TWD- Great Grains Muffins

Today's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe- Great Grains Muffins, was chosen by Christine, who blogs over at Happy Tummy. You can find the original recipe on her blog.

I made these a few days ago and since I was still working my way through "the month without using or buying butter", I had to switch things up a bit in these muffins. I just used a little bit more low-fat buttermilk and some canola oil to make up for the butter that I cut out. I like muffins better when they aren't made with butter anyway, because then they seem healthier and more like breakfast food and less like cupcakes or dessert.

I also used more whole wheat flour than the recipe originally called for and used raw honey instead of maple syrup because I didn't have any maple syrup on hand. I used raisins and sunflower seeds for my mix-ins.

These muffins were delicious. They tasted healthy, but once again, that is what I like muffins to taste like. The oatmeal and cornmeal gave them great texture and flavor.

Go see what the other TWD-er's thought about these Great Grains Muffins by checking the LYL page over at TWD!

Great Grains Muffins

adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons low-fat buttermilk

1/3 cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter or spray a muffin tin

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup, eggs, and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and gently, but quickly stir together. Don’t worry about being thorough — if the batter is lumpy, that’s fine. Stir in the fruit or nuts, if you are using them. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the tops are gold and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully lift each muffin out of its mold and onto the rack to cool

TWD-Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins

I'm halfway through my month without butter and we are doing great. I haven't used it yet, although there have been a few times that I really wanted to!
I knew these Lemon Poppyseed Muffins Betsy picked for Tuesday's with Dorie today would be an easy recipe to modify and they turned out really yummy. You can go get the original recipe at A Cup of Sweetness where Betsy has it posted.

I used white wheat flour, nonfat Greek yogurt, low-fat buttermilk, and a little canola oil to keep these muffins nice and moist. I only made 1/2 of the recipe since I was making mini muffins and I got 24 of them.

These muffins were really good. Nice and lemon-y. Definitely a success. I love mini muffins because they are just the right size for a 2-bite snack.

Go see the other muffins and variations at TWD!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
makes 24 mini muffins

1/3 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup white wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup +1 Tablespoon nonfat greek yogurt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Icing
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1-2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat to 400 F. Spray your muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or line the cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the nonfat greek yogurt, buttermilk, canola oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to combine. Do not overmix the batter - a few lumps are ok. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 9 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing the muffins and let them cool completely on the rack before icing.

To Make the Icing: Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 Tablespoon of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. Drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins.

TWD- Midnight Crackles

I know what you are thinking. Why do my Midnight Crackles look so different than everyone else's?
Well, it's because I kinda did my own thing and really tweaked this week's TWD recipe.
I didn't make New Year's Resolutions, but rather I am taking this year one month at a time and focusing on a few goals each month.
One of my goals/rules this month was that I am not going to buy any butter until February. This sounds slightly silly, but, I'm doing it anyway.
I only use butter to bake, so basically I am restricting the amount of baking that I am allowed to do this month.
I wanted to make these cookies anyway, since it is the 3rd anniversary of Tuesday's with Dorie- so I just experimented and crossed my fingers for an edible result.

Luckily this cookie dough starts out with melting the butter, so I got away with using canola oil (although I did learn, from a little research, that you don't want to swap oil for butter in exact measurements). I also used semi-sweet chocolate chips, white wheat flour and mixed the entire thing in a saucepan. I had to add a Tablespoon or so of skim milk to make the dough come together.

I was afraid for what might happen, but to my surprise- these cookies actually came out looking like cookies. I finished them just in time for my kids to get off the school bus and they loove them! Success! I sampled one and they are really tasty.

This recipe was chosen by TWD's founder Laurie and another member- Julie, to celebrate TWD'S 3rd anniversary. I joined this group just 2 months after it started, so I have participated almost the entire time. You can find the original recipe for Midnight Crackles over at Tuesday's with Dorie, along with the links from the other members who baked along this week.

Midnight Crackles from Dorie Greenspan's Baking:from my home to yours

heavily adapted by Me

3 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons (10 Tablespoons) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups white wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg

2-4 Tablespoons skim milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the oil, brown sugar, and chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat. Melt completely, stirring occasionally and remove from heat.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves.

Add the egg and stir, until blended into the chocolate.

Add the dry ingredients, at mix until a dough forms. If it is too dry to come together completely, add a Tablespoon of milk or so, until there are no dry ingredients visible.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly spray it with cooking spray.

Using a Tablespoon cookie scoop, form balls of dough and place them on the cookie sheet. Flatten them using the back of a spatula.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are dry and tops looked baked.

Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes about 25-30 cookies.

TWD Rewind- Tarte Noire

This week we were able to do a rewind for Tuesday's with Dorie.
I went to a dinner party earlier this month and was in charge of dessert, so I decided to make Tarte Noire. This particular tart was chosen back in July by Dharmagirl, who blogs over at bliss: towards a delicious life and you can find the recipe on her blog, HERE. This tart is basically a tart shell filled with chocolate ganache. I used Scharffen Berger- a combination of bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate.

I made this in my rectangular tart pan and also made a fruit tart, filled with this vanilla pastry cream and decorated with kiwis, raspberries, and pomegranate arils. Christmas spirit portrayed in the colors, of course. I wanted to please the chocolate lovers and the fruit lovers too.

This tart was beautiful and rich. Everyone ate a small piece and enjoyed it.

Go over to Tuesdays with Dorie and see what everyone else made for the rewind today!

TWD- Cardamom Crumb Cake Muffins

Tuesday's with Dorie is brought to you this week by Jill and you can find the recipe for her choice, Cardamom Crumb Cake, on her blog right here.

This is one of the things that has always caught my eye when I have flipped through Baking: from my home to yours. I have always wanted to make it because I love cardamom, but for some reason I haven't made it until today.

I decided to turn this into muffins, partly because it makes portion control easier and it also makes sharing easier. I subbed low-fat buttermilk for the coffee and the whole milk, so this turned into something that seemed more like a muffin, than a cake. I also added a couple Tablespoons of orange juice to the batter. I omitted the espresso powder from the crumbs.

These muffins were good. I thought the walnuts in the crumb topping were the dominant flavor, but the muffin itself had a nice texture and taste. Slightly tangy from the buttermilk and orange, with a nice spice from the cardamom.

The full recipe makes 12 muffins. I baked them for 18 minutes and they were done.

Go see what the other TWD'er's thought of these recipe and the variations that they made by checking out the leave your link post!

TWD- Apple-Coconut Family Cake

My daughter and I just made this delicious cake. Amber chose it for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe and you can find the recipe on her blog HERE.

We made this as an after-school snack, mostly because I had some leftover coconut milk in the fridge and I figured I could use the coconut milk in place of the yogurt. I also used applesauce instead of the oil. I reduced the sugar by about 1/4 cup since I only had sweetened coconut to use in the cake.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I haven't ever combined apple and coconut in anything, but it worked out really well. The coconut milk really brought out the coconut flavor and the apples were delicious. I skipped the glaze and just sprinkled my cakes with sanding sugar.

I doubled the recipe, since I had a full cup of leftover coconut milk. I made 2 6-inch springforms, 4 4-inch springforms, and 5 little heart cakes.
My daughter wanted to make faces on the heart cakes- one for each member of our family. She used cranberries for the eyes and an apple slice for the mouth. Not too bad for a 4-year old.

You can see everyone else who participated this week by checking out Tuesday's with Dorie!

TWD Rewind- Mini Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecakes

This week we were given the chance to go back and make any Tuesday's with Dorie recipe that we wanted. I made the Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake, but in mini form for a dinner party.

This recipe was the 6th recipe chosen for Tuesday's with Dorie, back in February 2008. It is a wonderful, light cheesecake, flavored with brown sugar & cinnamon which also has apples that are sauteed in butter and brown sugar layered in between the cheesecake.

This cheesecake was amazing. Flavor, texture- everything.
I topped the mini's with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and they were enjoyed by everyone.

Go check out what everyone else picked to make for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie rewind!


You can find the recipe in many places, like HERE on The Way the Cookie Crumbles

TWD- Not-Just-for-Thanksgiving Shortbread Cake

Jessica, who blogs over at A Singleton in the Kitchen, chose this week's TWD pick- Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Shortbread Cake. She made a few different variations, so go check it out and get the recipe on her blog.

I first made this cake about 2 years ago because I love cranberries and just couldn't wait for someone to pick it for TWD. I made it around Christmas and shared it with some friends.
I love the tartness of cranberries and also shortbread, so this was a great combination.

You can read more details and get the recipe HERE from when I made it before.

This is a great cake and a wonderful way to showcase cranberries. Go check out who else made this cake by visiting Tuesday's with Dorie!

TWD-Double Apple Bundt Cake

Double Apple Bundt Cake. It just sounds perfect for this time of year. We finally got out of the 90's this past week and had some cool weather, so an apple cake really fit into the beginning of fall.
Lynne over at Honey Muffin chose Double Apple Bundt Cake as this week's TWD pick. She will have the recipe posted on her blog. You can also find many versions of this cake all over the web.

