Orange Cranberry Streusel Muffins

It’s always great to have a muffin lying around, don’t you think? They’re great to have as you’re running out the door, to throw in a lunch or for a late night snack. Hand held treats are the best! And these little muffins are perfect. Sweet and tart and delicious!

Orange Cranberry Streusel Muffins

For the muffins:

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

12 ounce bag cranberries ~ rinsed and drained

3 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar ~ divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup orange juice

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups with cooking spray then line with cupcake liners, if desired.

In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries, nuts, orange peel, and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Stir then set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

Add the orange juice and eggs and mix well.

Add the cranberry mixture and stir to combine.

Fill each prepared muffin cup with the batter up to the top.

For the streusel topping:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

4 tablespoons cold butter

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl with a pastry blender or your fingers.

Sprinkle the uncooked muffins with the streusel topping, lightly pressing mixture onto the batter.

Bake for 5 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. 

Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool muffins for 10 minutes then remove from the pan. Drizzle with glaze. (Recipe follows)

For the glaze: 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 - 4 tablespoons orange juice

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar with enough of the juice to create a glaze. Drizzle over baked muffins.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

The recent Labor Day weekend proved very busy for us with all of our family coming and going. I knew I needed to have some snacks on hand, preferably for the little ones. This is my banana bread recipe reworked for individual servings that turned out to be the perfect thing! The little guys love muffins and when you put chocolate chips in them, they think it's a real treat! These are great to go along with breakfast or to toss in a lunch or for a quick snack on the go! Yummy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins



1/3 cup shortening
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place muffin liners into a muffin tin.

Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy.

Add eggs and beat well.

Add the dry ingredients and mix briefly.

Mix in the mashed bananas.

Now stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop mixture into muffin cups.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 15 muffins.

 

Let's make some muffins!

 

Cream together the shortening and the sugar.

 

Then add the eggs.

 

Add the dry ingredients.

 

Then the mashed banana.

 

Stir in the chocolate chips.

 

Scoop....

 

..and bake!

 

See how easy? And yummy, too!

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I love muffins....just about any kind. They are so nice to keep around for breakfast, snacks or to throw in a lunch. They freeze great and can satisfy a craving with no problem. These lemony muffins fit all the above criteria! I was out of lemons when I made these so I had to use straight bottled lemon juice, but if you've got some lemons, grate a tablespoon of the zest and throw it in. I'm pretty sure that will take these over the top!

Lemon Blueberry Muffins 
with Lemon Sugar Sprinkles



1/2 cup shortening

1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries ~ frozen
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon Sugar for sprinkling ~ recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line muffin cups with cupcake liners. Spray cups lightly with cooking spray.

Cream shortening and sugar together until creamy.

Add eggs, one at a time until combined.

Add lemon juice.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add to the sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Stir in frozen blueberries.

Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tins and sprinkle with a bit of coarse sugar.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown and done in the center.

Makes about 18 muffins.


Lemon Sugar

1/4 cup coarse sugar (found in the baking aisle)
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Pour sugar into a container with a lid.

Pour lemon juice in with sugar and shake until sugar is coated with the lemon.

Sprinkle on top of muffins. 

Makes 18-24 muffins.

 

The muffin-y goodness!

 

Cream the shortening and the sugar 

then add the eggs and lemon juice.

 

Then add the milk and dry ingredients.

 

Stir in the blueberries.

 

Scoop!

 

Combine the coarse sugar and the 

lemon juice to make the lemon sugar. 

Sprinkle on top of the muffin dough then bake!

 

So goooooood!!!!!!!!

Monkey Muffins

We love Monkey Bread around here but sometimes a big pan of it is just too much, you know? So I decided to reduce the recipe and make muffin sized servings. (Sometimes I impress even myself.) I used the Grands sized biscuits and cut them in quarter sized pieces but if you want to make them even smaller you could do that. I put 3 cut pieces in each muffin cup but to quarters works too and gives you more muffins. So many combos! Just try them...easy and fun!

Monkey Muffins



1 10 count serving package of Grands biscuits
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 stick butter ~ melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with liners.

Cut biscuits into quarters. (I used my kitchen shears)

Melt the butter in a medium sized bowl. Add the cut biscuits and toss to coat.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a dish. 

