Thursday, February 28, 2008

Good Eats: Muffins

I am a creature of habit. I crave order and routine in most aspects of my life including cooking. It is not very easy for me to try out new things. Thanks to blogging and blog-hopping, this has slowly been changing over the last couple of months, at least where cooking is concerned.

Every time I make a batch of muffins, it is usually always the
banana-walnut kind, mainly because I tend to have all required ingredients, especially the bananas- in various stages of the decaying process- on hand. More importantly, it is something that has been tried and tested in my kitchen numerous times.

In keeping with my resolve to eat healthy, a big canister of oats was purchased recently. I am not too fond of the oats and milk combination mainly because of the gooey, slimy texture of the resultant mass. I decided to try using oats for making muffins. Inspired by
this, this and this, I made two different kinds of muffins-
*Oats and Orange-Coconut muffins
*Oats and Cranberry-Pomegranate muffins


This is how I went about doing it.

Ingredients:
Dry:
1 ½ C -All purpose flour
½ cup oats (ground to a fine powder)
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt

Wet:
1/3 cup oil
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup milk

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and divide into 2 batches.


Batch 1- Oats and Orange-Coconut muffins (makes 6 medium muffins)
Add:
½ cup orange juice
2 tsp orange extract
A handful of toasted walnuts
2 Tbsp sweetened coconut flakes (added in the batter and sprinkled on top)

Batch 2- Oats and Cranberry-Pomegranate muffins (makes 12 small muffins)
Add:
½ cup cranberry-pomegranate juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
A handful of toasted walnuts (added in the batter and sprinkled on top)


Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degree F and line the muffin cups with paper liners.

Fill muffin cups; sprinkle with topping.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.

Serve warm.

Notes:
Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or so; needs to be frozen for longer storage.


I like how the first batch of muffins turned out. They tasted really good, had a hint of orange-coconut flavor and were not too sweet.

The second batch of muffins had no taste in particular and I don't know if I would make this again without making a few changes to the ingredient list. The pomegranate-cranberry juice didn’t detract from the taste, but it didn’t add anything either.



It’s raining awards in the food blog world!

Helene, Vaishali, Namratha, Laavanya, Priya and Deepa have passed this on to me.




Namratha and Saswati give me this one.



Deepa also thinks I rock.

Thank you girls, for thinking of me and for your sweet and encouraging words!

39 Burps:

Purnima said...

Those muffins look super moist n glazy!Congrats on both your awards, sure its raining awards but you totally deserve both! Each flavour to each award! Great muffins!

Sihi said...

Nice recipes for muffins. Congratulations on the awards TBC. Well deserved.

sra said...

I still haven't finished the canister of oats I bought more than a year or more ago! I don't think I'll finish it either, because I don't bake and don't want to make another upma with them!

Unknown said...

hi tbc!!the muffins look really yum.. i would surely try the coconut and orange ones and yes congrats for the awards...i will also have a surprise for you tomorrow:)

Rajesh &Shankari said...

The muffins looks so good..

Lavanya Raj said...

congrads on your awards..muffins are looking great.

FH said...

Banana and Walnuts are classic combo, looks yum!

Enjoy the awards tbc, yeas, it's pouring awards these days, hard to choose who to give it to!:))

Kalai said...

Love both of these muffins!! Congrats on the 2 well deserved awards, dear! Have a wonderful weekend. :)

Unknown said...

Hey dear Congrats on your award !! Loved the Muffin pics, I dont have these muffin cups , so havent made anything close to a cupcake till now, but I love such recipes , the dish below too looks good, I have never seen it or heard abt it before, thanks for the wealth of info :)

Finla said...

I love the muffin and love the muffin papers too, they looks beautiful

Seema said...

Wow! twop types of yum & delicious muffins!! I love them :-)
Congrats on double awrds!! Way to go... Wishing you many more awards & happy blogging ahead.

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Congratulations !!!

Muffins looks tasty :) Nice pic

Laavanya said...

That's a great basic batter. I understand what you mean about the banana in different stages of ripening! :)
The coconut and orange is such a unique combination.. must try it sometime. I liked the sound of cranberry-pomegranate.. sorry to hear it wasn't all that flavorful. Maybe you could add some chopped craisins and walnuts to jazz that one up next time.

Dhivya said...

Congrats on ur awards...muffins look awesome

Namratha said...

Aha oats muffins, you are eating way too healthy T...making me feel guilty about all the stuff I eat. Oats and me are miles away from each other :D But, the muffins look good :)

congrats on the awards dear...you deserve them!!

sra said...

