Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins/Bread

I've had a lot of cranberries in my freezer for awhile, just waiting to be made into something yummy. Problem is, I couldn't decide what. So, I was searching Pinterest yesterday, and I found a recipe I'd pinned but hadn't made yet. (Shocker.) I decided that these needed to be made into muffins!

And wow, was this a hit. They are not overly sweet, I did try to make them slightly healthier (thus the applesauce vs using butter), but the boys devoured them. Gabriel ate 3 or 4... after eating 2-3 servings of dinner. Adrian only ate 1, but again, that was right after dinner!

If you are looking for a fairly healthy snack/breakfast, this is it! 

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite use of cranberries?

Printable Recipe

Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins/Bread

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° (for bread) or 375° (for muffins). Lightly grease 2 loaf pans or lightly grease/line with muffin liners 24 muffin tins. 
2. Cream together cream cheese, sugars, and applesauce. Slowly add in eggs and vanilla; mix until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to cream cheese mixture just until combined. Stir in cranberries.
4. Spoon into prepared muffin liners or loaf pans. For muffins, bake for 18-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. For bread, bake for 60-70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Yield/Time

24 muffins, 2 loaves of bread (12 slices each)

*Note: bread has not been tested, I've only made muffins!

45 minutes (muffins), 1 ½ hours (bread)

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

114

Source (for original): 12 Tomatoes

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

So.... confession time. This loaf of bread did not even last one full day in my house. 

It's a quick bread, so smaller than a regular yeast bread, and that makes it okay... right? ;)

With things like this, it's hit or miss with my husband. He might love it, or he might not. He's not much of a sweet bread kinda guy. This, however, is clearly an exception. I think he and I did the most damage to it. The boys each had a few big pieces as their afternoon snack, so they definitely contributed too!

This is definitely a quick bread worth making. It was SO easy, and obviously a hit. (I had hoped to take some for a snack tomorrow to work.... that's clearly not happening.) 

I made some changes to the recipe to make it slightly healthier and more likely to be enjoyed by my family, but if you are looking to gain some pounds check out the original link at the bottom. This is not a low calorie food. ;) 

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite quick bread recipe?

Printable Recipe

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

Ingredients

• ¼ cup applesauce
• ¼ cup softened butter
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅓ cup cinnamon sugar mixture

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray; set aside.
2. In large bowl, mix applesauce, butter, and sugar until well combined. Stir in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Gently stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and buttermilk. 
3. Remove ½ cup prepared batter from bowl and place into a separate smaller bowl, then add cinnamon.
4. Pour half of the prepared batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon half of the cinnamon batter on top of the batter, then swirl with a butter knife. Pour remaining batter on top, then remaining cinnamon batter. Swirl again with butter knife. 
5. Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool 10 minutes, then loosen edges and remove from pan. Carefully place on a plate or cutting board, and sprinkle all sides with cinnamon sugar mixture. (This step must be done while the bread is still warm!!)
7. Slice into pieces and serve warm.

Yield/Time

16 servings

1 ½ hours

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

127

Source (for original): Lauren’s Latest

Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins

I love strawberries. When strawberries are in season here in northern Michigan, we usually buy at least 2 flats... so over 20 pounds. At least. I make 3 or more batches of jam, we eat strawberries for days, and then I freeze whatever is left. Last year, Gabriel & I picked some vs doing the pre-pick, but I think this year I'll have to just buy some that are already picked. I'm due June 25th, so... picking probably isn't going to work out. I'm still hoping that making strawberry jam & freezing strawberries is going to be doable. If baby comes early, this might get interesting. ;) 

After starting to buy local, fresh strawberries a few years ago, I just can't buy them in the store anymore. They just aren't comparable! 

The best thing about getting so many and freezing them in the summer is having strawberries all winter! Then, when I stumble across a strawberry recipe... I don't have to use mediocre ones from the store. 

