My friend Maile asked me to make peach muffins like the ones she discovered at her local grocery store’s bakery years ago and hasn’t seen since. That’s all I had to go on. “Can you make me some peach muffins like those? They were sooooo good!” Um, okay? I’ll try?

I have no idea if these muffins are exactly what Maile wanted me to replicate, but I do know that these have passed the “everyone loves them” test. I took them to a party and they vanished. It was like a Harry Potter trick, but in real life and without wands. I made them again today to share the perfected version with Maile. I sent her the above picture and her response was “YES!” so I think maybe we’re onto something.

Here’s to you, Maile. May it be the peach muffin of your dreams!

First off, I see a new trend. First, there were mufcakes. Now there’s muffin cake. I promise. I’ll make something that doesn’t include “muf” in it at some point.

Secondly, I don’t want you to make this. Nope. No sirree. Because then you’ll buy more blueberries, which will mean fewer for me. The last time I checked, my Costco had PLENTY of frozen organic blueberries in stock. If I go tomorrow, I will buy some before you catch onto this craze. At the worst, I did plant 9 blueberry plants a couple of years ago. Come June, there is no stopping the blueberry madness in my house!

Third, if you do make this, you’ll want to hide it from yourself. Probably in a high place behind a heavy box. It’s delicious, but with a stick of butter in the ingredients list, it really can’t be considered a health food (although, I think that with two cups of blueberries, I could be convinced otherwise).

Eat this warm out of the oven or reheat it a bit. Either way, slather some salted butter along the middle or the sides (not the top! don’t ruin the perfectly crunchy top!). And enjoy!

Continue reading: blueberry muffin cake

Oh dear. I thought I had shared these with you earlier. I cannot believe I have been holding out on you for so long! These are so, so delicious. At first when I made them I wasn’t sure they would be as fabulous as I wanted them to be. I had no idea how wrong my initial judgment was. A friend stopped by just as these came out of the oven and I gave her some to take home and share with her husband. I also shared them with my students. We all loved them! Better yet, they are best a few hours after baking because the chocolate has a chance to set up a bit, so these are the perfect muffin to make and take to a brunch or dinner or even to have ready a couple of hours before the kids come home. As for breakfast the next day? They are not quite as healthy as these oatmeal chocolate chip muffins, but they are just as tasty. Make these. You won’t be disappointed!

Continue reading: chocolate chip muffins

I have a confession to make: I did not make this bread. I had to commission my mom to do it for me. When I was assigned to Kate’s blog I was *super* excited. Kate has tons of amazing looking recipes with beautiful pictures and I immediately selected a few that I wanted to try. My intention was to prepare these recipes for a baby shower that I was hosting this weekend. Then I got *super* sick on Friday morning and ended up in the ER on Saturday for extreme dehydration. The doctors loaded me up on fluids and meds and told me to go home and rest. No baby shower. No cooking. No Food Babbles blog recipe. I was bummed. Not wanting to leave Kate orphaned, I texted my mom and asked her to do the baking honors for me. She agreed and then came over today to drop off this gorgeous Lemon Blueberry Loaf for me to taste and share with you! Three cheers to mom for helping me ensure that my Secret Recipe Club post came together just in time for the big reveal on Monday!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted on Facebook asking the question, “What in the world should I do with the swiss chard growing in my garden?” Boy, oh boy did my readers have soooooo many suggestions! Eggs to soups to lasagnas to pizzas… the list goes on! I whipped up this scramble for lunch that day and I was surprised. I liked it! I really liked it! I liked it so much, in fact, that I made it a week later as a special breakfast for my husband. He loves anything savory for breakfast, so eggs doused in cheese is a real winner. I encouraged him to try these even though his negative sentiments towards swiss chard surpass mine! Brant loved this egg scramble and gobbled it up, swiss chard and all! And so we have a swiss chard winner!