The reason this is called a Double Apple Bundt, is because it contains apples two ways. 2 apples are peeled and shredded into the cake batter and 1 cup of apple butter is also used in the cake.
I don't usually keep apple butter on hand, so I knew I wanted to make mine at home. I knew that way I could control the level of sweetness and spice.

I made 1 1/2 times the recipe so that I could make a normal bundt and 6 minis. I knew I was going to give the big one away, but we really wanted to try this one too, so I kept the minis for us to sample.

I followed Dorie's suggestion and made these the day before, then wrapped them tightly and glazed them the next day. I used granny smith apples and omitted the nuts and raisins.

This was a delicious cake. Moist, with great apple flavor. Absolutely perfect pick.
Check out what everyone else thought by heading over to Tuesday's with Dorie!


Recipe for Oven Apple Butter
* I did not add the total amount of sugar called for. I added 1/2 of it and tasted it, then a little bit more, so it wouldn't be too sweet.
* My apple butter was ready after 3 hours in the oven.

TWD-Mini Cranberry Upside Downers, a week late

Last week's TWD pick, Cranberry Upside-Downer, was chosen by Sabrina over at Superfluous. She has the recipe posted HERE.
You can also find the recipe on my blog when I posted about them almost 2 years ago.

I love cranberries so I had to make this one before it was chosen for TWD. It is an absolutely gorgeous cake with the perfect amount of tart and sweet. I made mini's when I posted about this cake originally, but I have made it since full-sized too.

You can check out what everyone else thought about this beautiful cake and see all the yummy variations by checking out the TWD blog!

TWD- Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie pick- Peanut Butter Crisscrosses, was chosen by Jasmine. You can find the recipe on her blog- Jasmine Cuisine.

I made a half batch of these last week while my kids were getting ready for bed. They were really easy to throw together and there is no chilling time for the dough, so as soon as it is mixed up, they are ready to go on the cookie sheet. I reduced the amount of chopped peanuts and added in some mini chocolate chips, at the request of my kids.

These were good. Just the right amount of chewiness in the center, yet a crunchy edge. I thought much better the next day as opposed to warm, but that is just my opinion. I got 30 cookies from a half batch of dough and will definitely make these again.

Check out everyone else's results by heading over to TWD!

TWD-Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

Natalie of Oven Love chose today's TWD recipe, Oatmeal Breakfast Bread. You can find the recipe on her blog HERE.
My father-in-law left a large bag of fresh figs on my doorstep one day, that he had picked from the fig tree in his backyard. I have never had fresh figs (they are so delicious), so I decided to let them play a part in this breakfast bread.

I like muffins better than loaves, so I halved the recipe and made jumbo muffins. I got 6 muffins out of a half recipe.
I sliced some fresh figs, quartered some, and halved others- out of curiosity, to see which method would work better with the brown sugar-nut topping.
The halved figs sunk into the muffins, while the slices and quarters stayed on top, getting sticky and soft.
I left out the chopped, dried fruit that was supposed to be mixed into the batter because I used the figs.

These oatmeal muffins were really delicious. Especially with the figs on top.
This is definitely a recipe I will make again.
See what all the other TWD-er's thought about this breakfast bread by checking out their links HERE!

And don't forget to enter my giveaway, which is open until Thursday at midnight!

TWD- Chewy Chunky Blondies

Nicole chose this week's TWD recipe, Chewy, Chunky Blondies. You can find the recipe on her blog- Cookies on Friday.

You can also find the recipe on a post from when I made these a couple of months ago- when we were taking dinner to a local homeless shelter.
I doubled the recipe to make sure that there would be enough to go around and they were wildly popular. My husband was lucky enough to taste one and he was wishing that there were more to sample.
I used Heath bits, pecans, and toasted coconut in my blondies.

Check out the TWD blog to see who else loved these blondies!

TWD- Lots of Ways Banana Cake

This week's selection for Tuesday's with Dorie- Lot's of Ways Banana Cake, was chosen by Kimberly who blogs over at Only Creative Opportunities. You can find the recipe for this versatile, delicious cake on her blog.

I have made this cake many, many times and posted about it twice. It was one of the first recipes I tried from Dorie's book.
I made it once as a layer cake with Blackberry Buttercream. That was for my going away party when we moved from Utah to Georgia last year.
It is so simple and there are quite a variety of ways that you can make it based on what ingredients you have on hand.

It is definitely a great way to use up ripe bananas and I will make it again.
Check out TWD to see who else made this cake and what they thought about it!

