Jumbo Banana Muffins with Caramel Frosting

I know, I know.. another muffin recipe. Well tough ! I am telling you, muffins are a staple around here so expect the recipes to keep coming. And whatever you do, try the recipes! You won't regret it in the least.

Muffins are so versatile and my new best friend. I pack them in the kids lunches, have batches ready for breakfast and the kids devour them as after-school snacks. They are so easy to whip up too. And easy is what I am looking for at 6 am in the morning when I am making a batch for breakfast during the work week!

This recipe comes from fellow foodie blogger Mary at One Perfect Bite. Mary always has incredible recipes and I follow her blog religiously. I saw these banana muffins on her site and had to make them. What struck me as I went through the recipe is the lack of spices. Usually banana baked goods are paired with cinnamon and nutmeg. Not these. These are banana only all the way. Was Mary right in her decision to leave out the spices? Absolutely! The banana taste comes through beautifully without being "hampered" by any add-ins. Instead, it is complemented incredibly well with the caramel frosting.

I drizzled the frosting onto these guys but I think dipping the tops into the frosting would work really well too. The frosting hardens slightly as it sets which reminds me of a caramel glaze we love so much on donuts.

Are these muffins really jumbo? Holy smokes, are they ever! I was nervous when I popped them into the oven. You see I had a jumbo muffin tin but only regular liners. By the time I had filled the muffin tins with batter, the batter was far, and I mean FAR, over the rim of my little liners. I was sure I would have baked mess when they were done. But did it screw things up? Not at all. Check out the photos. That is one rocking muffin top !

The kids ADORED these. They brought some to school and surprisingly their popularity increased yet again. Hey, you have to do what you have to do, right?

So are you ready? Let's get baking !


RECIPE:
*source recipe: Banana Muffins, One Perfect Bite

WHAT YOU NEED

MUFFINS

1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon

FROSTING

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon 2% milk
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 6 jumbo muffin cups with liners
IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER fitted with paddle attachment, cream shortening and sugar on HIGH speed for 2- 3 minutes
ADD egg and beat thoroughly
ADD mashed banana and vanilla extract blending just until combined
IN SMALL BOWL, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt
ON LOW SPEED add dry ingredients to wet mixing only until combined
DIVIDE BATTER evenly between muffin cups
BAKE for 23-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. I needed the full 28 minutes
LET COOL in pan 5 minutes then transfer muffins to cooling rack

MAKE FROSTING

IN SMALL SAUCEPAN, melt butter over MED heat
WHISK in sugar and cream
CONTINUE whisking until mixture starts to take on a light brown color and comes to a rolling boil
REMOVE from heat and rapidly whisk in icing sugar. Keep whisking until all lumps are removed
LET cool slightly
DIP MUFFIN tops into glaze or drizzle over muffins (use a spoon or a ziploc bag with the corner cut off)

ENJOY !


Also seen here:

Chocolate Butterscotch Halloween Cupcakes

I know - it's still September but I think it is time for some Halloween treats, don't you? Besides, there is meaning to my madness in posting these lovelies even though Halloween is a little over a month away. That is because giveaway time is fast approaching. Stay tuned to see my post this coming Saturday for a Halloween themed giveaway here at Lemon Drop!

In addition to my desire to make Halloween inspired treats and the upcoming giveaway, it is also Wednesday in our household and Wednesday is dessert night. It is not just any normal dessert night either but gluten-free dessert night. My son is on a gluten free diet . Why? Well he definitely has food sensitivities to wheat. No question about it. Plus, he is autistic and a gluten-free diet (dairy too but that doesn't seem to be an issue for him) is high up on the list of strategies many use to help manage the disorder. Honestly, I am still on the fence with the latter but it can't hurt! As a result, all of my baked goodies that he enjoys must be gluten-free.

His favorite type of dessert? You guessed it : Cupcakes! And that is why I am here today posting my recipe for Chocolate Butterscotch Cupcakes. Ok, it is not really my recipe but rather an adapted one by Elana Amsterdam. Her recipe was for triple chocolate cakes of sheer delight. I swapped out the dark and white chocolate additions for butterscotch. I also made a few more changes to the base recipe as I went along. My frosting is my beloved buttercream recipe but this time it is tinted brightly with orange icing gel. Then topped off with Halloween sprinkles !

If you like the sprinkles then be sure to pick up Wilton's new Halloween Test Tube Sprinkles pack.


For the liners I once again tested out Reynold's new StayBrite liners and again, true to their word, they stayed bright and vibrant.

I frosted these with a 1M Wilton Swirl tip but feel free to use any tip you want. The french tip is also quite nice.

No almond flour in these this time around. Instead the dry base is a mixture of coconut flour, deep dark cocoa powder, some salt and baking soda. The sweetness comes from honey and the moisture comes from 3 eggs (and yes, the honey too of course). Some people worry that the flavor of coconut will come through. Trust me it doesn't. Plus a little bit of coconut flour goes a long way. This type of flour is very "thirsty" so you only need a small amount. This recipe only calls for 1/4 cup and believe me, that is all you need.

These are rich and luscious. The recipe only makes 9 cupcakes so if you want more then go ahead and double up the ingredients.