Is your ideal breakfast sweet or savory? Because I’m *totally* a sweet person. In fact, I couldn’t eat this scramble for breakfast. For lunch? Divine. For breakfast? Ick. I gave my portion to Brant and reheated a strudel topped peach muffin for myself. How about you? Sweet or savory to start your day? 

Continue reading: egg, cheese, and swiss chard scramble

I never thought I’d find a blueberry muffin recipe that could compare with the one that I posted earlier on my blog. I don’t even know why I tried this muffin recipe since my usual motto is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” but I’m so glad that I did try these because they are incredibly delicious! These were so moist and tender and the crumb topping was crunchy (just like I like it!) and if served with a pat of cold butter it deserves at least 5 stars!

Try both recipes and let me know what you think. Lemon-sugar topping or streusel topping? Or both?

oatmeal chocolate chip muffins
heavily adapted from www.101cookbooks.com

crumble topping*

scant 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

muffins:

1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
scant 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1/4 cup agave syrup or honey (I actually might add a bit more next time, but I prefer sweet muffins!)
2 large eggs, whisked
2 large handfuls chocolate chips

*I did not use all of this crumble topping. I put the rest in the freezer for the next batch of muffins!

Preheat oven to 350 with rack set in the middle of the oven. Butter muffin pan generously. Do not use cupcake liners.

To make the crumble: Use a fork to combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Divide the mixture into three portions and use your hands to form the portions into three patties. Place the patties on a plate in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

For the muffins: In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flours, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium, microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the sugar and whisk in the yogurt and agave, followed by the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until it’s almost completely mixed. Add in chocolate chips and stir just until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Sprinkle with a few additional chocolate chips if desired. Break off pieces of crumble and add about one tablespoon to each muffin. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Let cool for 5 minutes and then carefully transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool almost completely before serving. If you have leftovers, heat them for about 10 seconds in the microwave so that the chocolate chips soften slightly.

strawberry basil scones

adapted from www.heatovento350.blogspot.com

Half-and-half or milk
Sugar
slivered almonds, optional

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together 2 1/2 cups flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gently toss in fresh strawberries and basil. Make a well in center of the flour mixture; set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together eggs and half-and-half. Add egg mixture to flour mixture all at once. Using a large spoon, gently stir just until incorporated.

Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface. Knead dough by folding and gently pressing it 5 to 7 times, turning the dough one quarter turn after each fold. (If it is too sticky, add flour from the extra 1/4 cup as needed to make it workable.) Transfer to a lightly floured parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat or lightly roll dough into a 3/4 inch thick circle. Cut circle into wedges and pull apart slightly.

Brush wedges with additional half-and-half and sprinkle with sugar and almonds (if using). Bake about 14-16 minutes or until golden. Serve dolloped with whipped cream. Refrigerate any leftover scones (I learned the hard way that they mold quickly!).

coffeecake with crumb topping
recipe from www.cooksillustrated.com

streusel
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup pecans, almonds or walnuts, chopped coarse

cake
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup buttermilk or whole plain yogurt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
7 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the streusel: Mix sugars, cinnamon, and melted butter together in a medium bowl until mixture resembles wet sand; stir in nuts and set aside.

For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, sugars, eggs, and melted butter in a separate bowl until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until the batter looks smooth and well combined.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle streusel evenly over the batter.

Bake until streusel is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 40-45 minutes. Cool cake on a wire rack for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

cranberry orange scones with strudel topping

scones

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

crumb topping

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly butter an 11-inch diameter circle in the center of a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, stir together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives used scissor fashion, cut the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and zest. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. The dough will be sticky. With lightly floured hands, gently knead in the cranberries until evenly distributed.

With lightly floured hands, pat the dough into a 9-inch diameter circle in the center of the prepared baking sheet.

To prepare the topping, in a small bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut the butter into 1-2-inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives used scissors fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the dough to cover. Press crumb topping lightly into the dough. With a serrated knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean.

Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Then transfer the scones to the wire rack to cool. Re-cut into wedges. Serve warm, or cool completely and store in an airtight container.