Recipe #59: Garden Herb Muffins

Garden Herb Muffins

The recipe in 201 Muffins called for carrots, onions, and several herbs, including garlic. They were obviously supposed to be dinner muffins, so I looked for a savory carrot muffin recipe and I did find several, but they all called for a much larger amount of carrots than the book's recipe. After searching for a while, though, and not finding a recipe that was close to the one in the book, I chose one of the carrot muffin recipes.

The one I chose turned out quite well: Savory Carrot Muffins, from the website Maria Ushakova. I changed it a bit, using regular unbleached flour instead of spelt, adding 1/2 cup green onions in place of an equal amount of carrots, adding some grated cheese and sunflower seeds, and using slightly different herbs. The muffins came out with a nice texture. They were not at all sweet, which was fine, since they were supposed to be savory muffins. And they tasted very good, I thought, as did my husband.  I made the mistake of using muffin papers, which did not come away from the muffins completely, I think maybe because there wasn't a lot of fat in the muffins.

One of my tasters was not thrilled with them. She said they were "just okay," perhaps because they weren't sweet or maybe because they didn't come away from the papers very well.

I don't know if I'd make them again, since they have more calories than is useful for a dinner muffin.

I rate them 4 out of 5, mostly for the few little problems I had with them.

Next: German Muffins 

Recipe #58: Fruity Buckwheat Muffins

Fruity Buckwheat Muffins

For this recipe, I needed a muffin that contained buckwheat flour as well as apples and dates. I chose an apple muffins recipe from the King Arthur Flour website, "Apple Muffins," to which I added dates, walnuts, and buckwheat flour. The King Arthur Flour website recommended that no more than 25% of the flour should be buckwheat, since buckwheat has no gluten and can't be fully substituted for wheat without losing wheat's important properties, such as elasticity.

These muffins came out great! They were moist, chewy, hearty with a wonderful texture, thanks to the dates and walnuts. The recipe also included a nice crunch topping which really made the muffins perfect--just sweet enough.

The King Arthur Flour website is an excellent source for great recipes. I will definitely make these muffins again. My tasters enjoyed them and agreed that they should be rated 5+ out of 5.

Next week: Garden Herb Muffins

Recipe #57: Fruit-Filled Muffins

Fruit-Filled Muffins
taken from Bake or Break

I obtained this recipe from the website, Bake or Break. The recipe is "Jam-Filled Doughnut Muffins." The 201 Muffins recipe called for a muffin that was filled with jelly or jam, and these seemed close to that.

The muffins turned out fairly plain, made with all-purpose flour and granulated sugar and other ingredients found in a plain muffin. The sugar and cinnamon dusting (on top of brushed-on melted butter) along with the jelly in the center made the muffins sweeter and more like jelly doughnuts, which was fun. I used three different types of jelly in the 20 the (doubled) recipe produced: apricot, strawberry, and raspberry.

They were good muffins, though the jelly slipped to the side in a few of them. My tasters enjoyed them. I don't know if I'd make them again, though, since they were a little too plain for me.

I rate these 4.5 out of 5.

Recipe #56: Fresh Pumpkin Muffins

Fresh Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe called for fresh pumpkin (that is, not canned or pureed) to be grated into the batter, much like carrots or zucchini. That was kind of interesting to me, but I had a hard time finding a recipe that used fresh pumpkin.

I did eventually locate a recipe on the web from Recipe Link, Grated Pumpkin Muffins, but then I had the problem of finding the ingredient needed: fresh pumpkin. Only at Halloween or Thanksgiving, it seems, are there pumpkins available.

So, I decided (upon considering the internet community's suggestions) to substitute an autumn vegetable that was available: sweet potatoes! I know, that seems an unlikely alternative, but it actually worked out great and gave the muffins a wonderful texture and flavor (that was, in fact, not unlike pumpkin). I followed the recipe, using whole wheat pastry flour and adding raisins. I also used applesauce instead of oil and added pecans.

They turned out great and I believe I would make them again. My tasters agreed!

I rate these 5 out of 5.

Next up: Fruit Filled Muffins

Recipe #55: Fresh Peach Muffins

Fresh Peach Muffins

These muffins turned out well. I used a recipe from Genius Kitchen that included oatmeal (Peach Oatmeal Muffins) and it made the muffins chewier and heartier.

I used canned peaches (no lovely fresh, ripe peaches could be had at this time of year) and added pecans which always seem to be appropriate for any muffin (just ask my husband!).

They were quite good; my tasters agreed!

I rate these muffins 5 out of 5.

Next up: Fresh Pumpkin Muffins

Recipe #54: Fresh Fruit, Oat and Bran Muffins

Fresh Fruit Muffins

For this recipe I chose the King Arthur Flour Basic Muffins recipe that I'd used to make Dried Fruit Muffins a few weeks ago. The recipe works just as well for fresh fruit, so I made the muffins with chopped peaches and apple chunks and added walnuts and oatmeal (which I hadn't done with the Dried Fruit version).

They came out very well; my tasters enjoyed them. They weren't very sweet, but were filled with good things and so were good tasting and nicely textured.

I rate these muffins 5 out of 5.

Next up: Fresh Peach Muffins

Recipe #53: Fig-All-Bran Muffins

Fig-Bran Muffins

For this week's muffins, I skipped the "E" muffins--I wasn't much interested in "eggless" muffins. So, on to the "F" muffins, the first one being Fig-All-Bran Muffins. I found a recipe on Food Network's website, Fig Bran Muffins. The ingredients make for a very hearty muffin. They tasted good, but I realized I'd forgotten how many seeds figs have. Eating these muffins meant reminding myself that I wasn't eating dirt particles or ground glass or egg shells, but the normal seeds that figs have. It was a bit disconcerting, but I liked them well enough. One of my tasters said he was looking forward to eating them because he loves Fig Newtons. I told him they were like whole wheat Fig Newtons, so he would probably like them, but I don't know if he did.

My other tasters liked them, despite the grittiness of the seeds. They said they knew there were seeds, but didn't mind them.

I think these muffins were successful, although I probably wouldn't make them again because I've decided I don't really like the seeds, at least, not in muffins.

I rate these muffins 4.5 out of 5.

Next: Fresh Fruit Muffins