As you probably know by now, my family loves muffins and I love trying new muffin recipes. We eat muffins at least once a week. So, I like to find new and interesting recipes. I know chocolate and pumpkin may sound like an interesting and strange combination, but it is really good. My kids loved these and kids are some of the pickiest eaters.

I can’t exactly call these healthy because they contain a cake mix. In general I have been staying away from cake mixes, but something about this recipe made me really want to try it. I wanted to make something to give the kids for a dessert/snack the other day. I had a chocolate cake mix in my pantry, so I decided  it was a good time to give these a try.

These are not really healthy, but they are not exactly unhealthy either.  These are a bit cake like because they are made from a cake mix, but these do not contain oil or butter like most cakes would.  These only contain a few ingredients, so they are easy to put together.

Chocolate Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 chocolate cake mix ( I used devils food, the original recipe called for german chocolate)

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Mix together well and then stir in chocolate chips.  Spoon batter into muffin pan lined with papers.  Bake for 20-22 minutes or until they test done.

Adapted from the Cake Mix Doctor.

For more baked goods recipes see Life As Mom. Also linked to Foodie Fridays.

This recipe comes from my sister Flora.  It makes a perfect fall muffin.  We love these for breakfast, but they also make a great afternoon snack for the kids.

I like that fact that these have both apples and applesauce in them. It gives them a really nice apple flavor and also makes them very moist. I made these this last Sunday evening and they were gone in no time.  My family loves these muffins.

Apple Muffins 

¼ cup butter
¼ cup applesauce
1¼ cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup milk
2 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples

 Crumble Topping

¼ cup white sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, cubed

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees Grease muffin pan or line muffin pan with liners. 

In a large bowl, cream together cup butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at time. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in apples. Scoop into muffin cups to fill ¾ full. Lightly sprinkle the tops with cinnamon crumble.

To make Cinnamon Crumble: In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup white sugar, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, and 2 tablespoons cubed butter. Mix together using a pastry blender, or two butter knives. The crumble topping should resemble small peas.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If they are browning too quickly, cover with tin foil. Remove from pans, and cool on wire rack.

For more fall recipes see Life As Mom’s Fall Recipe Swap. Also linked to Mouthwatering Mondays.

I bought the Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes cookbook several months ago.  I love the cookbook, but I have not used it very much yet.  I loved the two recipes that I have tried so far and I have quite a few more that I want to make.  But I have not had the time to do much baking from it.

This week I wanted to send something to my husband’s office for a treat. Muffins are usually popular, so I decided to see what I could find in the Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes. She had a recipe for chocolate chunk cupcakes, but they were very similar to a muffin.  The idea of a chocolate chip muffin sounded really good, so I decided to adapt them a little and make them as a muffin.

However, these are definitely not a healthy muffin. They are a treat.  I think they would be great as a cupcake with my chocolate frosting.  I think I may try them that way next time. 

My kids loved these muffins and have requested me to make them again soon.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks)  butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup whole milk

8 ounces chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake until pale golden and a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer muffins to wire racks; let cool completely.

 One note though on Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes, there is a mistake in it. Yes, Martha made a mistake.   Actually, mistakes in cookbooks are more common then you realize. I actually ended up making two batches of these.  In the cookbook it calls for 1 cup of milk. I thought this seemed like a lot, but I went ahead and followed it. They turned out good, but not great.  Well, a lot of Martha’s recipes are on her website, so I checked to see if this one was. It was there and sure enough it is supposed to have 1/3 cup of milk.  I made them again and they turned out really good with 1/3 cup milk. So, I am sure that is the correct about and that is how I posted it.

We love muffins.  They are great to eat for breakfast with yogurt, but they also make a great snack or dessert for the kids.  Muffins make a great on the go food. You can easily take them in a lunch to work or school.

I have quite a few muffin recipes that we enjoy, but I am trying to find a few healthier ones.

I recently came across a recipe for Overnight Oatmeal Muffins in a cookbook that I checked out of the library.  It caught my attention because it was healthy, or at least healthier, than most of my muffin recipes.  It contains both oatmeal and whole wheat flour which make it more of a hearty breakfast muffin. 

I like the fact that the oatmeal soaks overnight in this recipe.  It helps soften the oatmeal and give the muffins a better texture. This recipe also calls for buttermilk instead of regular milk, which I think gives it a nice flavor and also helps the texture.

This recipe contains raisins, but I think you could easily put other things in it.  I think craisins would be good or if you want it a little less healthy and more dessert like try chocolate chips. I am sure you could try quite a few different things in these to change up the flavor.

Now, I will warn you that these are not your bakery style light and fluffy muffins.  These are a heartier and healthy muffin, but they are very good.

Overnight Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

1 cup regular oats

2 cups buttermilk

Combine oats and buttermilk in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning add:

1  2/3  cups whole wheat flour

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Mix together and then add:

 1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped pecans (optional, I left these out)

 Bake in greased muffin tins or line with muffin liners.  Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes. This made 22 muffins for me.

