Lemon Scented Olive Oil Muffins

When this lovely lady invited J and I to a brunch at their place yesterday, I knew exactly what I'd make: Lemon Scented Olive Oil muffins.  I came across the recipe when I was doing research for new muffin recipes (read about all of them and why I like to bake muffins so much here) and have been dying to try it.

I woke up early and ventured out to the grocery store around 8, which was perfect because hardly anyone was there which never happens on a Sunday!  I ended up making two batches of this recipe because I wanted to be sure that I had enough for the brunch and was disappointed in the small amount of muffins the recipe makes the first time around (10 muffins).

You'll also notice from the photos that I made mini muffins this time.  J had brought to my attention that we had a mini muffin pan that we received as a wedding gift and have never used.  I thought that these lemon muffins would be the perfect mini muffins and they definitely were!

Lemon-scented Olive Oil Muffins, taken from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup organic low fat sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind (zest of approximately two small lemons or 1 large lemon)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fat free milk
1 large organic egg
1 organic egg white
Cooking spray


For glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind, plus extra for garnish
3 tablespoons lemon juice (juice of approximately two small lemons or 1 large)


Kitchen Supplies:
Microplane/Zester
2 mixing bowls
Muffin tins--regular or mini sized
Whisk
Wire rack

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Level off one cup of flour with a knife and combine in a large bowl with sugar, salt and baking powder.  Stir completely with a whisk and once combined, create a well in the bottom of the dry mixture.

Combine sour cream, lemon zest, olive oil, milk, egg and egg white together in another smaller bowl, whisking until combined.  Pour wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and mix until just moist.

Spray muffin tins liberally with cooking spray and spoon in mixture.  If using regular size muffin tins, I recommend measuring 2 tablespoons out for each muffin.  If using mini size muffin tins, a 2 teaspoon measuring spoon works great!

Bake for 25 minutes (12-13 minutes for minis) or until the muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center.  Remove from tins immediately and place on a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, combine powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest and lemon juice, whisking to combine.  Once muffins are cool, drizzle a small amount of glaze over each muffin.  Top with a light sprinkle of lemon zest and let set, approximately five minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves: 10 (18-20 if minis)
Serving size: 1 muffin (2 if minis)
Calories: 166

I wasn't sure how the olive oil would fare in this recipe but it is such a small amount that I hardly noticed it was there! The muffins are a bit denser because of it but the lightness and freshness of the lemon keeps it from feeling heavy.

Have you ever baked with olive oil?  Do you like lemon desserts?  I didn't used to, but after making these muffins I am definitely a fan!

Happy Monday everyone!

Blueberry Power Muffins with Almond Streusel

As I mentioned in this post, I made blueberry power muffins with almond streusel on Saturday afternoon.  I love making muffins on the weekends because between the muffins and some hard boiled eggs, I have breakfast ready to go for the whole week.  I usually pack my breakfast in a small bag with a tupperware of milk and eat it once I get to work, allowing me more time to get ready during the time of day when I am moving the slowest!

I had never made streusel before and now that I know how easy it is, I will be topping lots of my muffins this way for a little extra goodness!  The yogurt (I used half yogurt/half sour cream because I ran out of yogurt!) helps keep these muffins, baked with whole wheat flour and oats, from tasting dry.  The fresh blueberries add beautiful color and help create little caverns inside the muffins themselves, which are delightful to bite into.

Ingredients:
For the muffins:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups organic vanilla yogurt--I used 1 cup of vanilla yogurt and 1 cup of organic sour cream
1/2 cup fat free milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and dried


For the streusel:
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup slivered almonds, chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted


Kitchen Supplies:
Muffin tins (the recipe makes 18 muffins)
Muffin paper cups, if desired--I just spray the tins with cooking spray and pop them right out afterwards--less waste!
2 tablespoon measuring spoon
Toothpick
Wire racks for cooling
Three mixing bowls (small, medium and large)
Whisk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine flours, oats, granulated sugar, baking powder and soda and salt in a large mixing bowl using a whisk.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.

 In a smaller bowl, combine yogurt, milk, egg, oil and vanilla extract, whisking until combined. 

Pour the wet mixture into the well of the dry mixture and fold in together until just combined.  Gently fold in blueberries.

Spray tins with cooking spray (or line with paper cups) and spoon two tablespoons worth of mixture into each cup.  We have some odd sized measuring spoons and cups from AllClad, including a two tablespoon measuring spoon that I use for this purpose. 

In the small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, almonds, melted butter and flour until it resembles a crumb consistency.  Sprinkle some of the crumbs over the tops of each muffin and bake tins for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out cleanly.

Allow to cool in the tins for ten minutes on top of wire racks before removing.  Serve warm or at room temperature!

Serves: 18
Serving size: 1 muffin
Calories: 244

As you may recall from last week, I had eggs and bacon (prosciutto) for breakfast every day which leads me to today's question: do you like a sweet or savory breakfast better?  Or perhaps both?  I can't wait to hear your answers!

Muffin Meal Planning

While I'm trying to decide what to do about my image problem (I'm trying to decide between buying space with Google/Picasa or Photobucket--see this post for details) I thought I'd share some muffin recipes that have been floating around in my head lately and will no doubt be on our menu in the weeks to come.  All are courtesy of Cooking Light.

Blueberry Power Muffins with Almond Streusel:  I have all the ingredients needed for this recipe save the vanilla yogurt.  These will probably be the first muffins that get made over the weekend since I have so many of the ingredients on hand.

Sour Cream Coffeecake Muffins: After reading about how to make the almond streusel in the above recipe, I knew I'd be making some with a more substantial streusel topping, like this guy.

Dinner Meat Loaf Muffins: Proof that muffins aren't just a breakfast food.  Aren't they cute?

Oat-topped Fig Muffins:  When I was pursuing the Trader Joe's aisle today, I came across a bag of dried figs and contemplated how I could use that ingredient to make some sort of breakfast/dessert.  When I saw this recipe, I knew I'd found a winner.

Lemon-scented Olive Oil Muffins:  After I saw Katrina make an olive oil cake, I've wanted to try my hand at something similar.   A muffin that can work as a dessert or a breakfast item is just the ticket.  We will be bringing this to our neighbors for brunch in two weeks time!

Tropical Muffins with Coconut-Macademia Topping:  A muffin that has bananas, coconut, pineapple and macademia nuts as some of the main ingredients?  I'm so there!

Breakfast Fig and Nut "Cookies":  Described as more of a muffin top (or muffie if you are eating them at Panera/St. Louis Bread Co), these would be great to make if I had leftover figs from the Oat-Fig Muffins.

I love baking muffins because they are great grab and go breakfast items but also can be eaten in lieu of a cookie or cake for dessert.  

What do you think: which one would you make first?  Any that you would avoid with a ten foot pole?  Let's hear it!