Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Last year, I managed to bake 9 dozen cupcakes in less than a month. This inspired a sort of unofficial mantra, "Every occasion is an occasion to bake." A month later found me singing a slightly different tune while baking 10 dozen cupcakes in one night (this time there was an actual event in need of dessert...), but I'm still great at seizing every opportunity to bust out a muffin tin.

 This week, I decided to opt for a muffin instead of my customary cupcakes. After deciding on cinnamon as the spice of choice, I spotted some green apples and decided to go a traditional route.

To keep the muffins from being too plain, I made a quick brown sugar and cinnamon topping. This slightly caramelized in the oven, giving the final product a sweet, crunchy top.

As for excuses to bake, I decided to whip up this batch of apple cinnamon muffins on Thursday. Flash forward to Friday afternoon, and they've all been given away or eaten. How do I interpret this? Only as another reason to bring out the muffin tin again...

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup milk
1 cup finely chopped apples

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and melted butter. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just until mixed. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk, stirring just until mixed (do not over mix). Fold in the apples, then spoon batter into muffin liners. Bake 18-23 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

No visit home is complete without a bit of baking. Thanksgiving of course necessitated making four pies Thursday morning, but I also had the chance to do some experimental baking. The latest creation: a peppermint white chocolate chip cookie.

The peppermint was a last minute decision, but is definitely perfect for the upcoming holiday season (yes, now that Thanksgiving has passed it is officially the holiday season). I used Andes Peppermint Chips, but you could also coarsely chop white chocolate peppermint bark (click the image for a recipe). Alternatively, you could also easily use white and milk chocolate chips and add half a teaspoon of peppermint extract to the dough instead. The recipe I used is after the jump. Welcome to holiday baking season!

Brownies... in a Muffin Pan

Today I decided to bake as a study break. I wanted to make brownies, but with the portability of cupcakes. Solution? Baking brownie batter in a muffin tin. It turned out better than I expected.

I halved the recommended baking time and checked at two minute intervals until the brownies were finished. I liked how easy it was to take the brownies out of the pan (sometimes cutting them evenly without crumbling the pieces is a pain). Plus, the wrappers made it easy to share the final product. I think I'll be doing this often in the future.

How gorgeous are these cupcake wrappers? I'm not sure that you can bake cupcakes in them... it looks like they're wrapped around the final product as part of the presentation. I love all things lace-like, and these wrappers would be a dainty addition to a birthday celebration or springtime fete. Happy baking!

Poptarts-on-a-Stick

Poptarts are a college culinary convenience. For those morning lectures when twenty extra minutes of sleep is much more appealing that a nutritious breakfast, they provided a much needed A.M. sugar influx.

Poptarts-on-a-Stick? Simply genius.

They're a perfect mix of kitsch and cute. With fresh cherries, they're much more delicious than your typical breakfast pastry, but the prepared pie crust makes them functionally easy to make.

The recipe's below the jump.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Pecan Frosting

In celebration of the weekend, I made cupcakes this afternoon (because all occasions are suitable for baking).

The base is a vanilla cupcake that's oddly reminiscent of a sugar cookie and the frosting is chocolate with pecans sprinkled on top for an extra bit of crunch/presentation.

They're completely made from scratch, which while somewhat impractical, makes for a delicious taste.

Of course, after baking I commenced a grand photo shoot to capture them in all their glory before my brothers discovered (and devoured) them. My favorites after the jump.