Roll the buttered, cut biscuit pieces in the cinnamon/sugar then place 2 or 3 pieces into each cup.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until lightly browned and done. 

While muffins are hot, drizzle each muffin with a teaspoon of glaze.

Allow to cool then drizzle muffins with remaining glaze.


Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 - 4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix in a small bowl and drizzle over cooked muffins. 


 

Let's go!

 

Mix up the cinnamon sugar.

 

Cut up the biscuits.

 

Toss them in the melted butter.

 

Then roll in the cinnamon/sugar.

 

Then place two or three 

pieces in a muffin cup.

 

Bake!

 

Mix up the stuff for the glaze.

 

Drizzle a little glaze over the hot 

muffins. Allow to cool.

 

Dunk the cooled muffins in the 

remaining glaze. Then eat!!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

I love a good muffin. There's something about them that just makes me happy. I also love the combination of raspberry and lemon so this little muffin made me VERY happy. These are so easy to throw together and are great for breakfast or a snack and freeze beautifully! I throw them in IT Guy's lunch instead of cookies...just to mix things up because I like to walk on the wild side. You should give them a try!

 Lemon Raspberry Muffins



½ cup shortening
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 8-ounce container raspberries
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Line muffin cups with cupcake liners. Spray cups lightly with cooking spray.

Cream shortening and sugar together until creamy.

Add eggs, one at a time until combined.

Add lemon juice and lemon zest.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add to the sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Stir in frozen blackberries.

Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tins and sprinkle with a bit of coarse sugar.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown and done in the center.

Makes about 18 muffins.

The cast of characters. You will need a lemon...

not just lemon juice if you want a more intense 

flavor. You need the zest for that!

Combine the shortening and 

the sugar then add the eggs, one at a time.

Then add the lemon juice and lemon zest.

Then alternate the flour mixture and 

the milk, beginning and ending with the flour.

Gently mix in the raspberries.

Fill your muffin cups. At this point I 

sprinkled some coarse sugar on the 

tops because I like sparkly food!

Bake!

Mmmm....enjoy!

Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

Years and years ago when I was a young mom, I got this recipe from another young mom. It's been a staple in my rotation for at least 20 years....maybe longer. Oh wait...how can that be when I'm only 19?? Hahahaha...I crack me up. Give these little muffin-y treasures a try this weekend and say "Barbara" when you eat one...cuz she's the one who gave me the recipe!


Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup butter - melted
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoon grated orange peel

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Spoon into a muffin tin lined with 12 baking cups. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until golden brown.

OPTION 1: For a sweet glaze, mix the juice of 1 orange (the rest of what you used for the muffin batter works), 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon grated orange peel and 1 teaspoon of butter. Cook in the top of a double boiler until warm and butter has melted. When muffins are out of the oven and still warm, pierce the tops several times with a fork, and then…holding the muffin by the base, dip the pierced tops down into the glaze and let it soak up some of the glaze for a few seconds. Let set…or not. Then eat.

OPTION 2: Stir 1 cup of dried cranberries (Craisins) into the batter before filling muffin cups.

Here's whatcha need....

....and here's whatcha get!!

Apple Pie Muffins

All the taste of an apple pie in a little piece of bread!! These little guys are so simple to throw together. They bake up a little flat on top but that sure doesn't detract from the flavor! The cinnamon topping makes it a little extra fun, too! Yummy for breakfast...to throw in a lunch or to have as a snack!

Apple Pie Muffins



2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter ~ melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 cups diced apples


Topping

1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter ~ melted

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well blended.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with muffin cups.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk, 1/2 cup melted butter, vanilla and 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar until sugar has dissolved.

Pour into the flour mixture and add the diced apples. Stir just until everything is blended.

Spoon into the prepared muffin tin, filling the cups to the top.

Top with cinnamon topping mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 15 - 18 muffins

Let's go!

Combine the flour, salt and baking 

soda in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the melted 

butter, buttermilk, brown sugar, egg and vanilla.

Add the buttermilk mixture and diced 

apples to the flour mixture. Blend until just combined.

Fill muffin cups.

Combine the 2 tablespoons melted butter, 

cinnamon, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup flour.

Like this!

Sprinkle on top of muffin dough.

Bake 'em up!

So good!!!