Muffin Love

I ate one before I snapped the picture

I found this recipe on my bag of Shurfine whole wheat flour. The flour was getting close to its use by date, and I didn't want it to go to waste so I tried the recipe out. They were made to serve a purpose, and I didn't expect them to be delicious. However, they have become my go-to breakfast muffins. I've adjusted the recipe to be less sweet and more spicy, but it's close to what's on the bag. 

Whole Wheat Muffins

2 cups     Shurfine whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp    Shurfine salt

4 tsp       Shurfine baking powder

1/2 cup   Shurfine brown sugar

1 cup      Shurfine milk

1/2 tsp    vanilla

  2           eggs

1/3 cup   Shurfine vegetable oil

1/2 cup   Shurfine chopped walnuts

1/2 cup   Shurfine raisins

~1/2 tsp  cinnamon

~1/4 tsp  nutmeg

dash       ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease muffin tins.

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, brown sugar and spices. Mix until the brown sugar lumps are nearly gone.

In a small bowl combine milk, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in raisins and nuts.

Fill muffin cups halfway with batter. Bake 12-18 minutes; let cool slightly and remove from tin.

Makes 12 regular size muffins or 6 jumbo muffins.

*Baker's note: you don't have to use Shurfine products in this recipe.

Pumpkin Muffins

I liberated some cans of pumpkin from my grandparents' house because of their expiration dates. I wanted to make pumpkin cupcakes with them, but then it dawned on me that I could make pumpkin muffins. The recipe comes from the same muffin book I always use, but I made it with a combination of AP and whole wheat flour. They were dense, but not in a bad way. Pictured is a jumbo-sized one that I made with the leftover batter. The recipe was supposed to make 12, but it made a dozen regular-sized and four jumbos. That's nearly enough leftover batter for another dozen!

Cream Cheese Muffins

I had some cream cheese in the fridge that didn't have a purpose so I found a recipe in my Ultimate Muffin Book for cream cheese muffins. The recipe's description said that the taste would be like cheesecake, but it really wasn't. But, they were delicious; slightly sweet with a hint of lemon, which was surprising because the recipe had a whole tablespoon of lemon juice. They were a little denser than most muffins and had a nice crunchy exterior.

I'd definitely make them again if I had some extra cream cheese lying around.

Blackberry Muffins

I had some out-of-town guests that requested muffins. I should have made blueberry but the blueberries I found at the grocery store were expensive and not that great looking. I went to the farmer's market, but there were no blueberries to be found. I did find blackberries so I made blackberry muffins. I figured they were close enough to blueberry. They almost were.

Next time they're in town, I'll bake blueberry muffins.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

From the Ultimate Muffin Book. I made them with mini milk chocolate chips, but I think I like them better with regular semi-sweet chocolate chips.


The recipe was supposed to make a dozen muffins but it made eight muffins and six muffin tops.

Here's a better perspective of the muffin top. It's about half as tall as a cupcake-sized muffin. I guess it would be the top of a jumbo muffin if it was an actual top of a muffin.

I'm not sold on the muffin top pan yet. The first tops I made stuck to the pan. These didn't stick, but they turned out darker than the muffins even though they were baked at the same time. Maybe a 400 degree oven is too hot for the pan. Also they don't taste like the top of a muffin. They taste like a muffin baked in a shallow muffin tin.

Zucchini Bread (and Muffins)

New recipe! I got this recipe from a relative who got it from a friend who got it from a relative(?) or maybe a friend. The recipe doesn't call for eggs, but I don't mind. Very moist and delicious. I should probably just delete this earlier post since I won't be making those again.

If you look closely at the first muffin, you can see some nice bits of green from the skin of the courgette. I love this time of year when I can get young, tender, fresh and cheap summer squashes.

No, I didn't get a new kitchen. The picture was taken on my mom's new granite counter top. Isn't it pretty? The quick bread/muffins were baked in her new oven too.

Giant Banana Muffins

The muffin is almost as big as the teapot! Okay so the muffin is pictured next to a kid's tea set, but I made it in a jumbo muffin tin, which makes muffins that are about twice as big as regular muffins.

Here's a close-up:


The recipe came from the same muffin book as the zucchini nut muffins and the pecan muffins, and since that book is inconsistent, I wasn't sure how these would taste. They were yummy, but next time I'll try adding some nuts or coconut to liven them up. I love the jumbo tin though. I may never make a cupcake-sized muffin again!

Zucchini Nut Muffins

These turned out a little lighter in color than other zucchini nut muffins I've made in the past, but they were good. Good but not great. Not every recipe can be phenomenal.

Today's Baking

Pecan Muffins (with a touch of cinnamon)

I thought they would look more commercial with a pat of butter on one. They were yummy.