Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins

Hello!  The prodigal blogger returns.  Have been busy in the kitchen but mostly whipping up old favorites to help Mom during her post-surgery convalescence.  BUT today I had some friend over for brunch and was determined to try something new.

Found this gem of a recipe in my 1965 "McCall's Practically Cookless Cookbook." I love going through the old books because you never know what you'll find.  I realized that I have never made pineapple upside-down cake before so figured this would be my baby step to the big league.

Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins
paraphrased from original recipe, makes 16

pineapple topping
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2-2/3 cup pecan halves
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained

muffin batter
2 cups Bisquick
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Grease bottoms of 16 muffin tin cups.

To make the pineapple topping, first combine the melted butter and brown sugar.  Divide evenly between muffin cups.

Arrange 2-3 pecan halves per muffin cup.  Then top with crushed pineapple, dividing evenly between cups.

To make the muffin batter, combine all the ingredients in a bowl.  Quickly stir with a wooden spoon, do not beat.  The batter will be lumpy.

Divide the batter evenly between the cups (filling to about 2/3 full).

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees until golden. Mine took 18 minutes.

Loosen the edges of the muffin cups with a spatula or knife.  Invert immediately onto a cookie sheet. Let the pan rest on the muffins for about a minute then remove pan.

If any pineapple mixture sticks to the cups remove it and spread it over the bottom of the muffins.

Serve warm.

NOTES

So there was some reading misunderstanding on my part and I used foil cupcake holders instead of just doing them in the muffin tin itself.  The original method will be easier because I found my batter tended to stick to the sides of the foil cups.  Still delicious and edible.

I used Bisquick but you can use any packaged biscuit mix.

The other thing I meant to do was put a piece of maraschino cherry in the topping as well to make it more traditionally pineapple upside down...next time!

Maple Apple Pecan Granola

Was trying to figure out something new to do today so leafed through some of the myriad of cookbooks on my shelf looking for inspiration.  I kept coming across recipes for different types of granola and realized that I've never made it before. So here you go, a little culinary experimentation to get your week started.

Maple Apple Pecan Granola

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. brown sugar
1 small Granny Smith apple, diced

In bowl, mix together the rolled oats, pecans, and cinnamon.

In a small saucepan, bring the water, maple syrup, vanilla and brown sugar to a boil.  Set aside.

Core, peel, and dice the apple, then mix into the rolled oats mixture. 

Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and stir well making sure that everything is evenly coated.

Grease a large cookie sheet using butter or a butter spray.

Pour the granola mixture onto the cookie sheet, spreading out to make an even layer across the whole thing.

Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes, stirring once or twice during the baking process, or until mixture is browned and crisped.

You can serve in a bowl with milk or over your favorite yogurt or over your favorite ice cream or use it as crumb topping for a coffee cake or muffins.  So many options, so many choices.

Cheesy Egg Bake

 

Last weekend went to my Annual Girls Night Out Birthday Brunch.  Everyone makes a fabulous contribution and this year my friend Carol made a yummy Amish style breakfast casserole. We never did figured out what the Amish part was, perhaps it was meant to be baked by candlelight.  We each got a copy of the recipe and I decided to bring it to you...only with a few changes because I can't leave a recipe alone without adjusting to my taste.  So here is my version of it...

Cheesy Egg Bake

1/2 lb. turkey bacon, diced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 tsp. minced garlic
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1-1/2 cups frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
3/4 cup cottage cheese, small curd

In a skillet, cook the turkey bacon and onion together until the bacon is crispy.

Turn the heat off and add the minced garlic.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, salt, pepper, hash browns, and all the cheeses.

Mix in the bacon and onions, then pour the mixture it a baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until its browned on the top.

Let the dish sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving up (for 4-6 peeps).

Orange Cinnamon Pecan Waffles

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the maternal gals out there!  Since my momma loves her some pecan waffles, I treated her to a flavor upgrade for Mother's Day brunch.  So yummy!  With a little turkey bacon on the side, it was all good and then some.

Orange Cinnamon Pecan Waffles
will need to use a waffle iron with this recipe, just FYI

2 cups flour
1 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1-3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup saffron oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. orange zest
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, beat eggs until they're "fluffy."  Whisk in milk, oil and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry mix and beat together until smooth.

Mix in the orange zest until well incorporated.

Heat your waffle iron according to instructions.  For a single waffle, pour 1/2 cup of waffle batter on the iron and as it spreads out, sprinkle some of the chopped pecans on top before closing the waffle iron lid.

Cook for 3-4 minutes or until iron lid lifts easily and the waffle is to your consistency taste.

Remove, drizzle with your favorite syrup and try not to hurt anyone as you shovel your waffle into your face.

Special Dark Raspberry Rolls

 

Okay, making the break from apples.  It's almost Halloween and chocolate is the order of the day so to that end, here is a little bit of yumminess that I came up with. 

Now after seeing these, I'm sure you're thinking, K2, didn't we just see a roll-up treat?  Yes...yes, you did.  But I have a crescent roll addiction that must be fed.  I can't help it, they're delicious and go well with so many other tasty things which is why when the Parentals came back from their trip to Hershey, PA, burdened with glorious chocolate, I had to roll out the Pillsbury standby and do something fun with my part of the chocolate booty.

Trust me, when you stop shoveling these in your mouth, you'll thank me. Or a chocolate-covered thumbs up will suffice.

