Pink Cranberry Muffins...For A Cause

I heart pink.

And creating something pink that's for a good cause?...Well, that's even better.

The Beantown Baker is hosting the 5th Annual Power of Pink Challenge in which she is encouraging readers, bakers and bloggers everywhere to make something pink during the month of October to raise Breast Cancer Awareness.  Props to her! 

Breast Cancer has shown its ugly face in a few close family members of mine and, sadly, even taken a life.  So when I heard about this challenge I was on board.  

I knew immediately I had to use cranberries- they're starting to make their appearance this season and I was itching to break into a bag.  Instead of a traditional cranberry orange muffin, however, I chose to do a cranberry cranberry muffin (I subbed in cranberry juice for the orange) and added just a touch of pink food coloring to amp up the...pinkness.  The result: a tender, sugar-dusted sweet muffin with a dose of tart cranberries that pop in your mouth.  Yum.

If you are interested in participating in the Power of Pink Challenge, check out the Beantown Baker's Rules and get creative in the kitchen for a good cause!

Cranberry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3/4 cup cranberry juice

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/4 cup hot water

Pink food coloring (optional)

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

2 tablespoons sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In another small bowl, beat egg.  Add cranberry juice, butter, and hot water.  Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.  Add a touch of pink food coloring, if you choose, and mix until blended.  Fold in cranberries.

Divide batter among 12 greased or lined muffin cups.  Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon sugar over each muffin.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Adapted from AllRecipes*.

*I found and printed this recipe a couple of years ago and can no longer find the link on AllRecipes.

Bits and Bites

Yup, it's that time again.  Bits and Bites time- Fall Style.  Well...for the most part :)  Now I normally don't post on the weekends but my darling is out of town so I thought I would share some fun yumminess with you today!  (p.s. #11 is kinda important)

1.  French Apple Tart.  Lovely. 

2.  Two Ingredients Pumpkin Brownies.  Remember my love of the pumpkin-chocolate combo.  Yeah...this will satisfy that love.

3.  Pecan Pie Brownies.  And remember how I love pecan pie?  (because I know you read everything I say and don't just jump straight to the recipe...riiiight....?). 

4.  Pumpkin Seven Layer Magic Bars.  An autumn twist on the classic seven layer bar!

5.  Homemade Cobblestone Muffins.  Ever had one at Panera?  They're divine- a cross between a cinnamon roll and an apple fritter.  Now you can make them at home!  This could be dangerous.

6.  Black Licorice Cupcakes for Halloween!  These sound disgusting to me as I am a RED licorice fan and red only.  But I have to post this simply because my parents are OBSESSED with black licorice.  Obsessed as in eat it EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.  This one's for them :)

7.  Chocolate French Toast anyone?  Simply add cocoa powder!

8.  Or maybe you're in the mood for some Banana Bread French Toast with Peanut Butter Maple Syrup and Brown Sugar Whipped Cream.  WOW.  That's a mouthful- in more ways than one.

9.  What is a crumpet?  Ever wondered?  Now ya know.

10.  Smores Rice Krispie Treats.  Add it to my growing list of Must Make Krispie Treats. 

11.  So...I know you've read all the little treats and quips up to this point in the post (see #3) and you have been dying to know what is so important...well here it is:  my cousin has a blog!  I was so pumped this week to discover it!  (No literally.  Sometimes when I get really excited about something I come across on the internet I do this little dance in my chair.  I bounce up and down and pump my fists in the air.  Don't hate.  Nathan still loves me for it).  Anyway, yeahhhh that's exactly what I did when I discovered her blog.  She's got some yummy recipes on there and a SUPER cute Hole-In-One Cake I could only hope to have the patience for.  Check it out! 

Happy weekend everyone!  I'm off to Target now.  (It's a sickness).

Jalapeno Cornbread

We kinda sorta had a cold front last weekend.


Yea...and now it's back in the 80's but whatever...it'll get cold again and I'm going to prepare you.  Not with soup this time (not yet anyway) but with a little somethin' somethin' to serve with that inevitable chili you're going to make come winter.  Yup, today I'm sharing my go-to cornbread recipe.  You're welcome :)

So I was never really a big fan of cornbread when I was a youngin'.  I always found it dry and bland and just...blah.  But a couple of years ago I had a vision of the perfect cornbread.  I wanted the recipe I found to contain three things:  cheese, jalapenos, and sauteed corn.  I firmly believed these three elements would create my ideal cornbread chunk and thus my search began.  Eventually I found a recipe close enough (minus the sauteing), tweaked it to my liking, and alas a star was born.

I love love love the textures going on with the kernels and bits of jalapenos dotted throughout and little pockets of cheese tucked in- this recipe meets all my reqs.  All that's missing now is the chili.    



Jalapeno Cornbread

Makes one 8x8-inch pan

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 2 ears)

2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
1 1/4 cups stone-ground cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup nonfat buttermilk

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place an 8x8-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray in oven 5 minutes or until heated.

Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium heat.  Add corn and jalapenos, sauteing until corn is golden brown, about 7 minutes. 

Combine cornmeal, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, cheese, butter, honey, oil, and eggs in a small bowl; add to cornmeal mixture. Stir just until combined. Fold in corn and jalapenos.  Spoon mixture into preheated pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (don't overcook or it will become dry!). Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Adapted from Cooking Light.

Pumpkin Kiss Cookies

Toldjya it wouldn't be long...

Now I'm definitely a pecan pie over pumpkin pie girl, but when it comes to incorporating pumpkin into other sweet treats I am on board. 