For more frugal recipes see Frugal Friday and Grocery Cart Challenge.

I have a lot of zucchini right now.  I am trying to get creative in using it. My family is getting tired of the ways we have been eating it, so I am trying to come up with some different things.

I thought muffins sounded good, but I did not have a zucchini muffin recipe.  I decided to try to come up with my own.  I tweaked a recipe, added some whole wheat, changed the liquid to buttermilk and gave it a try. 

It worked great. My kids loved these.  We had them for an afternoon snack and again for dessert the other night.  These were easy. They used what I had and they are semi healthy. A great combination for a recipe.

I used part whole wheat in this, but you could use all regular flour if you like.  I like the idea of using part whole wheat to make them healthier.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup oil

1  1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour ( I used whole wheat pastry flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups grated zucchini, I used the smallest side of my grater b/c I like it small.  ( I did not really measure this. I used 1 med zuch.)

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Place grated zucchini in a strainer and drain as much liquid off as you can. Set aside.

Cream together butter, oil and sugar.  Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Blend well. In a separate bowl, mixdry ingredients together. Mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture well. Add grated zucchini, and mix well. Stir in  chocolate chips. Scoop into muffin pan lined with paper liners or greased well.  Bake at 325 degrees F  oven for 18-20 minutes.  Makes 24 muffins.

For more frugal tips and recipes see Frugal Fridays and Grocery Cart Challenge.

Last year I posted about a blueberry muffin recipe I made when I was visiting my sister in Oregon. It was really good, but I think I have found a better one. This one is really good. It is more cake like than muffin like. It is not necessarily a healthy muffin. This is more like a really good bakery style muffin.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in Martha Stewart Cupcake Cookbook. Yes, I bought another cookbook. I could not resist. I love to make cupcakes and muffins and knew I would love this book. It is similar in style to Martha’s Cookie Cookbook that I also love. Who couldn’t love cookbooks about cookies or cupcakes? Both are great desserts to make. So, since I had enjoyed the cookie on so much I went ahead and bought the cupcake book. And actually for a Martha Stewart cookbook both of these books are inexpensive.

The original recipe for these muffins was called cupcakes because they had whipped cream spread on top of them like a frosting would be. I am sure that would be very good, but I like them as more of a muffin. My kids loved these for breakfast.

Blueberry Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk, room temperature
2 cups blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flours, baking powder, and salt.
2. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture; beat until combined after each addition. Fold in blueberries by hand.
3. Divide batter among cups. Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool.

We love muffins in our house. They are usually easy and frugal to make. They also make a great addition to breakfast. My kids also love them for snacks. I have quite a few muffin recipes that I make and like, but I have been looking for some healthy muffins to make.

I came across a recipe on recipezar for a muffin with oatmeal and molasses in it. My husband loves molasses. Molasses cookies are one of his favorite cookies. So, I was pretty sure he would enjoy these muffins. I was not sure my kids would like them though. It is a bit of a strange combination and I just wasn’t sure about them.

It was a pretty healthy recipe, so I decided to go ahead and give it a try. I was shocked that they were a hit in my house. My kids and my husband loved them for breakfast. My son, who is the picky eater of the family, ate three one morning for breakfast and asked for another one later that day. They said these were definitely a “do again” as they call it.

I did adapt a few things on these. Mainly the amount of eggs. The original recipe called for 4 egg whites and I adjusted that to use whole eggs. Yes, egg whites are healthy, but it was easier just to put the yolks in too.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Molasses Muffins

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal (not quick cooking)
2 cups white flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all the dry ingredients together except the chocolate chips. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients and add to the dry ingredients. Mix just until blended. Then add the chocolate chips and mix all together. Fill greased muffin tins (or use muffin liners) 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

For more frugal recipes and ideas see Frugal Fridays and Grocery Cart Challenge.

Last week I was going to make my Buttermilk Chocolate Bread, but I really wanted something a little different. I wanted to use up some buttermilk that had expired. I knew it would be fine to bake with it and thought the chocolate bread would be a good way to use it up, but I was not really in the mood for a quick bread.

I decided to try using the same batter to make muffins. I had done this before with other quick bread recipes and it usually works well. I gave it a try with this batter and they turned out really good. In fact I think better than the bread version. I love the bread, so that says a lot. I am not sure exactly why they were better, but they were. They were more moist and just had a better overall texture.

So, if you like my Buttermilk Chocolate Bread trying making muffins with the same recipe. I baked the muffins for about 18 minutes.

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This is my favorite banana muffin recipe. I have others that I make and enjoy, but I find myself making this one the most. I found this recipe on allrecipes several years ago. It is very highly rated. It now has five stars by over 3,000 people. So, I am not the only one that enjoys this recipe.

I have used part whole wheat in these and it works good. I hope you give them a try.

Banana Crumb Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F . Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

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Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan. Or line the pan with paper muffin cups. In a bowl whisk together the dry ingredients, including the raisins and nuts. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the grated carrots, stirring to combine.