Special Dark Raspberry Rolls
make 1 dozen

1 (8 ct.) pkg. of Pillsbury crescent rolls
2 tbsp. seedless raspberry jam
1/3 to 1/2 cup Special Dark chocolate chips
4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cocoa powder

In a small dish, blend together the sugar and cocoa powder.

Pop open your Pillsbury and spread the dough out.  Press together the lengthwise seam between the crescents, then cut each of the four new dough pieces into thirds the short way.

I only worked on one half of the dough at a time
and yes, I used my fish cutting mat 'cuz that's how I roll

Spread raspberry jam on each of the pieces.

Sprinkle with Special Dark chips.

Roll them up and then roll them in the cocoa sugar.

 

Place on a prepared cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes, or until nicely browned and not squoogey inside.

Allow to cool for a minute or two before consuming, because that chocolate is going to be HOT!

In case you were wondering, they go great with a big bowl of French vanilla ice cream.

Applesauce Cinnamon Donuts

 

So these aren't your store-bought donuts, by any means, they're definitely homemade, but cakey and delicious all the same.

Applesauce Cinnamon Donuts

3/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 cup applesauce (see recipe at bottom of page)
1 tbsp. shortening
1 egg
2-1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2-3 tbsp. cinnamon sugar

Blend together brown sugar, applesauce, shortening and egg.  Don't worry if the shortening doesn't blend easily, it will get incorporated in the next couple of steps.

 

Mix together flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.

Add the applesauce mixture to the dry mix and bring together into a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to 1/2" thick.  If the dough is too sticky, you might need to add more flour. See note below.

Cut with a doughnut cutter.  Or you can use two biscuit cutters to make it doughnut-shaped.

Fry in hot oil (about 365 degrees) until browned on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Drain and then roll in cinnamon sugar.

NOTES

My donuts turned out a bit denser than originally planned because it's been raining this week and the extra moisture in the air made it necessary to add more flour to make the dough malleable and non-super sticky.  Use your best judgment when adding the flour.  You don't want it to be too dry, but you don't want it sticking to everything either (makes it tricky to roll out when it plasters to the rolling pin).

I don't have a Fry Baby or Daddy, so I used a wok with a rack that fit around the edge which worked really well for draining the donuts before rolling them.

You can roll your donuts in regular sugar too, or make a glaze by mixing powder sugar and water until it forms a thick glaze and dip you donuts in that. Get creative.

Yammy Pecan Roll-ups

 

For me, when the weather getting cooler, there's nothing like fresh-baked goods and a hot cuppa joe to get my Sunday morning started.  Combine that with a fall veggie favorite and you have a golden day ahead of you. 

Yammy Pecan Roll-ups
(makes 36 roll-ups)

2 (8 ct.) rolls of Pillsbury crescent rolls
1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup canned yams, mashed
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

In a bowl, blend together cream cheese, mashed yams, and pumpkin pie spice.

 

Roll out each crescent roll triangle and cut in half (to make two smaller triangles each).

Spread a layer of the yam filling on each triangle. Sprinkle with pecans and roll them up.

In a shallow dish, mix together the cinnamon and sugar.

Roll each mini crescent in the cinnamon sugar and set on a prepared (lightly greased or foiled) baking sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.

Remove pan from oven, transfer roll-ups to a plate.  Allow to cool for a moment or two (so you don't burn your tongue on the filling) and enjoy.

Mmm mmm mmm, welcome Fall!

Raspberry Lemonade Rice Flour Muffins

 

First, apologies for the typo in the flour list on Wednesday's post: "Almond flour – suitable for folks who need a gluten-free diet or Celiac disease."  Almond flour is NOT for those who need Celiac disease, but rather those who HAVE the disease and NEED a gluten-free diet.  Have got to cut back on late night posting.

Since we're talking gluten-free, my first new flour venture will be with stone ground White Rice Flour which is just that.  For the didyaknows about rice flour, check out the Notes section below, but for now, check this out.  Tasty delicious muffins.

Raspberry Lemonade Rice Flour Muffins

2 cups white rice flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Simply Lemonade with Raspberry
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. almonds, chopped (optional)
3/4 cup raspberries + 1 tsp. sugar, fork mashed

In a bowl, mix together rice flour, eggs, lemonade, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest until smooth.  If you decide to go there, add in the almonds.

 

Pour mixture into a lightly greased muffin tin.

Place a dollop of the sugared raspberry mash on each one and with a fork or spoon, do a quick swirl to incorporate it into the muffin.

 

Bake at 425 degrees for 18 minutes or until muffin springs back to the touch.

Remove muffins from pan and cool on rack.  Then enjoy!

NOTES

Another variation, try using plain lemonade and adding in dried blueberries.

So I used paper baking cups, but I would recommend NOT doing that because the muffins stick to the paper and then you have to gnaw it off which is not pretty.  Just grease the tin and use a knife to loosen them from the pan, best way to ensure a whole muffin.

FLOUR

Rice flour is made from white or brown rice. The rice husk (or paddy) is removed then the raw rice is ground to a powder (flour). It's used a lot in Asian cuisine for making rice noodles or desserts (like Japanese mochi).

Because it's gluten-free, makes a good substitute for wheat flour.  Can be used, like cornstarch, as a thickening agent and is supposed to especially effective when used in recipes for foods that get refrigerated or frozen because it helps inhibit liquid separation.