Blueberry Lemon Muffin Tippy Tops

Sunshine, seventy degrees, green plush grass and the beautiful (I know they're annoying) dandelions are finally upon our senses. I love Spring and the following promise of Summer. Just the other day while I was out hiking I wanted to lay in the grass. I wanted to enjoy the fresh green hues and the perfect sunshine. Of course I didn't but, it was a nice thought.

With the great weather change comes some freshly illuminated inspiration. The tastes of sweet fresh berries, juicy watermelon and the mouth watering crunch of homegrown vegetables are on the tip of my tongue and vibrant in my eyes. Inspirational, Mother Nature is.

With all this inspiration and the tastes present from memories past, I'm excited to have created a new BOTG (Breakfast On The Go) recipe. It's a splendid sweet and tart breakfast. I've recently become a fan of combining blueberry and lemon. While I've always loved the distinct flavors on their own, WOW are they great together. This recipe is only the first for these two flavors being combined in treats. I must come up with a delicious cupcake. I must!

Anywho, right now I present to you, a scrumptious Blueberry Lemon Muffin Tippy Top recipe. It's guaranteed to satisfy in the morning (anytime of day, really). This recipe can easily become muffins, if you so choose. I made a crumble for the top to add a little extra pop of sugary sweetness. The tart, plump and deep blue berries were a perfect combination with the tangy kiss of the lemon peel and juice. To balance the tart I used brown sugar for a deeper sweetness. It creates a perfect bite each time. I am truly pleased with these Tippy Tops and I am extra pleased to share the recipe with you!

As always, feel free to leave comments below and let me know how you treats or meals turned out. Furthermore, I'd love to hear if you changed the recipes and why.

Go bake and enjoy some time in that kitchen!

Blueberry Lemon Muffin Tippy Tops           [Printable Recipe]

Makes about 18 Tippy Tops

Muffin Tippy Tops:

2 1/4 cups flour 2 Tbls set aside for blueberries

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature 

1/2 cup milk, room temperature 

2 tsp vanilla

Juice of one lemon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 pint fresh blueberries

1 recipe Crumble Topping (recipe below) 

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a mixer combine and beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. 

2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon peel. Set aside. 

3. Toss blueberries in 2 Tablespoons of flour, set aside. 

4. Combine eggs, milk, and vanilla in a measuring cup. 

5. Alternately add the flour and milk mixtures to the butter/sugar. Starting with the flour. 

6. Mix in lemon juice.

7. Fold in blueberries, be sure not to add the extra flour from the blueberries. 

8. Scoop mixture into prepared pans and top with crumble topping. 

9. Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

10. Enjoy! 

Crumble Topping:

2 Tbls butter

3 Tbls flour

3 Tbls brown sugar

Crumble Topping Directions:

1. With a fork combine all ingredients until pea sized crumbles form. Set aside.

Blueberry Lemon Muffin Tippy Tops - Coming soon!

After a little "vacation" from blogging and working in the kitchen, I will be returning with new posts this week. To start I decided to do a new recipe for Muffin Tippy Tops. Due to a great switch in the weather (Hello warm sunny days!) I've been inspired and picked a bright and delicious combination...Fresh Blueberry and Lemon. Check back this week! 

Adventures in Donut Making

Last week I bought some clearance donut pans and I couldn't wait to try them out. Baked Donuts have been on my mind for a while, I just never bought the pans to make them. Now that I have them, let the baking begin!

I snapped a few pictures while I was baking some Very Vanilla Donuts yesterday. I'm still recipe testing so there is no recipe to share in this post. Once I come up with one I love, I'll share. I promise. 

Very Vanilla Donuts w Chocolate Glaze and Toasted Coconut

Very Vanilla Donuts w Chocolate Glaze

This is the milk, vanilla, and vanilla bean mixture (YUM!) and the browned butter (double YUM!)

Recipes coming soon. I've also been working on an ice cream! Excited to share some new recipes and adventures with you all.

Ham and Cheese Scones with Photo Tutorial

BOTG - Breakfast On The Go or a key element in the equation of a busy life.

We're all told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I agree! I enjoy something for breakfast or brunch everyday. I really enjoyed my two previous recipes (Banana Maple Muffin Tippy Tops and Apple Cranberry Muffin Tippy Tops) so much that I ate them up quite quickly. haha It was time to try something different though. I was inspired, due to a recent baking adventure, to make scones. I had the idea for some savory Ham and Cheese scones to start the day with a cup o java. After a bit of looking around, this is what I came up with.

