Cupcakes & Muffins...Is there a Difference?

Ever wonder if there really is a difference? Cupcakes have generally become known as the "sweeter" of the two, with muffins generally being considered the "healthier" option.  Nowadays though, with the variety of recipes out there, I believe that's highly debatable.  :)

Regardless, these smaller descendants of the whole cake and loaf bread are almost always sure crowd pleasers; at least that's what I've found. And now with the invention of the mini muffin pans they are even smaller and much easier to eat. One could make do with just a napkin in most cases.

Pan liners are available in all sizes, shapes and colors these days so you can pretty much pour any recipe into a cupcake or muffin pan instead.  The adults like them because you can try a couple and not think you're actually eating a whole one ;) and the kids love them because well, anything that looks like a cupcake must be yummy junk food! I personally find them easy to make, serve and clean up.  ;)

Here are a few of my favorites...

I came across a cookbook called Cupcakes from the Cake Doctor at my daughters school book fair a few years ago. It has turned out to be a fabulous purchase for me - if for only one recipe.  Have you ever tried the Sugar Bowl Bakery's Brownies?  You know, the small, almost bite-sized morsels of yummy, chocolate fudge goodness.  :)

Now that your mouth is watering wouldn't you like to create them fresh and warm right at home?

In the following recipe, the Cupcake Doctor does just that. It's as close to the real thing as you can get. :)

Little Fudge Brownie Bites

 - Muffin Pan Liners

(or vegetable spray for the pans)

- 1 package (20oz) Brownie Mix

(Ghirardelli mix is great. If you use a different brand just add an extra 1/2 cup of chocolate chips)

- 1/3 cup Water

- 5 tablespoons Butter, melted

- 1 large Egg

- 1 teaspoon pure Vanilla Extract

- 1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill mini muffin pans with liners or lightly spray them.  Place brownies mix, water, butter, egg, vanilla, and chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine for 50 strokes, or until the batter is smooth. Scoop batter into each cup - about three quarters full. Place in oven.

Bake cupcakes until they puff up and edges are crisp but centers still soft, 12-14 minutes. Remove from pans and place on wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!   :) 



Fudge Brownie Bites

 

So, you'll quickly realize that I am a big fan of Trader Joe's.  :) 

A product that they have usually carried in the fall is the Pumpkin Muffin/Bread mix. However,  I think they're carrying it year round now. :)

It makes for a very easy quick muffin. In and out of the oven in less than 20 minutes.  You can't really beat that. If you're looking for a quick bite, make up the recipe on the box. I always add a handful of chopped nuts for an added touch; pecans or walnuts go well.

If you'd like to dress it up a Cream Cheese Frosting would be delicious.  :)

Pecan Pumpkin Muffins

And if you're looking for something on the savory and spicy note, another one of my easy creations is a Jalapeno Cornbread Muffin.

I use the Trader Joe's Cornbread Mix for starters.  To that I add the following ingredients in varying proportions depending on whom I'm baking for. If kids will be eating them too, I make a batch first without the Jalapenos.

Jalapeno Cornbread Muffin

1 Box Trader Joe's Cornbread Mix - follow directions on box

To that add:

Approx. 1/2 - 3/4 cup of Corn kernels
Approx. 1/2 - 3/4 cup of Mexican Blend Cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup of Chopped Jalapenos - depending on how spicy you would like it

It's quite a forgiving batter so if you prefer it a little more of any it's not going to hurt.
Mix it all up. Pour into lined or unlined but, greased muffin pans.  You could always bake it in an 8x8 greased pan as well, if you are baking in an 8x8 follow directions on box.

For Mini Muffins for: approx. 12-14 minutes
For Muffins for: approx. 15-18 minutes

Let it cool and enjoy!

After a loong weekend...