Over the past week or two, I have been making batch after batch of pumpkin chocolate chip bread at work and it got my brain churning...what fun treat can I make involving this same delicious combo?? Then, after a girl I work with mentioned a pumpkin thumbprint cookie she had eaten I knew the answer: I just HAD to create a twist on the tried and true peanut butter kiss cookie (p.s. my brother has one heck of a recipe for the pb version he bakes every Christmas...maybe I can get him to do a little guest post come December.  p.s.s. it only involves four ingredients and they taste pretty much INSANE.  I made him make a double batch last year). 

Anywho, these cookies.  Best described as cake in cookie form. They are seriously the softest cookie I've ever bit into and I make sure to work my way around the center kiss in a perfect circle, sliding a little piece of chocolate off with my teeth with each bite.  Perfection. 

Pumpkin Kiss Cookies

Makes 26 cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

26 Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat until mixed thoroughly; add pumpkin puree and vanilla then mix again.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and ginger together in a bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture until well combined.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a silpat mat on a baking sheet. Scoop out dough into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 9-10 minutes or until golden brown*.  Remove from oven and press a Hershey's Kiss into the center of each cookie.  Let cool before removing to wire rack. 

*The shape of the cookie ball will remain the same during baking.  The Kiss will cause it to flatten out a little making the end result look more like a cookie, don't worry!

Adapted from For the Love of Cooking.





Spicy Spanish Turkey Meatball Stew

I just couldn't help myself...

Yes, I realize every food blog out there is kicking off October with something involving pumpkin puree (oh and don't you worry, I've got a few up my sleeve as well), but I figured I would start things off a little different.  With soup.  Well, stew actually, but that's just a technicality. 

Let me be honest:  we're obsessed with soup in this house.  Nathan and I spent a good chunk of our college days feasting on grilled cheese sandwiches dredged in tomato soup (remember the mean grilled cheese that Nathan makes?).  And it was a pretty rainy weekend down here in Texas putting me in the mood to flip open that new food network magazine lying on the coffee table that just so happens to feature a bowl of tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons on the cover (this issue was made for us!).  So straight to the soups I searched...leading me to this little gem of a stew.  I already had everything on hand (even had some ground turkey thawing for potential barbecue burgers Sunday night, but plans changed for that turkey). 

This is the perfect meal for the upcoming cold nights- hot and spicy warming you all the way through.  (I may have said "whew! spicy!" a few times during this meal).  Delicious served with fresh bread to sop up the juices left in the bowl and to help mellow out the heat :)

Spicy Spanish Turkey Meatball Stew

Serves 2 (heartily) or 3 (reasonably)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch kosher salt and ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 cup sliced small carrots

1 14-ounce can low-sodium diced fire-roasted tomatoes

1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2/3 cup frozen kernel corn

1/2 pound lean ground turkey

1/3 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for topping

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer half of the mixture to a large bowl.

Add the paprika and carrots to the remaining onion mixture in the skillet and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth and corn; bring to a rapid simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the ground turkey, cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to the bowl with the reserved onion mixture and mix with your hands. Form the turkey mixture into 8 meatballs. Place the meatballs in the skillet with the sauce and simmer, turning once, until cooked through, about 7 minutes. Serve with cilantro.

Adapted from Food Network.

My Favorite Banana Bread

I almost forgot to put bananas in this banana bread.

It's true.  I was literally standing over the loaf pan about to pour in the batter when I snapped out of a brief banana-not-on-the-brain funk and shouted "omg the bananas!"  Back to the mixer we go.  Just a tad embarrassing.  I would have had to title this post My Favorite...uhh Bread. 

So anyway, I want to introduce you to my favorite banana bread.  I first made a loaf of this about two years ago.  In fact, I remember making it and munching on it during the car trip to Tulsa when my adorable nephew was born.  It's a rather healthy version using no butter, and instead subbing in applesauce.  I was tempted to try it using butter this time but why change a good thing, ya know?  So I put the stick back in the fridge and grabbed the jar of applesauce.  (I definitely don't recommend doing this substitution frequently as it often results in a gummy texture- capital YUCK) but the addition of sour cream and sliced (not mashed) bananas make this hands down the best banana bread I've ever had. 

My Favorite Banana Bread

Makes one 9x5-inch loaf

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 medium bananas, sliced thin (not mashed)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  In large bowl, stir together the applesauce and sugars.  Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.  Fold in the sour cream.  Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Stir into the egg mixture until smooth.  Fold in sliced bananas.  Spread evenly into prepared 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Adapted from AllRecipes.

Chocolate Oreo Cut-Outs

Sooooo there's a few holidays coming up...

ya know...halloween, thanksgiving, christmas and the sort. 

Annnnd there's sorta kinda one today.  It's Annabelle's birthday.  Who's Annabelle you ask?  This cutie:

My pup.  She turns the big 7 (that's 49 in dog years and I can only hope I'm still as bouncy and playful as her when I turn 49), and you know how much of a sucker I am for celebrating birthdays (see Ben's birthday and Mel's birthday) so I'm at it again.  This time with some chocolate bone oreos.  Yeahhhhh....

Here's the sweet part (other than the cookie itself, of course): I filled these little guys with orange frosting making for a Halloween Bone Oreo- yup, that's right.  Bone as in dog treat, or bone as in halloween skeleton!  Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.  Because that's how I roll.

As for the cookie:  this is a softer cookie rather than the crisp sugar version you usually see; however, it doesn't disappoint.  And with a thin layer of creamy orange icing- in the spirit of halloween- devilishly perfect :)

Oh, and speaking of Halloween and Oreos...did you hear?  Candy Corn Oreos.  I'm on the lookout!

Chocolate Oreo Cut-Outs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Whisk flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. (It does disappear once baked, though, so don’t worry if they go into the oven looking white.) Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.