Blueberry Muffins

Need a quick snack or something simple to grab for breakfast? This recipe is for about six to eight muffins and can easily be doubled. I used to use the box mix, but I think this recipe (adapted from the Willams and Sonoma Muffins and Quick Breads cookbook) is almost as simple and exponentially better. I've tried it with half wheat flour/half all purpose flour before as well, and that works fine too if you're looking to add a little extra healthiness to it. :)

 1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 & 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

a few scrapes of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 extra large egg

2/3 cup fresh blueberries, washed and drained

Ingredients minus the nutmeg...

Preheat oven to 400* degrees. Line a standard-sized muffin pan with 6-8 paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until ingredients are combined well. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter and egg until combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir until it is just combined and all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Don't over stir it. 

Gently fold in the blueberries. 

Spoon the batter into your prepared muffin liners, until about 3/4 full, since they don't rise as much as cupcakes typically do. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in muffin pan for 5-10 minutes before removing. Serve warm or cold. Store leftover muffins in the refrigerator. 

Caramel Pull-A-Parts

Caramel Pull-A-Parts are sometimes called Monkey Bread. It's a simple, very easy snack to make. My family used to make a batch for car trips, and we would stop at a rest area and have them for a picnic breakfast. Bread + gooey caramel + finger food...what's not to love? For my little household, I just make enough for an 8 x 8 pan, but you can easily double it, and the baking and rise times stay the same.

Okay, here's what you need:

1 loaf frozen white bread dough (thawed)

1/4 cup margarine

1 small package cook & serve vanilla pudding

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

Thaw the bread dough, but don't allow it to raise. Grease an 8 x 8 pan. Tear half the bread loaf into small pieces and drop in the bottom of the pan.

In a small pan, melt margarine. Then add vanilla pudding, cinnamon, milk, and brown sugar. Beat until smooth.

Pour over torn up bread in pan.

Tear second half of the bread loaf, and throw on top. Try to get them in any empty spaces you might have from the bottom layer.

Raise for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Bake at 375* for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Let cool for 10 - 15 minutes and then turn out onto foil. Try to get it turned out before the caramel really sets and cools too much in the pan. 

Yucca Bread

I visited Ecuador last year and while I was there, I discovered a few foods that I really wish were found everywhere here in the US. One of those foods is plantain chips...amazing (especially when stuck in a traffic jam in the Amazon). Another is yucca bread. Yucca bread is a cheesy bread served warm and usually with yogurt in Ecuador. Variations of yucca bread can be found in a lot of other countries, and under many different names. The base of yucca bread is yucca flour, which comes from yucca root. Yucca flour is also called Tapioca flour. What this all really means, is that it can be difficult to find yucca flour. I went to many different stores looking for it, and I ended up finding it at Whole Foods, and later at Fry's in the organic/healthy food section. As a bonus, it's gluten free.

This is pretty simple and quick to make. Here's what you need:

1 1/4 cups yucca flour

2 cups "Queso Fresco" cheese (or grated mozzarella cheese)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

4 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 egg

Start by crumbling the Queso Fresco into small, pea sized or smaller pieces. If you're using grated mozzarella, then skip this step.

Combine the cheese, yucca flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended. Add in the butter and egg, and continue mixing until a ball starts to form. Form the dough into a ball.

If you're not baking the bread right away, you can store the dough in the fridge for a day. I've accidently let it sit for 2 days, and although it was a bit hard to break up, it baked just fine. If baking right away, preheat the oven to 500°F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter, and then place them on the cookie sheet about 1 inch apart from each other.

Bake for about 7-10 min, and keep an eye on them after 7 minutes. Take them out of the oven when the tops are golden brown, and enjoy them while they're warm! If you have a few left over, reheat them before eating them because they may be a bit hard.  

Text Only:

Yucca Bread

Adapted from: Laylita's Recipes 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups yucca flour

2 cups Queso Fresco cheese (or grated mozzarella cheese)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

4 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 egg

Directions:

1.) Crumble Queso Fresco into small pieces.

2.) Combine cheese, yucca flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended.

3.) Add in the butter and egg, and continue mixing until a ball starts to form.

4.) Form the dough into a ball.

5.) Preheat oven to 500°F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

6.) Roll the dough into small balls and place on cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.

7.) Bake for about 7-10 min, rolls are done when the tops are golden brown.