This recipe is fabulous! These muffins are perfectly sweet, and full of strawberries! My one complaint is that, using frozen strawberries, they seem to be a bit soggy. That didn't stop anyone else from devouring them, though! (Didn't stop me, either.) I always warn people if I'm slightly less than satisfied with the way a recipe is turning out, and everyone told me with this that they will gladly take my rejects. ;) 

If you use frozen strawberries, cut down slightly on the milk. If you use frozen sugared strawberries, the 1/4 cup sugar is not needed! (Unless you want it, in which case I won't judge.) 

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite summer strawberry recipe?

Printable Recipe

Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup sugar *cut out if using sugared strawberries
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk *cut down if using frozen strawberries
• 2 cups strawberries, chopped into pieces
• Cinnamon Sugar Filling/Topping:
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Grease or line a 15 cup muffin tin and set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl, combine applesauce, egg, and milk. Add to the dry ingredients, and fold in strawberries.
3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Reserve half and fold the other half into the batter. Fill each muffin cup with about ¼ cup of the batter. Top with remaining cinnamon sugar filling.
4. Bake for 12-20 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

Yield/Time

15 muffins

45 minutes

Nutrition Facts

163

Source (for original): The Recipe Critic

Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

These are fairly similar to my other banana muffin recipes (Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Healthier Banana Muffins/Bread, & Nutella Oat Banana Muffins), but with some slight variances. Honestly, I could probably cut down to just 1 or 2 banana muffin recipes... but I truly can't decide which recipe I like the most. So, I just keep them all! This recipe I like because of the chips in it.... they aren't overly sweet, but the chips add just enough!

I originally made an extra large batch of these with the plan of sending some as a snack for Gabriel's preschool... until he woke up sick. Poor baby, this is the first day of preschool he's missed, and I think he's pretty disappointed. So....since he isn't going to school, I have about 30 muffins in my house right now. Adrian ate 2 for breakfast (scratch that, while I was typing this he decided he wanted another one... in addition to the 4 smoky links he ate. Growth spurt, anyone?), which makes up for the fact that Gabriel has no appetite... but I hope my coworkers like them, I need somebody to eat more! My family cannot go through that many! (Well, Adrian might, at this rate...)

Check out the recipe, and let me know what you think!

Comments are loved--what is your favorite banana muffin/bread recipe?

Printable Recipe

Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups mashed bananas
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup peanut butter chips (or any other chips) This time I used a combination of peanut butter, mini chocolate chip, and semi-sweet, to empty some partial bags I had! They are great!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease/line with paper 24 count muffin tins.
2. In large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, vanilla and applesauce. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Carefully mix in peanut butter chips. 
3. Spoon batter into prepared tins. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and let cool on wire rack.

Yield/Time

22-24 muffins

30 minutes

Nutrition Facts

164 (based on 22 muffins)

Source (for original): Food

Nutella Oat Banana Muffins

I love Nutella. I know I've mentioned that before, but it's worth mentioning again. It's a pretty important Serena-fact. Right up there with the book & nerd obsessions. If I could get away with it, I'd add Nutella to pretty much everything. Assuming, of course, that there is any left after I've just eaten it from the jar.

Just kidding, I don't eat it from the jar. Very often.

Anyhow, you get the point. Nutella is a staple in the Lee household. So when I saw this recipe... Nutella Oat Banana Muffins? Yes, please. I've already mentioned that I love adding oats to muffins, and I love banana muffins in general. Now we're adding Nutella? It's practically my birthday! (No, not really. There's not nearly enough sugar in these things to qualify as something for my birthday.)

These are one of those recipes that the boys & I could devour, no problems. When I've shared them with work & family, same thing. Nate, on the other hand, has decided he doesn't like these. That's OK, more for me. ;) Don't worry though, he gets his own muffins! Recipe to follow for that soon!

(Oh, and random tidbit: the off-brand Nutella at Aldi's is not worth buying. Trust me. That's not Nutella.)

