Muffin Wrappers

Lemon Ricotta Muffins

As much as I like cupcakes, I think I’d choose a warm muffin if I had the choice! I never really thought of the fact that you can bake muffins in fun/colorful cupcake wrappers. Here are just a few adorable muffins around the web…

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Zucchini Apple Muffins

Pumkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Buttermilk Berry Muffins

BEST Chocolate Muffins

Tea Scented Muffins with Pear Jam Filling

Orange-Scented Almond and Olive Oil Muffins

Banana Muffins

Green Bagel, Please!

Happy St Patrick’s Day! photo via YogaPeach.com

Cilantro Garlic Naan

Everything from The Savory Shop looks sooo delicious! I’m loving the idea of Cilantro baked into my Naan!  mmm…

Homemade Bread

Have you ever made your own bread? I usually pick up a baguette at Wegmans when I have a craving, but this recipe by shopcookmake.blogspot.com looks so simple and delicious. I cannot believe that she made this beautiful moist loaf in under an hour!

305g Bread Flour
175 ml of Warm Water
20 ml Olive Oil
1/2 tsp of fine Salt
3 tsp Yeast

-In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Then add the water and oil.
-Knead for 15 minutes (10 min if using a stand mixer) until the dough is shiny and somewhat elastic.
-Cut a few lines on top to make any design you want, or just leave it as is.
-Place in a small baking dish. Cover the dish. Place in the oven without preheating. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes (covered the entire time). Then uncover the dish and bake for another 5 minutes.

Nutella Stuffed French Toast

something delicious to sabotage my diet with this weekend. mmmmmm! (wouldn’t it look pretty with ripe red strawberries on top?)

INGREDIENTS
4 slices Texas Toast
2 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup powdered sugar
4 Tbsp Nutella
maple syrup or strawberries

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium low heat. In a bowl whisk together the eggs, cream, and powdered sugar. Take 2 slices of the Texas Toast and spread 1 Tbsp of Nutella on each one. Sandwich together and dip both sides in the custard mixture. Grill on each side until brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately with maple syrup.

recipe and photo by heathersdish.com

Traditional Pan de Muerto

i found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, spanglishbaby.com. it is so delicious and definitely on my list of recipes!

Pan de muertos (Spanish for Bread of dead ones) (also called pan de los muertos, or bread of the dead) is a type of bread traditionally baked in Mexico during the weeks leading up to the Día de los Muertos, which is officially celebrated on November 1. It is a soft bread shaped like a bun with bone-like pieces. Day of the Dead bread is eaten on Dia de los Muertos. On Dia de Los Muertos, everyone eats at the gravesite.
(Wikipedia)

Ingredients

*4 c. flour (3 3/4 c. flour +1/4 c. flour)
*3/4 c.sugar + 1 Tbs. Sugar
*1/2 c. unsalted butter
*1/2 Tbs. yeast
*3/4 c. milk
*3 large eggs
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
*zest of one orange (optional)
*1/2 tsp. anise seed (optional)
*plus 1 egg for a wash, and extra sugar for dusting

In a large bowl combine milk, yeast, orange zest, 1/4 c. flour and 1 Tbs. sugar. Let stand for 30 minutes, then add the three gently beaten eggs.

In a separate bowl combine 3 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. sugar, salt, cinnamon and anise. Add this flour mixture to the wet mixture, kneading with you hands (at this point the dough will feel very sticky, kned until it is only slightly sticky. You may add an extra teaspoon of flour at a time if needed.)

Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Add the butter to the dough working it until fully incorporated. Shape into a ball, grease and lightly flour. Place in bowl and cover with a damp towl to rise for 2 hours.

Separate dough into 6 parts. Shape 5 into balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Decorate the tops of the rolls with the remaining dough by rolling the dough into coils and strips that look like bones.

Allow the bread to rise for an additional hour in a warm place. brush tops of bread with egg white and dust with sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Buttermilk Sweet Potato Biscuits

warm biscuits now that the weather is starting to cool off. has anyone ever made these? they look so delish i cannot wait to try them

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup cold baked sweet potato, peeled
½ to 1 cup buttermilk, as needed

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt with a fork in a mixing bowl. Drop in the butter and toss it in the flour, then cut it into pieces. Work the butter into the flour until it resembles oatmeal.

Whip the sweet potato with a fork until it’s very smooth. Then add it to the bowl. Work it in lightly but thoroughly with your fingers. Add ½ cup buttermilk and stir. Add just enough buttermilk to make a smooth and only slightly sticky dough.

Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead it two or three times. Flatten it out to ½ inch thick. Cut out biscuits with a 2 ½ inch cutter. Put on a parchment covered baking sheet. Gather the scraps together, pat down, and cut out more biscuits.

Brush the biscuits with buttermilk and bake for about 15 minutes until well risen and appealingly brown. Serve hot.

recipe and photo by thecookingphotographer.com

Grilled Lebanese Flatbread

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

this looks easy and delicious. i love the idea of having this as an appetizer while standing around the grill with a glass of red wine!

INGREDIENTS
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon instant yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
2 tablespoons za’atar, optional.
1. Whisk together the salt, sugar, yeast and 1 cup warm water in a large bowl. Let the mixture sit until it begins to froth, about 5 minutes, then add the flour and mix until well combined. (If the dough is very dry, add more warm water a tablespoon at a time to moisten it.) Cover and let rise somewhere warm for about an hour.

2. Meanwhile, prepare a grill; the heat should be medium-high and the rack about 4 inches from the fire. When the dough has puffed up, transfer it to a well-floured surface and knead until soft and silky, 5 to 8 minutes.

3. Cut the dough into 8 equally sized pieces and roll each one out until it’s about 6 inches in diameter; don’t worry about making these perfectly round, but try to keep them relatively even in thickness. Brush one side of the breads with olive oil and put as many on the grill, oiled side down, as will comfortably fit at one time. While the first side cooks, brush the side facing you with more oil; when the breads begin to brown and puff up, flip them. When the second side is nicely browned, remove from the grill and sprinkle with the za’atar, if you’d like. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 breads.

nytimes