Mmmm.....Muffins!

We are known for our muffins. Guests talk about them in social media, write online reviews about them, and ask if we're serving them for breakfast when they check in. Our guests debate which is the best flavor and are pretty adamant about which one gets their vote.

Yes, Greg bakes them fresh each and every morning. He times it so they come out as close as possible to 8:30 am so they are perfectly warm for breakfast service. And if you do have a favorite, let us know so we can make sure we have one set aside just for you.

We get asked for the recipe all the time, so here it is:

Ingredients:
2 c white flour
1 Tbs baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp xantham gum (optional)
2 Tbs white sugar
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 c milk
¼ c melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, xantham gum, sugars in large bowl. Add egg, milk and butter, stirring enough to dampen flour mixture. Batter will not be smooth and do not overbeat. Spoon into muffin pans (or paper muffin cups), filing each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

And here is the "secret" to how we make a variety of flavored muffins each and every morning....we divide the batter up into how ever many flavors we're going to make (it's usually at least 4) and then you just add whatever you want - chocolate chips; chocolate chips and cocoa powder (for double chocolate); chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and coffee (for double mocha); chopped apples; pecans; walnuts; dried cranberries; orange zest; lemon zest with poppy seeds; blueberries - the possibilities are endless.

Notes: Muffins do not hold well and are best eaten immediately after baking. The xantham gum will help them stay moist for a few hours after baking; otherwise they tend to dry out and get chewy. Xantham gum is usually available in stores that carry gluten free items. I don’t know if it comes in other forms, but we used powdered.

"B" is for Banana Bread

We're continuing on our mission of making weekly treats for the Pre-K class at one of our local schools and blogging out our recipes. Each week the class studies a letter of the alphabet, so for "B" week, Greg made banana bread muffins. This is a very easy recipe to make, but not my personal favorite when it comes to banana bread.

Here is the recipe we made for the students:

Ingredients for Banana Bread

Ingredients:
3 over-ripe bananas, cut into slices
6 Tbs butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda



Directions:

Butter & sugar with bananas.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add in sliced bananas and whip in electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla and salt and mix. Add one egg at a time and mix until each is incorporated. Add flour and baking soda and mix together. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes for mini muffins; 15 minutes for full size muffins.





Here's the recipe I prefer to use when making banana bread. It's not as simple and requires a lot more bowls, but I think the muffins are much lighter and more moist. And if you really want to jazz them up, toss in a handful of chocolate chips for Chocolate Banana Nut Bread.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
2 cup flour
2 large bananas mashed
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 egg whites
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Cream together butter and sugar. Add yolks, salt and mix. Add flour and mix. In separate bowl, mash bananas with baking soda. In another bowl, whisk egg whites to stiff peak. Add bananas to flour mixture and mix until blended. Fold in egg whites. Do not over mix, but you do want to make sure you don't have any streaks of egg white. At this point, add nuts or chocolate chips if desired. Fill pans about 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees until dark brown - about 20 minutes if making loaves, and 10 minutes if making mini muffins. If you make loaves, the bread freezes well and you can defrost overnight. You can toast lightly and smear with a little butter - makes this person who really doesn't like bananas, like banana bread.

Try out the recipes and let us know which one you prefer.