Printable Recipe

Nutella Oat Banana Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup applesauce (or vegetable oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 bananas
• Nutella

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line muffin tins with 15 papers, or lightly grease.
2. In a medium bowl, all dry ingredients. Stir until well combined.
3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir to mix ingredients until well combined. 
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; add wet ingredients until combined. Do not over stir.
5. Divide batter evenly among the muffin tins.
6. Add 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of Nutella to the top of each muffin and gently swirl with  toothpick to produce pretty swirls. (Note: "pretty swirls" is very relative, as you can see in the picture.)
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Yield/Time

12 muffins

40 minutes

Nutrition Facts

128/muffin (153 if using oil)

Source (for original): Chef in Training

Remember, comments are loved! Tell me about your love of Nutella. ;)

Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Bread

It's Monday morning, of a holiday weekend, and I'm sharing something fairly healthy. I know, I know. Don't get mad yet though, just trust me.

Imagine a cheddar bay biscuit.... in bread form. With barely noticeable shredded zucchini in it. That's what I am sharing with you today. I know, everyone is probably getting tired of the zucchini recipes. I know we're nearing the end of the season, but I wanted to share one more! (No promises that it's the last one, though.) I am a firm believer that you can't have too many zucchini recipes. Especially this time of year-- we've had it all summer, now some people are getting sick of it and need something different to do with it. Well, this is perfect! 

Because, really, who doesn't love cheddar bay biscuits?? I know we do. From Red Lobster or homemade, doesn't matter, I could eat them all day long. Same thing with this bread! (And I think Adrian could too; he devours every piece I give him!) Since it's made in bread form vs. biscuit form, it's slightly easier to make, too. The applesauce & zucchini in it make it slightly healthier, too. It's not GREAT for you, but you can eat least feel good about eating it.

Printable Recipe

Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Garlic (or garlic powder)
• 3 cups shredded zucchini, drained
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil *if you don't want to use applesauce, just use 1/4 cup oil. However, I have not tried it this way.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9”x5” loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and Garlic Garlic. Add the zucchini, and cheddar; stir to combine.
3. In separate small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, applesauce, and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir together just until moistened.
4. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cool. Serve warm.

Yield/Time

10 slices

1 hour 15 minutes

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

182/slice

Source (for original): Gather for Bread

Remember, comments are loved! Share your zucchini recipes!

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: I am paid a small amount with each purchase, based on sales, made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)

Zucchini Bread & Muffins

So I mentioned the other day that I am getting a lot of extra zucchini & summer squash from my grandparents. Well, sometimes one of those little guys hides until it's not-so-little, or we just want to let them grow big enough to shred. Then the possibilities are endless! My grandma has a great sheet cake recipe, and there are so many muffins/quick breads these can go in...

I don't know if I would say this is my favorite recipe, but this really is a classic. It's from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, slightly adapted. (I would say healthified, but.... not much.)

My boys love these muffins! They could sit and devour one in what seems like seconds... then ask for another one. Feeding these boys through their teenage years is seriously going to require us starting a hobby farm. (That was really obvious the other day when Gabriel ate 4 -no, that's not a typo- bowls of oatmeal for breakfast. Yes, he is only 4 years old. And no, I don't know how he does it--he's actually pretty skinny.) 

Oh, and Gabriel's favorite thing about these muffins? "That they have ZUCCHINI in them!!"

I personally prefer the muffins over the bread--single servings, easier for Gabriel to get himself... He's not getting himself snacks, but if I am in the middle of helping Adrian with something it makes it a lot easier if he can get himself another muffin. I don't know, really. There's just something about muffins that I prefer.