Don't worry about the batter being runny. It will bake up nice and fluffy. Just fill the cups 3/4 full with batter and bake away.

So without further delay, let's get baking !




RECIPE:
*adapted source recipe for cupcakes only: Triple Chocolate Cupcakes, Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam

WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKES

1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, that darker the better
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey (or agave nectar)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup butterscotch chips

FROSTING

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons whipping cream
orange coloring gel

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 9 muffin cups with liners

IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together first 4 ingredients
IN MEDIUM BOWL, thoroughly whisk together honey and eggs
ADD WET INGREDIENTS TO DRY INGREDIENTS and whisk well until fully blended
FOLD in chocolate chips
DIVIDE batter between muffin cups filling each one 3/4 full
BAKE 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

MAKE FROSTING

IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER FITTED WITH PADDLE. beat butter on HIGH speed for 2 minutes
ADD sifted sugar and continue beating until it starts to come together
ADD vanilla and cream
BEAT on HIGH speed for 5 minutes
ADD a little bit of coloring at a time, combining after each addition, until desired color is reached
PIPE frosting onto cooled cupcakes
TOP with spinkles

ENJOY !

Also seen here:

Apple Cider Baked Donuts

I am not purposefully following an apple theme but given the season, tis the flavor to enjoy ! These donuts are baked , not deep fried. They are flavored with cinnamon, apple butter and apple cider. I didn't bother glazing these but instead sprinkled them with some sugar before baking. If you want to glaze them then I recommend blending together some powdered sugar and a bit of apple cider until you get a nice smooth consistency. Dip the donuts in the glaze and let them sit on a cooling rack as the glaze sets (5 minutes is usually all it takes).

I used cinnamon as the spice but next time I would consider apple pie spice. I just didn't have any handy at the time.

This is the first time I have ever cooked with apple butter. I have seen it all bottled up in gorgeous little jars for years but never ventured to purchase one. I honestly didn't know what it really was and it never seemed that appealing to me. Oh , what I have missed ! Dark, fruity, rich and smooth. Can you imagine that spread on a hot scone or a french toast? OMG, I can only imagine the joy I would feel !!!

So if you want to save yourself messing with hot oil but have a donut craving then try this recipe. These are filled with fall flavors and totally dunkable !

These are incredible served warm and fresh from the oven

RECIPE:
* adapted source recipe: Apple Cider Doughnuts, Dianna's Desserts

WHAT YOU NEED

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or 1 tsp of Saigon cinnamon as it is a much stronger flavor)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup full-fat sour cream

Sugar for sprinkling on donuts prior to baking

WHAT YOU NEED

SPRAY a mini or regular sized donut pan with co0king spray
PREHEAT oven to 400F

IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together first 5 ingredients
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together remaining ingredients
FOLD dry ingredients into wet ingredients blending just until combined
FILL piping bag, fitted with large round open tip, with batter
PIPE into donut pan cavities
SPRINKLE tops with sugar
BAKE 10 minutes
RUN a knife around edges of donuts and flip out onto a cooling rack

You should have enough batter to make at least 12 regular sized donuts

ENJOY !



Also seen here:

Applesauce Spice Muffins

The work / school week started off with muffins and ended with muffins. We kicked off Monday with deep, dark and delicious Double Chocolate muffins and welcomed in Friday with the flavors of fall. These glorious little cakes are moist with applesauce and spiced with the flavors of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.

A wonderful way to ensure a moist crumb is to use applesauce whenever you can. There isn't a hint of dryness in these little babies! Plus, the apple flavor is truly heightened with the addition of all those "apple pie" spices we have loved since childhood.

I made these at 6 AM today and they were ready in 1/2 hour. So by my math, the prep time took no more than 10 minutes and they were baked to perfection in 20 minutes. To save yourself cleanup time, line your muffin cups with liners. These are parchment fluted liners but any muffin liner will work well. I love the parchment liners because they peel off so easily and are a nice change visually as well.

For this recipe, use unsweetened applesauce only. The sugar adds the required sweetness. I used a finer ground turbinado sugar for the batter and a coarse turbinado sugar for the topping. If you prefer, use a light brown sugar in the batter at a 1:1 ratio. The taste will pretty much be the same. Do not use white sugar. You will lose so much flavor if you go that route.

I like the texture and flavor of this brand
but any sugar free applesauce should do the trick

So are you ready? Let's get baking !

RECIPE:
*altered source recipe: Applesauce Spice Muffins, Epicurious.com

WHAT YOU NEED

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup turbinado sugar (not coarse ground)
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

coarse turbinado sugar and cinnamon for topping

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 400F
LINE 12 muffin cups with paper liners

IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together first 7 ingredients
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together eggs and sugar
ADD butter and applesauce to egg mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined
FOLD wet ingredients into dry ingredients blending just until combined

USING your ice cream scoop, add one scoop of batter to each muffin cup
SPRINKLE tops with turbinado sugar and ground cinnamon
BAKE 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

REMOVE immediately from muffin tray and place muffins on cooling rack

SUPERB WARM AND FRESH FROM THE OVEN !


Also seen here: