which looked like eggs as well, though the packaging didn’t say that. It was an excellent combo! You can use the same amount of your favorite Easter candy. This recipe was adapted from one on Thanksgiving.com.

Ingredients
3/4 cup or 170g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup, packed, or 150g light brown sugar
1/4 cup or 50g granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups or 360g M&M eggs, assorted
To decorate: pastel sprinkles

Method
Beat the  butter, sugars and egg together with the vanilla, until the mixture is smooth and the sugar is no longer gritty between your fingers.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Sift the mixture into the creamed butter and sugar bowl.

Beat again until combined. Fold in the Easter candy.

Use a scoop to divide the dough into balls and place them on a cookie sheet. Pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes.

When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven and line your cookie sheets with baking parchment. Place the dough balls at least three inches apart on the parchment. Use a pastry brush to wet the top of the dough balls with water and add the sprinkles.

Bake in the preheated oven for 13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Leave to cool in the pan then remove to a plate with a spatula. These cookies are quite soft and oh-so-moreish!

Enjoy!

Check out the two other recipes by Creative Cookie Exchange friends are sharing. Many thanks to this month's host, Laura of The Spiced Life.

• Easter Candy Cookies from Food Lust People Love
• Easter Peanut Butter Blossoms from The Spice Life
• M&Ms and Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from Karen's Kitchen Stories

You can use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links.

Pin these Easter Candy Cookies! 

  .

Liquid Cocaine (Espresso-White Chocolate) Bundt #BundtBakers

Strong espresso and melted white chocolate combine to make a special dessert cake I’m calling a Liquid Cocaine Bundt. It’s great with a cup of tea or coffee, cake you can even legitimately nosh for breakfast.

Our Bundt Bakers' host this month is Felice from All That's Left Are The Crumbs, and she proposed that we create coffee shop drink Bundts. Isn’t that a fabulous theme? We've been making Bundt together for so many years that one might think there aren't any more great themes. Never underestimate the Bundt Bakers for creativity!

If you’ve been reading along here for a while, you know that Starbucks has a secret menu and I am a fan of their Liquid Cocaine combination of espresso and white chocolate syrup. So far I’ve made those flavors into muffins and cookies, both delicious. Today, for Bundt Bakers, they have become a most moist and sweet Bundt cake.

Liquid Cocaine (Espresso-White Chocolate) Bundt

If you want to try the original drink my Bundt is modeled after, order 4 shots of espresso and 4 pumps of white chocolate syrup over ice in a grande cold cup.  Stir and enjoy.

Ingredients
1 cup or 160g good quality white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli.)
2 cups or 250g flour, plus extra for pan
1 cup or 200g sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup or 80ml milk
4 shots espresso (1/2 cup or 120ml), cooled
1/2 cup or butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for pan
2 eggs

Optional for decoration: powdered sugar

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 10-cup Bundt pan by buttering and flouring it.

Put your white chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl. On high power, heat the chips in 15 second bursts, stirring well in between, until they are just melted. Stir well and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another small mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, eggs and cooled espresso.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones, until just mixed. Some flour may still show.

Pour half the batter into your prepared Bundt pan. Spoon on the melted white chocolate.

Top with the rest of the batter. Use a wooden skewer to swirl the batter.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow the Bundt to cool in the pan for a few minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar, if desired.

Enjoy!

And don’t forget to take a peek at what our other talented bakers have baked this month. Many thanks to our lovely host, Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

• Cappuchino Bundt Cake with Coffee Glaze from Merce's Cake
• Cardamom Mochaccino Bundt from Sweet Sensations
• Chocolate Mocha Bundt from Simply Inspired Meals
• Cinnamon Dolce Latte Mini Bundt from Passion Kneaded
• Dirty Chai Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Eggless Chai Bundt from Sneha's Recipe
• Liquid Cocaine (Espresso-White Chocolate) Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Vanilla Bean Cold Brew Bundt Cake from The Spiced Life
• Tricolor Irish Coffee Bundt Cake from patycocandybar
• White Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt from Living the Gourmet

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Liquid Cocaine Bundt! 

.