Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

I got this recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen. It makes a HUGE batch of muffins, so I ended up freezing half of the batter for later, but "later" will probably come sooner than I anticipated! These muffins are moist and flavorful, and the fruits you put in are fresh! It's hard to eat just one :) And the streusel topping is so yummy, it's hard not to eat it right off the top!

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

makes at least 24 muffins

Streusel Topping
5 tbsp COLD cubed butter
just under 1 C flour (the original recipe calls for 1 C, but I found that to be a little too much)
1/2 C sugar

1. Pour flour, sugar, and COLD, cubed butter into medium bowl. Using knife or forks, but the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until you have pea sized crumbs.

Muffins

3 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C vegetable oil

1 1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1 C yogurt

zest of 1 lemon (or a little more!)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or a little more!)

2 C blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In large bowl, blend sugar, oil, and eggs on medium speed until smooth.

4. Add yogurt, lemon zest, and lemon juice and blend until well-combined.

5. Gradually add the flour mixture on low speed and mix until flour is incorporated.

6. Gently fold in the blueberries.

7. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling each one about 2/3 full.

8. Top each muffin cup with ~1 tbsp of the streusel topping.

9. Bake for 22-26 minutes, or until they just begin to turn golden brown on top.

10. Remove the muffins from tin to allow them to cool.

Serve with a glass of milk and enjoy!!!

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

I made this for our Valentine's Day dessert, with purple and pink sugar sprinkled on top. The glaze kind of forms a shell of chocolate on top and makes the whole thing taste like a delicious cross between a cake, a brownie, and a chocolate doughnut. It's beautiful, but most importantly, it's rich and delectable! Serve with a TALL glass of cold milk :) (This recipe's from two peas & their pod.)

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Cake
1 C unsalted butter, plus more to grease the pan
1/3 C Dutch processed cocoa powder (which I couldn't find quickly, so I used regular cocoa powder)
1 tsp salt
1 C water
2 C flour, plus more for the pan
1 3/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 C sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350° and position rack in center.
2. Butter and flour a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan and set aside. (I don't think I did this part very well because once my cake was cooled and I tried to flip it out of the pan, the top layer just peeled away and the bottom layer remained in the bottom of the pan. I'm still trying to master the technique, but I think part of the secret is to grease and flour your pan very thoroughly! Don't worry though, my cake may have been off kilter, but it was still delicious :))
3. In a small saucepan, combine butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until just melted and combined. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and baking soda. Add half the butter mixture and whisk until completely blended (mixture will be thick). Add remaining butter mixture and whisk until well-combined.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk until completely blended.
6. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
7. Scrape batter into bundt pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean (40-45 minutes). Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack. Let cool completely before glazing.

Glaze
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp corn syrup (or agave nectar)
1/2 C heavy cream
1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1. Place chopped chocolate and corn syrup (or agave nectar) in medium bowl and set aside.
2. In small saucepan, over medium heat, combine heavy cream and sugar. Stir until cream is hot and sugar is dissolved.
3. Pour hot cream over chocolate, whisking until smooth.
4. Generously drizzle over cooled cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.

There is absolutely nothing healthy about this cake, but it tastes incredible!!!

Enjoy!

Mississippi Mud Pie with Homemade Whipped Cream

So I was commissioned to make a chocolate pudding pie (whatever that is) for our Thanksgiving potluck. I've never done that before, but I was pretty sure Martha Stewart wouldn't let me down so I decided to go for it. I found this delicious recipe from Martha's website, and it looked a lot more gourmet than just a chocolate pudding pie. It was inhaled at dessert!

Mississippi Mud Pie with Homemade Whipped Cream

25 chocolate wafer cookies (~1/2 a 9 oz package; we used Oreos with the cream scraped off)

1/2 C pecan halves, plus some for garnish

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tbsp cold, cut into small pieces

2/3 C plus 1 tsp sugar

1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 C cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 C milk

4 large egg yolks

2 tsp pure vanilla extract, divided

1/2 C heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In food processor, grind cookies and pecans to fine crumbs. Add melted butter and process until moistened.

2. Transfer mixture to 9" pie plate, pressing into bottom and up sides into crust shape. Bake until fragrant, about 8-10 minutes. Cool.

3. Place large, fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and set aside. In medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together 2/3 C sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. A few tbsp at a time, whisk in milk. Whisk in egg yolks.

4. Over medium heat, WHISKING CONSTANTLY, cook mixture until first large sputtering bubble forms. (It took 5-10 minutes or so, but you'll know exactly when this moment is because all of the sudden, out of nowhere, what was a thin mixture has morphed into perfect chocolate pudding!)

5. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 minute, still WHISKING CONSTANTLY.

6. Remove from heat and immediately pour through sieve into waiting bowl. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tbsp cold butter chunks.

7. Pour pudding into crust. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours.

8. Just before serving, beat cream, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pudding and sprinkle with pecans.

Enjoy! This was a really fun and gratifying recipe to make... it was super quick (even the baking is only for the crust), really easy, and delectable!

Vanilla Pudding Parfaits

I've had this recipe laying around for so long that I don't even remember where I originally got it... but it's so delicious and creamy as a dessert. I've made it for the 4th of July many times; instead of putting it in a parfait glass, I layer everything in a casserole dish and then decorate the top with blueberries and strawberries.  You can really do whatever you want with it, just try it! It's fabulous and it's super quick and easy!!!

Vanilla Pudding Parfaits

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 C COLD milk

3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding mix

1 1/2 C Cool Whip

1 box (24) vanilla wafer cookies, crushed or 1 box (2 packs) graham crackers, crushed

1 1/2 C berries or fruit (or more, I always add more :))

1. Beat cream cheese until creamy; gradually beat in milk.

2. Add pudding mix and mix well. Whisk in 1 C Cool Whip.

3. In tall parfait glass (or any dish), put 1 layer of crushed vanilla wafers or graham crackers. Follow with a layer of fruit, then a layer of Cool Whip mixture.

4. Repeat layers until done, then top with a spoonful of Cool Whip and some more fruit or berries.

Enjoy!!!

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I found this recipe for banana muffins on pinterest (originally from this blog) and decided to give them a shot.  They are DELICIOUS with a little cream cheese for breakfast! And they're healthy! It's my new go-to recipe for when I have too many over-ripe bananas (gag me) :)

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

2 1/2 C old-fashioned rolled oats (NOT the quick cooking kind)

1 C plain low fat Greek yogurt (I used Mountain High instead because that's what I had on hand.)

2 eggs

3/4 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 bananas (or maybe 4, if you like a strong banana flavor)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray tin with cooking spray (apparently, paper muffin tin liners don't work well with this recipe, but foil ones do. I just used cooking spray.)

2. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until oats are smooth (add oats a little at a time then add liquids; stir a few times throughout).

3. Divide batter among wells and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean (I baked them a bit shorter because my oven is weird; watch them carefully).

I halved this recipe and it worked fine, but I did put in 2 bananas (what are you going to do with the leftover half of a black slimy banana anyway) and the muffins tasted perfectly banana-ey.  I definitely wouldn't use less than 3 bananas for a full recipe, maybe even go to 4.  I hope you enjoy them! :)