"muffin" news and stories

If you have ever visited Hungry Girl's website, you know that she is a huge fan of Vitalicious products, but even though she talks them up a lot, she's certainly not the only one who enjoys them. The company is growing by the day because, since we all watch what we eat from time to time, their healthy and very tasty snacks are a natural option for anyone looking for a quick bite to eat. And what could be better than a low calorie/low fat, high fiber, vitamin and nutrient fortified snack that also tastes good?

How about one such snack fresh from the oven?

Vitalicious has just introduced a line of baking mixes that will allow you to bake up your favorite flavor - Deep Chocolate, BlueBran, Sugar-Free Banana Nut, and Deep & Velvety Chocolate VitaBrownie - at home. All of them can be made in regular muffin pans to turn out 2 or 4 ounce snack cakes, but you can also order some silicone VitaTop pans if you prefer to stick with the company's signature snack shape.

Source

Shauna, the Gluten-free Girl has been living with Celiac disease her entire life, but has only been eating gluten free for just over a year and a half. In that time, she has felt better than she ever did before and she has definitely learned more about gluten-free cooking and baking than she ever thought she would know. By her own admission, she does not make gluten free baked goods all that often, in large part because it is more complicated than a standard muffin and the pre-made mixes are usually just as good. This particular batch of Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins, however, she made completely from scratch. In her post, Shauna explains how she developed a feel for using gluten free flours - sweet white sorghum flour, white rice flour and tapioca flour in this case - to achieve the familiar consistency of a muffin made with wheat. To the inexperienced, gluten free baking sounds like a challenge, but as with anything else, familiarity makes things easier and Shauna's successful muffins prove that point.

Source

There are an almost unlimited number of combinations of ingredients that can go into muffins, so "complete" might be a bit of an exaggeration in the title of this book. That being said, The Complete Muffin Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide To Making Great Muffins does provide a very well-rounded selection of muffins and anyone who enjoys them would be more than happy with a book that provides the variety that this one does.

These muffins, according to the author, are not cupcake substitutes (there are plenty of cookbooks out there already if that's what you're looking for). They are "not only wholesome and nutritious but also delicious, heart-healthy, immensely satisfying, and suitable for enjoying any time of day." The recipes use a wide range of regular and whole wheat flours, fresh fruits, spices and other high-quality ingredients to turn out muffins both sweet and savory, like French Onion Soup Muffins, Glazed Sunrise Blueberry Muffins, Bananas Foster Muffins and Lemon Ginger Muffins. Some of the muffin recipes are even low in fat, making them an all the more enjoyable indulgence.

Easy to read and even easier to make, the recipes in this book will be the type that you turn to again and again. And with over 200 to choose from, there are sure to be at least a few that turn into favorites.

Source

I have only heard the term "mollete," which is Spanish for "muffin", used to refer to a type of bread or a sort of sandwich (often featuring cheese and beans) made with that bread. Apparently, it is also a type of cookie that is rolled in pinenuts. This batch of Kissed Molletes was baked by Joe, at Culinary in the Desert Country. He substituted pecans for the pinenuts and the cookies use both whole wheat flour and whole grain yellow cornmeal, so they are quite hearty, but the crunchy exterior gives way to a moist, tender interior once you bit into it. The cookies are topped with the seasonal candy cane kisses from Hershey's, which gives them a very festive look and makes them a perfect addition to a Christmas cookie plate. If you want to try the recipe for yourself, you can either pick up a copy of the cookbook that it was derived from or simply try making Joe's recipe.

Source

It's hard to get pumpkin muffins right because the pumpkin itself is often so moist that it makes the muffin seem heavy or overly wet. On top of that, many recipes call for oil instead of butter, which doesn't help to lighten the muffins up at all. Too often, the end product is a very unsatisfying muffin that is gummy and has minimal pumpkin flavor. These, however, are not those muffins.

The recipe is from Epicurious and they use butter, buttermilk, a bit of molasses and lots of spices to turn out a very flavorful muffin. The muffins are moist, but not wet, and have a wonderfully light texture to them. Pecans make a fantastic combination with pumpkin, so I opted to use them instead of the walnuts suggested by the original recipe. Chocolate chips, raisins or dried cranberries would also be good additions to this recipe if you're looking to try a couple of variations.