Maple Pecan Sweet Potato Muffins

Ever had a sweet potato muffin? Quite tasty. I loved the way they turned out – velvety, moist, crisp, buttery topping – I think you might like them too. I posted two recipes here – one is the original, the other one is my adjusted healthy version.

Maple Pecan Sweet Potato Muffins (Original recipe)

Rustic Maple Pecan Streusel (recipe below)

1 cup mashed sweet potato

2 2/3 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. allspice

2/3 cup sour cream

3 T. pure maple extract

3/4 tsp. imitation maple extract

3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) butter, slightly firm

1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. Prepare the streusel and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

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

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, maple syrup, maple extract, and vanilla. Set aside.

4. Mix butter with an electric mixer; add lemon zest and mix until lightened in color. Add sugars, little by little. Add the eggs, one at a time. Blend in the sweet potato.

5. Reduce the speed to low, add one-third of the dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Add sour cream mixture. Add the remaining dry ingredients.

6. Divide the batter into greased muffin pans (20 cups). Gently press a handful of streusel onto the surface of each muffin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the streusel is golden brown.

Yield: 20 muffins

Tip: For the pureed sweet potato, bake a sweet potato until very soft. Skin and puree in a food processor. Keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use.

Maple Pecan Sweet Potato Muffins (Healthy version)

Rustic Maple Pecan Streusel (below)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 T. cornstarch

3 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. allspice

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup honey

2 large eggs

1 cup pureed sweet potato

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 cup milk or soy milk

1. Prepare streusel, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and grease 20 muffins cups.

2. Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and allspice in a small bowl.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and honey together. Add eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk in milk and sweet potatoes.

4. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined. Spoon into greased muffin cups. Top with streusel topping.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until muffin tests done.

Yield: 20 muffins

7 T. melted butter

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour*

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. maple extract

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup toasted broken pecans

Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and pecans. Add butter and maple extract. Stir until combined.

*If you want to make these muffins wheat-free, just replace the flour with barley, spelt, and/or oat flour. You’ll never know the difference!

Hope you enjoy these!

~Rachel~

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays: Speeding up spices

We frequently make a delicious beef sausage using a delicious combination of spices. There’s one problem, though. It takes a fair amount of time to measure out all the spices every time. Here’s a tip that makes it (or any spice combination that you use a lot) really quick:

Combine a large batch of all the spices to have on hand for when you need them.

We started doing this with our sausage spices, and now all we have to do is grab our little container and add 1 T. per pound to the beef. How handy! We think so, anyway.

Beef Sausage

1 tsp. sage

1/4 tsp. marjoram

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. salt

Combine the spices. Sprinkle over 1 pound of raw hamburger. Mix well. Refrigerate for 2 or more hours; cook, stir, and draink. Keep in the freezer.

Multiply this recipe times 3, 4, 5, or 6 (or more!) and keep a batch in the cupboard.

You can use this sausage in eggs, on pizzas, in casseroles, or any other recipe that calls for pork sausage!

Visit Tammy’s Recipes for Kitchen Tip Tuesdays!

~Rachel~

Raspberry Buttermilk Muffins with Streusel Topping

They’re good. Really good. I adapted the recipe from my favorite cookbook (see below!), and made it healthier, but you can’t tell!

Raspberry Buttermilk Muffins with Streusel Topping

1 3/4 cups flour (if using whole wheat, replace a few tablespoons of flour with cornstarch)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon zest

1/3 cup honey

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 heaping cup raspberries, fresh or frozen

Streusel:

4 1/2 T. butter, melted

3/4 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Place it inside another muffin pan to create a burn-resistant pan.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a smal bowl.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter, honey, and lemon zest. Add egg, vanilla, sour cream, and buttermilk.

4. Stir in flour until just moistened. Fold in raspberries.

5. In a separate bowl, combine streusel ingredients, adding more flour if necessary.

6. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Top with streusel.

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until muffins test done.

Yield: 12 muffins

The original recipe called for blueberries, so that would be good too!

Enjoy!

~rachel sue~

Black and White Pound Cake

This is a great one from my favorite cookbook (see below!). It has a wonderful (a little unique) flavor and a velvety texture.

Black and White Pound Cake

1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

1/3 cup hot water

3 T. cocoa

1 T. light corn syrup

4 cups cake flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened

1/4 cup oil

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Thoroughly grease a 10-inch angel food cake pan.

2. Combine chocolate, hot water, cocoa, and corn syrup in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until chocolate is just melted. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt

4. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Blend in the milk and vanilla.

5. Beat the butter in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the oil. Slowly add the sugar. Beat until well-blended.

6. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the egg mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until well-blended.

7. Remove a generous 2 cups of the batter. Add the baking soda to the chocolate mixture; then add the chocolate mixture to the reserved two cups of batter, gently folding together.

8. Using two large clean spoons, alternately place large spoonfuls of the chocolate and vanilla batters in the prepared pan, carefully spreading the flavors to they touch. Make a second layer of batter, this time placing spoonfuls of vanilla batter on the chocolate and the chocolate batter on the vanilla. Repeat, alternately the flavors, making 3-4 layers. Insert a kitchen knife into the batter starting about 1 inch from the funnel and circle the pan 2-3 times. Do not overwork. Firmly tap the pan two or three times on the counter to level batter.

9. Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven; shake vigorously (this will loosen the sides and bottom). Let cool for 20-30 minutes. Invert before serving. Yield: 16-20 servings

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake

What do you think about pumpkin and chocolate – together? It’s delicious. Here’s a recipe for a cake I made the other day, adapted from this one, which I also made a little healthier and wheat-free. Here ’tis.

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour*

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9×13″ pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter, honey, and sugar. Add eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla; blend well.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.

4. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

5. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 65-70 until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, top with glaze while still warm.

Apple Spice Glaze

3 T. butter

3 T. apple juice

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Dash cinnamon

Powdered sugar

In a small bowl, cream butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and a little powdered sugar. Add apple juice. Continue to add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Spread on warm cake.

Yield: 12-16 servings

*if you want to make this cake wheat-free, use barley, spelt, and/or oat flour. If you are making it wheat-free or whole wheat, replace a few tablespoons of the flour with cornstarch for a lighter batter.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Sound good? A combination of ideas and recipes brought me to this lovely cup of pumpkin spice latte. Let’s see if I can write down the recipe, in case you want to make it too!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

2-3 tsp. instant coffee granules

1-2 T. hot water

1 T. pureed pumpkin

Sugar to taste

1/8-1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves)

3/4-1 cup milk

Dissolve coffee granules in hot water in your favorite mug. Stir in pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and sugar to taste. Add milk; mix until smooth. Microwave until hot and creamy. Enjoy! Yield: 1 serving

Pumpkin Pie Squares

These are almost better than pumpkin pie! We think they taste like fall, but one of my brothers said he didn’t mind when we made them. =)

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Crust:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup butter, softened

Filling:

1 (15-oz.) can solid-pack pumpkin

1 (11-oz.) can evaporated milk

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Topping:

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 T. butter, softened

1. Combine flour, oats, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup butter; mix until crumbly. Press into ungreased 13×9-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

2. Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in bowl; blend well. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

3. Combine pecans, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 T. butter; sprinkle over pumpkin filling. Return to oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until filling is set (may be a little jiggly). Cool in pan on rack and cut in 2-inch squares. Yield: 2 dozen squares

This recipe also came from Farm Journal’s Best-Ever Recipes cookbook. Enjoy!

Do you have any REALLY GOOD pumpkin recipes you’d like to share? I’d love to post them! Just leave them in a comment or e-mail me at seamstressrach@gmail.com. Thanks!

~Rachel~

This is a multiple-choice poll, so pick all your favorites! =)

A Favorite

I got this for my birthday from www.ecookbooks.com, and it’s one of my favorite cookbooks now! You see, it’s kind of a tradition for me to make some special muffins or a yummy coffee cake on Sunday mornings, and this cookbook is perfect! Everything that I’ve tried from it we’ve really, really liked!

In a mood for Banana Date Muffins or Chocolate Chocolate Streusel Squares, anyone?

What are some of your favorite cookbooks?

Gingerbread Deluxe

I don’t think I’ve met anybody who didn’t like gingerbread; it’s a family favorite for us. And this is an amazing recipe.

You can tell we’ve used this page a lot.

Gingerbread Deluxe

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 cup shortening

2/3 cup sugar (or 1/3-1/2 cup honey)

2 eggs

2/3 cup molasses

3/4 cup boiling water

Whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square pan.

2. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

3. Cream together shortening and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy at medium speed of electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in molasses.

4. Add dry ingredients, little by little beating at low speed. Add water; beat until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan on rack until just warm. Serve topped with whipped cream. Yield: 9 servings

This recipe came from the Farm Journal’s Best-Ever Recipes cookbook.

~Rachel~

What’s one of your family’s absolute favorite recipes? I’d love to have the recipe, too! Just leave it in your comment. Thanks!

Pizza Stromboli

Ever had a stromboli? It’s like a pizza roll. We tried making our first one today….and….it was delicious! Think of other fillings to stuff it with, like ham, pepperoni, deli meats, provolone cheese, cheddar cheese, taco meat, broccoli….and the list can go on and on.

Pizza Stromboli

2 T. yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)

1/3 cup honey

2 T. milk powder

5 cups whole wheat flour

2 T. cornstarch

3 T. vital wheat gluten, optional

4 tsp. Italian seasonings

2 tsp. salt

1 (14-oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (6-0z.) can tomato paste

Italian seasonings

Italian sausage, bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions, olives, fresh spinach, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

In a large bowl, whisk yeast, water, honey, and milk powder until yeast is dissolved. Add 1-2 cups flour, cornstarch, wheat gluten, seasonings, and salt. Continue to add flour until it pulls away from the sides and forms a moist dough. Knead until gluten is developed (you can stretch a little dough a long ways without it tearing). Let rest.

In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce and tomato paste. Add Italian seasonings to taste.

Roll out half the dough into a 12×18 rectangle. Spread with half of sauce; sprinkle with half of toppings and cheese. Fold edges in, roll up jelly-roll style. Place on a greased cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Brush stromboli with beaten egg; sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Repeat with other half of dough and toppings.

Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until stromboli is golden brown. Cut with a serrarated knife to serve. Yield: 2 strombolis (10-12 slices each)