Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

We recently moved into a new house, and while it was a local move, it was still quite a bit of work, hence no new recipes from me for a bit. But, everything’s finally unpacked and I’m back in the kitchen! Our new place has a great backyard, where I recently discovered some late-season mega zucchini that the previous tenant must’ve planted. These bad boys are each at least a foot long!

I was able to put a (slight) dent in our backyard bounty with a batch of tasty muffins. Note: if you’re working with a bigger zucchini like I did for this recipe, you’ll want to quarter it lengthwise and remove seeds before grating.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins 
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup grated zucchini
½ cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
Cooking spray or butter, to grease muffin tin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin tin. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl and stir or whisk to blend. In another bowl, combine zucchini, yogurt, vanilla extract, egg, brown sugar and walnuts, stirring until blended. Add dry ingredients to the bowl with the zucchini mixture, stirring until everything’s mixed. Scoop ⅓ cup mix per muffin cup. Bake for 20 minutes.

Yields 9-10 muffins

Blueberry Bran Muffins

Bran muffins are something that take me back to childhood. It seems like my mom was always pulling a batch of muffins out of the oven, so good on their own but even better with a smear of butter. My take on my mom’s recipe calls for dried blueberries (it was always raisins in our house when I was growing up) and uses applesauce instead of shortening to lighten things up a bit.

Blueberry Bran Muffins 
1 cup bulk oat bran
1 cup boiling water
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
2 cups bran cereal
2 ½ cups flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir water and oat bran together in a small bowl. Mix applesauce and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs and continue mixing. Stir in buttermilk. Mix in oat bran, bran cereal, flour, baking soda and salt. Fold in blueberries and stir until mixed. Grease muffin tins with butter or cooking spray. Scoop ⅓ cup mix per muffin cup. Bake for 20 minutes.

Yields 24 muffins.

Watch out, because these cookies are trouuuuuble

Start preheating the oven and pour yourself a nice frosty glass of milk, because it’s cookie time. It’s not often that I get the urge to bake cookies -- I’d much rather throw a lasagna in the oven -- but I’ve been playing around with this recipe in my mind for a little while. Glad I finally made it happen, as these cookies are so sweet and chewy and utterly addictive.

Oatmeal Pecan Butterscotch Cookies 
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup butterscotch chips

Place oven racks in upper third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl, beating with electric mixer until fluffy before adding eggs, beating to mix thoroughly. Add flour, oats, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt, mixing on low speed until blended. Add pecans and butterscotch chips until incorporated. Drop batter by the tablespoon about 1-1½ inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies appear golden brown but are still soft. Remove cookie sheets from oven, letting cookies stand for 2-3 minutes before moving them to cooking racks.

Cookies made with persimmons and spice are quite nice

Our neighbor brought over some lovely hachiya persimmons a while back. I’d never cooked anything with persimmons, but figured the free fruit provided the perfect opportunity to try something new. I’ve had my mom’s persimmon cookie recipe stashed away for years. Glad I found it!

Persimmon Cookies 
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup hachiya persimmon pulp (from overly ripe fruit)
Butter or cooking spray (for cookie sheets)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. MIx first three ingredients in medium bowl. Whisk flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and baking soda in separate, larger bowl. Stir contents of smaller bowl in with flour mix. Add raisins, walnuts and persimmon pulp. Thoroughly mix ingredients. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto greased cookie sheets. Bake cookies for roughly 15 minutes, until lightly brown.

Baking outside of the box

There’s no shame in baking brownies from a box. We’re not big on sweets around here, so when I actually do get the bug to make dessert, the base tends to come from our good friends at Pilsbury or Duncan Hines. However, I do like to tweak boxed mixes so the end result has a fancier feel to it. I did four things to make these delectable brownies:

1. Started with a box of Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix 
2. Added brewed coffee to the mix instead of water
3. Smeared the baked, cooled brownies with a hefty serving of Nutella
4. Topped the brownies with lots of crushed, roasted hazelnuts

Wondering how to make banana bread even better?

I spotted an attractive slice of chocolate cherry banana bread at the cash register while indulging in a rainy day latte the other day. It haunted me for days and I decided to try and make my own. Banana bread is good enough on its own, but adding chocolate chips and dried cherries makes it absolutely marvelous.

Banana Cherry Chocolate Chip Bread
4 overly ripe bananas
2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk
½ cup vanilla yogurt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup dried cherries, chopped
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter metal loaf pan (9-by-5-by-3-inch).
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt and stir or whisk to blend. In another bowl, combine bananas, milk, yogurt, vanilla and almond extracts and egg. Pour batter into bowl with dry ingredients and fold together until combined. Stir in cherries and chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into greased loaf pan and bake 70-80 minutes, until toasty brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely. Slice and enjoy.

Going bananas over chocolate muffins

Want to make something a little more special than regular banana bread (which is still very delicious on its own)?

Upgrade your muffins with a good dose of chocolate.

We eat these for breakfast, but they’re one smear of chocolate frosting away from being some party-ready cupcakes.