However, that is not to say the bread isn't great, too! If I'm taking it to work or Mama's (which I did, with this), I prefer the bread. Then people can cut whatever size slice they want, which is much harder to do with muffins. Being the mom of two small boys, I'm suspicious if I see half a muffin anywhere. ;)

Oh, and speaking of taking this to work and Mama's--I took the loaf of bread to work, my coworkers ate some, and I then took the rest to Mama. My original plan was to share some with her & my brother, then take whatever was left back to work. It didn't make it back to work. Mama was entirely too excited about it, and apparently Kyle was too. :)

Printable Recipe

Zucchini Bread & Muffins

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour (I've subbed about 1/2 cup flour for oats before)

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg (If you are not a big nutmeg fan, cut down to 1/2 or 3/4. It's a very strong flavor in this.)

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups finely shredded, peeled zucchini

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened (Can sub for oil, if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° for bread or 375° for muffins.
2. Grease the bottom and up the sides of two 8”x4”x2” loaf pans, or grease/line with paper 24 muffin tins. Set aside
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center of the mixture; set aside.
4. In another medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, zucchini, oil, and applesauce. Add zucchini mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pans or muffin tins. (If using muffin tins, fill to just under the liners.)
5. Bake bread for 50-55 minutes, and muffins for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack. Cool bread before slicing.

Yield/Time

24 slices bread or 24 muffins.

1 hour 15 minutes for bread, 45 minutes for muffins

Nutrition Facts

124/slice or muffin *I calculate nutrition facts for my use only, this is not done scientifically

Source (for original): Better Homes & Gardens

Remember, comments are love! What's your favorite zucchini recipe? Share with me in the comments!

Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins

I'm sure I am not the only one when I say that I don't feel like I have time for myself these days. How often, as moms & wives (dads/husbands too!) do we feel like we have to get X, Y, and Z done before we can relax, and have time for 'us'? (And let's be real, it seems like we have to get the rest of the alphabet done too.) Don't misunderstand, Nate does a lot too, but I'm the one with anxiety, which makes it harder for me to leave things undone.

I've been trying to make a conscious effort lately to do more things for me. (Wow, that sounds selfish. Go back and read the first paragraph if you skipped it. ;) ) One of those things is working on my recipe book, and keeping that updated. If I'm going to do that... time to start blogging more too!

So who loves rhubarb? (Or, easier question: Who DOESN'T love rhubarb??)

Rhubarb is technically nearing the end of its season, but the rhubarb at Grandma's is still going strong. Grandpa does an amazing job of keeping it happy using the right fertilizer (fish, if you were curious), and when we harvest we pull the whole stalk out to enable the plant to keep producing. I keep volunteering to freeze some of it for her, and that means I get to snag some for myself too. ;)

We all have our favorite rhubarb things. Mine just depends on what I'm eating at the time, to be honest. Just give me rhubarb, and I'm good. Jam, rhubarb custard bars, rhubarb crunch, rhubarb pie.... wow, I better get more of that rhubarb in the freezer; when I start listing things like that it sounds like I used a lot more of Grandma's rhubarb than I thought. (Don't worry Grams, I'll get more rhubarb in the freezer for you to take to Florida!)

My new favorite (just because it's the most recent) is these Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins. I love a good muffin, it's a great breakfast/snack for the boys and I. And if I can make it moderately healthy, I feel better about eating it for breakfast. I adapted these from the original, but either way these are pretty healthy-without cutting down on flavor!! They have just the right amount of sweet, the lovely tartness of the rhubarb, and plenty of cinnamon! A perfect combination.

Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsweetened/natural applesauce *note: sub sour cream or greek yogurt if you don't have applesause!
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, thinly diced *or more... I'm going to try for 2 - 2 1/2 cups next time, I'll update when I do!
Cinnamon sugar mix

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°. Line 15 muffin tins with paper or foils, or grease lightly.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl until well combined. In a separate large bowl, mix together the applesauce, butter, eggs, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until just combined. Add the rhubarb and gently mix until combined.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin tins, until it is just shy of being filled. (Careful not to overfill!) Sprinkle each with cinnamon sugar mix.

Bake for 14-17 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool slightly before serving. Best served cool!

Yield/Time

15 muffins

30 minutes

Nutrition Facts

163/muffin

Source (for original): In This Kitchen