Don't you ever feel like you need a vacation after a vacation? I almost always do, no matter where we've been or how many days it's been. :)  

Our family headed out to the snow, our now yearly endeavor which in the past has included a failed attempt at us trying to get our child into the winter sport of skiing!  It hasn't gone well and this time, we all but gave up.  We decided to keep things easy (for everyone!) and just go hang out in the snow and have some fun tubing and sledding. We were happy to have friends come along with us and my kid thoroughly enjoyed their company.  :)

Now that I'm back though, gotta head back into the kitchen.  You may envision a little bit of feet dragging into that if you would like.  :o)  After all, the name of my blog infers baking and not daily cooking. ;-)

For starters, I've got the "Hotel Breakfast" to compete with.  ;-)  It always happens. Since my daughter was born we've found it easier to eat in the hotel and get the morning meal over with; that way everyone starts off happy, rather than hungry and miserable, trying to find somewhere else to eat. And now over the years it's become a tradition.

This time my daughter openly exclaimed that she would be more than happy to live in hotels all the time where she could always have so many fun things to chose from. Lovely, I would be more than happy too I'm thinking... we could be traveling the world while we're at it.  Which brings my thoughts to why she likes things there and how come when we can have pretty much all the same things at home, it's just not as fun and exciting. 

Um...it must be the patterns on the servingware! ;)

Here's to our love of hotels, others making the bed for you and happy times eating a breakfast fit for champions! :)

If you like Brownies...

The most Red Heart, Red Flower, Red Everything day of the year has passed yet again.  Hope you enjoyed it with your loved ones. :)


And another fun weekend for my family; filled with reminders from my daughter that we were signed up to take brownies for her class party and a couple of get-togethers with friends and family.

So, with brownies on my mind, I set out to find a new recipe to try.  As I went through several of my cookbooks looking for that something new and interesting to jump out at me, I came across a recipe for an Oatmeal Brownie.  You may be thinking to yourself, who in their right mind puts oats and brownies together?! Um...apparently the folks at Betty Crocker and me! ;)

Since Oatmeal Walnut Raisin cookies and Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip cookies are always a hit, I thought this layered brownie recipe sounded interesting (oatmeal is healthy, right?) and figured this would be easy to do as well.  My helper :) chopped up some pecans so we added them to the reserved portion of the topping as well. Feel free to omit nuts or use a different one, walnuts or hazelnuts would be nice too.

The recipe that follows is my version, simplified and modified from the original.

Here's what they looked like:

Oatmeal Fudge Layered Brownie

For the crust and topping:

2 1/2 cups Quick Cooking or Regular Oats

3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

3/4 cup Butter, melted

1 cup Pecans, roughly chopped

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9x2 baking pan (or line it with aluminum foil for easy clean up). Mix oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking soda; stir in margarine/butter. Keep aside about 3/4 cup of the oat mixture (and if using, add the nuts to this) to use as the topping. Press the remaining oat mixture into the pan. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes and allow it to cool for 5 minutes.

For the Brownie: 

1 box Ghirardelli Fudge Brownie Mix

(follow directions on box)

Here's a tip.  Ghirardelli Fudge Brownie mix is the bomb!   Although I have tried my hand at making brownies from scratch, there is just some thing about this mix that beats all others.  It is very moist and fudge-like and it's hard to match. So, when I'm in a pinch (and even some times when I'm not) I use this mix.  :)

To assemble the Brownies:  After you have made up the brownie mix according to the box, pour the batter over the baked oatmeal crust. Spread it around and make sure it goes over the entire crust. Top the batter with the reserved oatmeal topping mixture, spreading evenly across.  Put it in the preheated oven to bake for approximately 35 minutes. The top should be a golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. 

Once it's cool, cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.

It makes enough for a crowd and travels well.  Enjoy!

Old Recipe...New Twist?

I was always under the impression that I am the only one in my house who is constantly on the lookout and "listen-out" (is that a word??) for new recipe ideas. Apparently, I learnt this past weekend, that in fact is not the case. ;)

My hubby came home and told me that a colleague at work was telling him about a recipe (who knew techie guys discussed food!?) ;)  and that reminded him of another recipe and how would that taste if we changed it up? I'm in!!