Chocolate Banana Muffins
Adapted from a Dorie Greenspan recipe
2 cups flour
1 cup semisweet cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Working with a mixer (I use the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid) beat the butter at medium speed until softened, about a minute or two. Add sugars and beat for two minutes more. If necessary, turn off mixer and use rubber spatula to scrape mixture off sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat each for about a minute. Reduce mixer speed to low and add bananas. Then add dry ingredients — I use a one-cup measuring cup to scoop the dry mix into the bowl—and mix just until dry ingredients are stirred in. Add the yogurt, mixing until everything is incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Place muffin cups in muffin tins and fill each cup about 2/3 of the way. Bake for roughly 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of muffin comes clean. Remove from oven.

Got bananas in your freezer? Make some muffins

I’ve got a freezer full of frozen bananas, and they’re not getting any prettier.
There’s nothing wrong with freezing overly ripe bananas, as they’re great to have on hand for banana bread. I’ve got at least half a dozen black, gnarly bananas on ice right now, and because I’m sick of hearing “Oh my God, when are you going to do something with these nasty things?!?!” each time the special man friend opens the freezer, I decided to take action.

I absolutely love banana bread, and have been trying to make it healthier by scaling back, or cutting out, the oil and/or butter many recipes suggest. I’ve also played around with baking muffins instead of a loaf because it cuts the bake time and the muffins are more portable and make for a great eat-at-my-desk breakfast.
The following recipe is my favorite to date.

Banana Pecan Muffins
Adapted from SELF

4 overly ripe bananas
2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup skim milk
½ cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup chopped pecans
Paper muffin cups

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and pecans and stir or whisk to blend. In another bowl, combine bananas, milk, yogurt, egg and vanilla. Pour batter into bowl with dry ingredients and fold together until combined.
Place muffin cups in muffin tins and fill each cup to just below the top. Bake for roughly 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of muffin comes clean. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Desperately seeking pie pointers

I have a bit of a challenge on my plate.

Somehow I convinced myself to enter the pie contest at work.

Never mind that I’ve never baked a pie in my life. Or that I’m frightened by the thought of making my own crust. And, as if one entry weren’t enough of a challenge, I registered to compete with two pies. What’s a girl to do? Cash prizes are up for grabs.

Between now and Jan. 8 I need to develop some skills or else my coworkers will laugh at me after spitting out my weak excuse for a dessert.

I recently interviewed Penryn mom Jennifer Roth about her new business, Jen’s Petite Pies. She makes cupcake-sized pies (that's her chocolate pecan pie in the photo), and makes a mean crust. Perhaps I should go back to her for some pointers...

I welcome any and all pie-related advice. If you’ve got a tried-and-true recipe you’re willing to share, please do so. What’s worked for you? Any horror stories? I want to hear all about it.

Little lemons add lots of zest to cookies

Those adorable little lemons I discovered on my doorstep the other day have found themselves the stars of a fresh batch of cookies.

I’ve kept the following recipe in my files for years now, and figured the neighborly gift of nearly a dozen lemons was the perfect excuse to finally test the recipe.

These delicate cookies are packed with fresh, tangy flavor, and the poppy seeds add a nice little crunch. They taste great with a glass of milk, and I think they’d pair well with a mug of tea on a chilly December day. I think I'll try coconut instead of poppy seeds the next time I make these cookies, just for fun.

A side note: While I believe in giving credit where credit is due, I’m not quite sure where this recipe came from. I tend to collect recipes printed on the pages of various magazines, so this could be Real Simple or perhaps Martha Stewart Living?

Zesty Lemon Poppy-Seed Cookies
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
½ cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once reduced by half, add one stick (1/4 cup) butter, stirring until melted.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Cream remaining butter and 1 cup sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer (use paddle attachment). Add egg and lemon butter, mixing until pale, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons lemon zest. Mix in flour mixture and poppy seeds.
Stir together the remaining sugar and lemon zest—I did this in a glass pie dish. Roll spoonfuls of dough into balls. Roll balls in sugar mixture and place them on a cookie sheet 1 ½ to 2 inches apart. Gently press each ball with the flat bottom of a glass—dipping the bottom of the sugar mixture helps—and sprinkle with additional poppy seeds.
Bake cookies 10-11 minutes, until they’re just starting to brown around the bottom edges. Remove from oven, and let sit on cookie sheet 1-2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Peanut butter and chocolate — a match made in cookie heaven

I picked up a tub of devilishly addictive Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups from Trader Joe’s. They’re like a chocolate-chip sized version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and they’re dangerous.

After a few days of helping myself to a handful of these chocolate-peanut-butter gems, I figured I’d try baking them into cookies, something between a peanut butter kiss — one of my all-time favorites — and a traditional chocolate-chip cookie.

The peanut butter cups aren’t as sturdy as chocolate chips, and turned into globs during the baking process. Even though they didn’t keep their initial form, the candies added an additional peanut-butter punch to the cookies.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Adapted from a Now … You’re Cooking! peanut-butter kiss recipe
2 2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups mini peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add butter and peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Stir in peanut butter cups gently.
Make balls out of level tablespoons of dough. Place balls two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets, and bake for 10 minutes.