Do you know the Muffin Man?

I don't know the Muffin Man, but I'll tell you, I sure felt like him last weekend. Ever since I saw the muffin tins that make the cute little muffins, I have wanted one. I don't have my own set yet, but boy am I putting these borrowed ones to good use :)

The first batch of muffins I made were Cinnamon Raisin, Oh.My.Word, they are ever Delicious! The kids really enjoyed them, in fact, Paisley somehow snuck THREE of them, and I didn't even realize until I was taking them out of the tins!! What a silly girl!

Here is the recipe:
Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Ingredients

3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (or all spice)
1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup granulated sugar
57g (half a stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
170g plain yogurt
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 180C or 350F degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside. Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins in a small bowl and set aside.

2) Place granulated sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla to bowl. Mix until well combined, about 2 more minutes. Slowly add flour to bowl, mixing well as you go. Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt to batter and continue mixing until combined.

3) Set the batter aside. Pour brown sugar raisin mixture on top of batter and lightly fold into batter using a spatula or wooden spoon. You should only fold this 3 or 4 times - you don't want to incorporate it into the batter too much.

4) Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each one about 2/3 full. Sprinkle each muffin evenly with the remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

5) Bake for 15-18 minutes, checking for doneness after 15 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

The next ones I made are Pumpkin. This recipe comes from my Sister In Law. I don't normally like Pumpkin...anything, but I tried these muffins that she made last year and they were surprisingly good! (And I only say Surprisingly...just because I wasn't expecting anything from it, as in the past I have not liked anything made with Pumpkin)


Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups flour
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1t coarse salt
1t ground cinnamon
1t ground ginger
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4t ground all spice
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
4 large eggs lightly beaten
1 can 15 ounces pumpkin puree

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
In medium bowl,whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt , cinnamon , ginger, nutmeg , and all spice; set aside.
2)In a large bowl, whisk together , brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3) Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted int the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 min , rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to wire rack; let cool!

Next I made some Apple Oatmeal Muffins. These were pretty good, they weren't my favorite, but we still ate them. Next time I think I might add a little more cinnamin, or even apples. I just needed a little more flavor.

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups apple, peeled and shredded
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick oats
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 2 egg whites

Preparation:

Spoon flour into measuring cups and level with a knife. Place flour in a large mixing bowl and add oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a whisk. Combine milk, oil, vanilla, yogurt and egg whites, stirring until well blended. Add wet ingredients to flour bowl and stir until just moist. Blot shredded apple on kitchen paper to get rid of excess moisture, then add apple to mixture and stir.
Spoon batter into a lined 12-cup muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

And Last, but NOT least, I attempted to make some 'two-bite brownies'. Now I new that the tins were small and that I shouldn't add too much batter, and I thought I was doing good....but I guess I still added too much! I used the recipe that I posted a little while ago, on a post titlted 'calling all chocolate lovers'

Now the reason why I said I attempted to make 2 bite brownies was because I had put too much batter in the tins and they rose up and over...so getting them out of the tins in one piece was a little tricky....but they still tasted the same!! 

I think in all I baked over 250 muffins/brownies...it was a good baking weekend!