TWD- Brrr-ownies

Tuesdays with Dorie is brought to you today by Karen, who blogs over at Welcome to our Crazy Blessed Life. You can find the recipe for this week's recipe, Brrrrr-ownies, on her blog. Brrrr-ownies happen to be Dorie's take on a brownie that is chock full of chopped Peppermint Patties.

I wasn't going to make these, mostly because I have made something very similar- Martha Stewarts Mint-filled Brownie Cupcakes, many, many times (my son requests them all the time) and also because I could care less about brownies.

But, when I asked my kids what treat they wanted for our weekly Family Home Evening, my 8 year old son yelled out "Peppermint Brownies" and he had no idea that these were the assignment for this week. He just loves brownies.

So, we went to the store and bought some York Peppermint Patties and threw these babies together.
Easy, peasy.

I skipped the double boiler method and just melted my butter and chocolate on the stovetop. That is how we always made brownies when I was growing up, so I figured it would be fine.
I also used semi-sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet, because that is what I happened to have on hand. Because I used semi-sweet I reduced the sugar in the brownie by quite a few Tablespoons.

I mixed up the rest of the batter, added the chopped patties and smoothed my batter into the foil-lined pan. I skipped out on the butter and just used baking cooking spray with flour to coat my foil.

These brownies were like volcanos! The mint blobs were bubbling and exploding like crazy. We turned on the oven light and watched. Great entertainment.

My kids loved these. They reported that they were chewy, gooey, sticky, and delicious.
I thought they were ok.
Honestly, I would rather just eat Peppermint Patties, but I don't like brownies, so who am I to judge?

To see who else participated this week and what they thought about these Brrrrr-ownies, check out the TWD Leave Your Link for this week!
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TWD-Lemon-Drenched Mini Cakes

This Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Wendy of Pink Stripes. You can find the recipe on her blog, along with lots of other delicious recipes. I have made multiple recipes from Wendy's blog and love it.

I made these when I was taking dinner to someone who had just had a baby.

I completely omitted the rum from the cake and the syrup. I added 1/2 tsp of lemon extract to the syrup and the cakes.
I made 1/2 of the recipe, which made 6 mini bundts, and they were done baking in about 19 minutes.

I got to taste a crumb of this cake because my kids got to the mini bundt I left for us to try before I could get a real bite.
They loved it.

I loved how easy it was to make. Definitely one that you could throw together at the last minute.

Check out who else loved this recipe by visiting the TWD Bakers!

TWD- Dressy Mini Chocolate Cakes frosted with our leftover Mississippi Mud Fondue

I wasn't going to make this week's TWD. When I looked up the recipe for Dressy Chocolate Loafcake, it just didn't appeal to me.

But, then my hubby asked me to make something for a birthday. I needed something fast. I needed something easy.
I looked at the recipe again, decided to cut it in 1/2 and turn it into jumbo cupcakes (a 1/2 recipe made 5 jumbo cupcakes). I subbed low-fat buttermilk for the sour cream in the cake and these guys were ready in 28 minutes.
I had leftover fondue ( details below) in the fridge, which turned out to be surprisingly spreadable and a great frosting.
We kept 1 jumbo cupcake at home to share and cut it into 6 pieces. I had 1/2 of one of those 6 pieces and it was really good.

Go check out Amy Ruth Bakes for the real cake and the recipe.



Ok, this is the worst picture in history, but sometimes when you have kids- pictures of food are way less important than the fun that is happening at the moment.

I was watching one of my best friends kids' the other day and I decided fondue would be a fun dessert.

I found a recipe on myrecipes.com that included marshmallow creme in the fondue. I thought that would make the flavor more fun for kids, so that is the recipe I used.
We dipped strawberries, pineapple chunks, bananas, pretzels, and marshmallows.

The leftover fondue also makes a great frosting. The marshmallow creme thickens up the fondue when it refrigerates and makes it incredibly spreadable. Who knew?


Recipe for Mississippi Mud Fondue

TWD- White Chocolate Brownies

I made these 1 1/2 years ago because they just looked so good in Dorie's book. This week Marthe chose them as her pick for Tuesday's with Dorie. You can find the recipe on Marthe's blog- Culinary Delights or from this post when I made them quite a while ago.

When I made them, I smashed the meringue because I didn't invert them gently enough, so I wanted to give them another try - but didn't get to it. I did have to bake them for about 15 minutes longer then called for in the recipe to make sure they were done in the middle.
I remember these being very yummy. Probably because they were more cake-y than a traditional brownie.

Go see what the other TWD-er's thought by checking out which baker's participated this week!