TBC, I've tagged you for a meme. In my latest post.

Cris said...

Congrats on the awards! I love your muffin cups! So cute! And the recipes... the pictures are stunning, so I figure the muffins taste as good!

Lisa Turner said...

I really enjoy muffins and am always on the lookout for new ideas. Your muffins sound wonderful. Pretty pictures too.

TBC said...

Purnima, Eskay- thank you.


Sra- upma with oats? maybe I should try that out 'coz I'm getting a little tired of eating the muffins myself since the husband prefers oats with milk.


Saswati- do try those. I liked it a lot.:-)



Shankari, Lavanya- thank you:-)


Asha- yeah, that's what I make usually. Just wanted to try something different.


Kalai- saw your version. I like the idea of spiced up muffins.:-)



Roopa- hey, we know your name now-RV;-)



Happy Cook- thank you:-)



Seema- thank you. You are so sweet.:-)



Vanamala- thanks.:)



Laavanya- the C-P ones were a bit disappointing. I did add walnuts to the batter.I was surprised that there was not even a lemony flavor to it!
Craisins sound wonderful. Will try that the next time.:-)



Dhivya- thank you:-)



Namratha- oh no, I'm not! I don't post the unhealthy stuff I eat;-)
I too am not fond of oats.Just reaffirms the fact that most things that are good for you don't taste good!


Sra- :-)


Cris- thanks! Please do not go by looks here. In case of the cranberry-pomegranate muffins, they certainly look better than they taste!:-(
I liked the other batch though.



Lisa- same here:-)
Thank you.

Richa said...

ur muffin always look so good!
nothing wrong in sticking to the tried n tested recipes ;)

musical said...

Congrats on the awards, TBC! The muffins are perfect for celebration :). Love the muffin hit parade picture :).

Have a great weekend,
musical.

amna said...

nice! especially like the last pic!! :)

EC said...

Congratulations on the awards....muffins look great

Laavanya said...

I can't understand how I interpreted PP as the thuvaram paruppu thogayal !! Sorry about that.. your abbreviation is not to be blamed. I will send you an email with the payasam recipe.. :)

Raaga said...

they look yummy TBC... pass some on please :-)

Cynthia said...

Congrats on your deserved awards!

Seena said...

Lovely muffins, TBC.. am still lazy to bake.. :)

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Your muffins look pretty good. I made some pomegranate ones, and I felt the same. I would rather have my pomegranate as fruit.
Congrats on the awards, too.

SMN said...

Muffins luks yummy and it is very nice combo too.. Congrats on your awards.. keep blogging..

Unknown said...

hi Tbc the tomorrow that i had promised got delayed..sorry.please drop in at my place and collect an award that i have passed on to you:)

Deeba PAB said...

Congrats on your awards...GOOD FOR YOU!! The muffins look great. What a coincidence that I also made banana walnut muffins yesterday as well. Thanks for the honest comments on the pom ones...the ingredients look very inviting indeed. May I say you are now a BLOOMING cook as against a BUDDING cook. The blog is beautiful!!!

TBC said...

Richa- thanks:-)



Musical- thank you, dear!:-)


Nags- thanks:-)



EC- thank you.:-)



Laavanya- o.k.:-)




Raaga- come over and get them. ;-)




Cynthia- thanks.:)



Seena- thank you.:-)




Aparna- I just checked out your post. You added the arils and you still didn't care much for them?hmmm... I think we've now established that pomegranate in fruit or juice form is not a good addition for muffins!:-)


SMN-thanks:-)



Saswati- thanks for thinking of me.:-)



PB...&B- you did! Banana walnut are the ones I make regularly.
I wanted to try something new. The pom ones were just so-so:-(

Thank you for those encouraging words. That is very nice of you.:-)

Archana Doshi said...

Vert simple recipe and stunning pictures. I would love that orange flavour in the muffins and am sure the kids would as well. I could substitute orange rind instead of the essence may be?

Uma said...

Congrats on the awards! Lovely muffins.

Swati said...

Hey TBC, its a late comment but the muffins look too tempting..Congrats on the awards too!!

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh, congrats on all your well deserved awards!

Miri said...

These muffins look super delicious!

TBC said...

Archana- thank you. I don't see any reason why the rind would not work.:-)


Uma, Swati, W and Miri- thank you!

Sunshinemom said...

Just bought some oats for the bread! Must try this without the egg. Your pictures are classy - real neat!

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