I am no expert in making scones, that I will admit. One thing I know that is key in successful scones is COLD butter. When the butter cooks it's what makes the delicious explosions inside the pastry. To get the best butter, I do the same thing for pie crust, I use a grater and butter RIGHT out of the fridge. Also, I place the butter in the freezer while I prepare the remaining ingredients. 

I managed to snap a few photos along the prep stages and then a lick your screen worthy photo of the scones from the inside. Delicious! 

Here's the recipe and the photo tutorial follows...

Ham and Cheese Scones

adapted from: CookingLight

Makes 1 dozen scones

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoon fresh Basil
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, grated
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup small ham cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs whites

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º and line baking sheets with parchment paper

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and basil in a large bowl.
2. Add butter and blend with a pasty blender or a fork until well blended (see photo).
3. Add ham and cheese, mix with fork.
4. Combine buttermilk and egg whites, whisk well. Add to pastry mix and stir just until combined.
5. Turn dough onto a floured surface. The dough will be sticky, but no worries. It's supposed to be. Don't go crazy flouring it.
6. Form into a rectangle and cut in half and then into 12 triangles.
7. Place on prepared baking sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
8. Serve warm.

Whisk dry ingredients and basil.

Blend in that COLD butter.

Blend in the cheese. YUM!

Mix in the ham cubes.

Combine the buttermilk and egg whites with a whisk. Combine them with the dry ingredients and mix just until moist.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and shape into a rectangle.

Cut dough in half and then into 12 triangles. I used a pizza cutter.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400º

Look at that delicious scone! 

Basic French Toast and Baked Bacon

BACON! 

Who doesn't just love bacon? If you don't, I'm sorry. Bacon has to be one of my favorite things to eat. I don't often eat it, we all know it's not so good for us, but when I do I feel like I'm in heaven. haha What's even better than just bacon? A hearty breakfast of Bacon and French Toast. Give me a bottle of real Maple Syrup and I'm gone. Lost in some other land called foodie heaven. Yum!

As much as I love bacon, I've always hated cooking it. There is, to me, no mess like a bacon grease mess. It gets everywhere, on everything, and cleaning it up is not what I want to do after a healthy serving of breakfast. So, I was pleasantly (I smiled from EAR TO EAR) when I saw someone share this baking bacon trick on Pinterest. I would have never thought. I'm glad someone had this genius idea. It's the easiest way to cook bacon, ever! And the cleanup...rolling up the foil, tossing it in the trash and a quick clean of the pan(s). I can deal with that. Not to mention, the bacon comes out almost perfectly flat. See below. 

I use a half sheet cake pan that I stopped using for cakes. It works perfect.

Yum!

Go on, give it a go. The instructions are below.

In the case of breakfast this bacon needs a pairing. A simple French Toast is perfect! I usually just throw French Toast together, but I figured I'd write my basic recipe and share it. The French Toast pictured above was delicious but only in part to the mix it soaks in. For the first time I used Challah bread (thanks to my significant other for the brilliant idea) instead of Texas Toast. I will never go back to Texas Toast! The Challah bread is slightly sweet and a perfect consistency for French Toast. I recommend tracking it down (or making your own) for this breakfast dish. You won't be disappointed. 

Challah Bread. Look at that baby!

Both recipes are below. Enjoy!

Easy French Toast

Ingredients:

Challah Bread, sliced 3/4-1 inch thick

4 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

Butter

Maple Syrup

Directions:

1. In a medium shallow bowl combine, with a fork, all ingredients but the bread.

2. Soak the bread slices, flip it twice in the batter, one slice at a time.

3. Place 2-4 slices, depending on the size of pan, onto a buttered hot flat fry pan. 

4. Cook just a few minutes on each side until nice and golden brown.

5. Serve warm with butter and real maple syrup.

Baked Bacon

Items Needed:

1 pound bacon
large pan, or 2 9x13
aluminum foil

Directions:

Do NOT preheat oven.

1. Line pan(s) with aluminum foil.
2. Place bacon evenly in pan(s). There will be some overlapping, that's fine.
3. Place pan(s) in cool oven and heat to 400º for 15-20 minutes. *Keep a close eye on the bacon towards the end of cooking.
4. The result you will love! Flat, perfectly cooked bacon and little mess to clean up.