We took his usual staple of Egg Bhurji (which is like an Indianized version of extremely scrambled eggs) to Tofu Bhurji (substituting tofu for the eggs).

So, with my 7 year old "kitchen helper-in-training" we set out to try this new recipe for ourselves. She chopped all the tofu into the tiny pieces, while I cut up the rest. :)

Here's our recipe for approximately 1 person. 

We finely chopped (totally the key to type of recipe) to start:

approx. 1/4 of the Tofu block
half a large onion
half a large tomato
half a green bell pepper

a little bit of olive oil
Salt, to taste
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp.- to taste
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp. - to taste
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp. - to taste
Turmeric - just a pinch

First, saute the onions, when they are almost done, add the bell peppers, and after some time the tomatoes. After they all fry together a bit, add the salt.  After the tomatoes let out some water, add the chopped tofu. As you mix everything together the tofu will become crumbly. Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric. Keep stirring until everything gets mixed together. Once all the ingredients have come together and the tofu is a looking cooked through, your dish is done. It should look something like this. :)   Good Luck!

Tofu Bhurji

Substitutions:

Red Chili Powder - Finely Chopped Green Chilies
Tofu - Eggs
Tofu - Paneer

Blueberries....

Yeah! I finally got to the blueberries in the fridge! We tried to eat them raw (really we did :-)) but, they were just too tart for us. So, I figured it was my best chance to try some thing new.  We recently went to Hobee's for lunch and got a piece of their famous Blueberry Coffee Cake. I felt that it had tasted better in the past and was a little too dry for my liking now. So...what better time to try to create a moister cake than now. :)

I found a recipe on the Food Network site - one of my favorite go-to places. The ratings were great and I learnt a lot from several of the reviewers who left tips after trying it themselves - including adding a Streusel Topping (that was from Emeril's). It baked up nicely, was moist and not too sweet or tart. It's definitely a party sized cake and would make great muffins too!  My daughter didn't care much for the blueberries but, enjoyed the "cake" part.  She asked if maybe we could put some thing else in their place...that's my girl, I thought. ;-)  Maybe we'll try it with chocolate!

Blueberry Streusel Cake

Yikes! January's gone...

But...I'm back, after a few busy weeks which included sick kid, sick me, trip to visit my folks (who are all in Texas now), getting together with friends and remembering old times...it's time to get back in motion. 

February is here! It's still quite cold (Hello? What happened to my beautiful California weather??) and so hot cups of coffee/tea and cozy days at home are much more inviting.  :)

As many of my near and dear know, a hobby I've had for some time now is baking; hence the title of this blog.  Here's the full deal on it, in case you're wondering... it's a combination of the Wii Mii my daughter made for me some time ago, she calls me "Baker Mom" and her love for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series!  ;-)

Voila!       There we have it....   "Diary of a Baker Mom"  is born!

So, baking and I have had a long standing relationship.  I've always found it to be fun and it's a wonderful stress reliever for me too.  :)  I have many memories of my mom saying "It's finals time but, you can find Subha making brownies for her friends" - amongst other things. ;-)  I'm not really picky about what type of treat it is and am happy to try new things from scratch as well as semi-homemade.

If you're new to baking and creating and don't know what I mean by "semi-homemade," no worries.  Basically it means using a mix or other prepared ingredients as a base and then adding and incorporating other ingredients to complete the recipe. A simple example would be: purchasing brownie mix, following the directions on the box but, adding nuts or more chocolate chips to the batter before baking. :)

So, happy baking and creating from me to you.  :) 

Here's what I've made recently... Caramel Pecan Cheesecake, Rice Krispie Treats and Zucchini Bread (which is a yummy recipe from a friend of mine, Thanks Jen K.). Now to attack the blueberries I still have in my fridge!!

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Rice Krispie Treat

Hope you'll try some thing new too! :)

Until next time...