Apple Cranberry Muffin Tippy-Tops

Whether you have it set to music or an annoying sound I'm sure we all dread it just the same…the alarm clock. I especially hate it during these winter months. All I want to do is stay snuggled up in bed where it's warm. 

Since I can't do that all the time, I keep my mind in a happy place with coffee and treats to wake up to. It helps. There really is nothing better to wake up to than a nice hot, slightly sweet cappuccino and a spicy, slightly sweet breakfast on these winter days. If you can't tell, I don't like the cold. You think by this time in my life (I've grown up here in Indiana) that I'd be used to it by now. I'm not. I survive because I love my winter coat and scarf. haha Coffee in hand and I'm ready to tackle the day, most of the time. ;-)

To accompany my coffee I always have some kind of breakfast. These Apple Cranberry Muffin Tippy-Tops are a perfect accompaniment to coffee on a cold winter day. With their warm spice blend and toasty bits of apple and cranberry, they warm your soul and hands as you indulge. Just like the Banana Maple Muffin Tippy-Tops these are the perfect breakfast on the go. They also freeze well and pop in the toaster easily. 

Without further ado…

Apple Cranberry Muffin Tippy-Tops

adapted from: goodlifeeats.com

Makes: 24 tippy-tops

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old fashioned oats, heaping

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

3 teaspoons baking power 

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 heaping teaspoons cinnamon

3 dashes allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

4 eggs

2 cups buttermilk or substitute

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted and cooled

4 large GrannySmith apples, finely cut

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin top/whoopie pie pan.

2. In the bowl of a mixer whisk together the dry ingredients.

3. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk and butter.

4. Lightly mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold in the apples just until mixed in. 

5. Fold in the cranberries and pecans just until mixed in.

6. Spoon into pans evenly and bake 10-12 minutes.
7. Serve warm and enjoy!

Banana Maple Muffin Tippy-Tops

Breakfast on the go is how I roll. 

On my work days I'm usually up in plenty of time to enjoy coffee and breakfast, but I never do. For whatever reason I have my coffee but don't eat breakfast. I get lost online with email, Facebook, and YouTube instead of focusing on the most important meal of the day. So, I'm rushing last minute to grab breakfast on my way out the door. I usually end up with nothing in hand when I leave. One gets tired of toast, toaster pastries and the like. It was time to start brainstorming!

My first thought went to muffins because they are simple, delicious and easy to carry. One problem for driving, the crumbs. One night I was reaching in the cabinet for a pan to make din and saw the Whoopie Pie/Muffin Top pans (which I don't use for Whoopie Pies) I have. I had one of those Aha! moments! The next day I started searching for recipes for muffins. I knew I wanted Banana to be the focus and then I cam across this Banana Maple Muffin recipe. I knew it was love at first site. haha 

The recipe below is the one I came up with after the second time making them. The first batch turned out delicious, but they were a little tough. I decided I had to test the recipe with different alterations and then share it. They came out near perfect. The key the second time was how I folded the batter rather than mixing. I can't express enough how lightly you have to mix the batter. That is how you get the right texture in the final product. I also altered the amount of banana, I wanted just a little more flavor. A changed/added a few other ingredients as well. All resulting in a near perfect breakfast to go. 

I've included some step by step photos and then the recipe. Also, these work great from the freezer. I pop them in the toaster and off I go. They heat well in the microwave too, just a few seconds and they're good to go. 

Whoopie Pie/Muffin Top Pan

The finished batter.

Be sure to spread the batter out in each section.

Fresh from the oven!

Banana Maple Muffin Tippy-Tops

adapted from: bakingbites.com

Makes 20 tippy-tops

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 bananas, mashed

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 large egg

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup Real maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla

1/2 tsp maple flavoring

Directions:

Place oven rack in the center. Preheat over to 350º and grease pans. 

1. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a large bowl mash bananas. Once mashed add the remaining ingredients and whisk until mixed. 

3. In three batches lightly FOLD in the flour mixture. Do NOT over mix. It's ok if there is still a few streaks of the flour mixture. If you over mix the muffins will be tough. Fold, fold and fold.

4. Scoop a few tablespoon of batter in each section of the pan, flattening to cover the whole section. 

5. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

[Printable Recipe]

My first attempt at...donuts!

My first attempt at making donuts with this new donut maker I got for Christmas. The recipe wasn't great but they do taste alright. Liking the maker so I can't wait to try out another recipe!