Lemon Muffins

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup melted butter (can substitute vegetable oil)
2 eggs
grated zest of 1 large lemon
juice of large lemon
1 cup milk

Whisk together dry ingredients. Melt butter in glass measuring cup in microwave, then measure in remainder of wet ingredients. Form well in dry ingredients, pour in wet and mix just until thoroughly moistened. Spoon into greased muffin cups and bake at 350*F for about 20 minutes or just until tops spring back when lightly touched. Eat as is, or add optional lemon juice and icing sugar glaze.

Optional glaze:
Additional lemon juice mixed with icing sugar to make a thin glaze. Poke tops of freshly baked muffins with fork or toothpick and pour or brush over top.

Apple Nectarine Coffee Cake

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar (can increase to 1 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup oil (can increase to 1/2 cup)
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract (you could also try almond extract, instead)

2 apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced
1 nectarine, cut from stone and chopped

Batter:
Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Combine wet ingredients in separate bowl or large measuring cup. Form well in dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix just until combined.

Crunch:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbsp margarine or butter

In small bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Work in margarine or butter with fingers.

Assemble:
In greased 9 x 9 baking dish, spread about half of the batter. Layer the fruit over the top. Then sprinkle over half of the crunch. Gently spread the remaining batter over the top of that, followed by the remaining crunch topping.

Bake at 350*F for about 45 minutes. Check with toothpick to see when it is done. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Banana Muffin Pie

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup blueberries
1 banana, sliced lengthwise and then into chunks

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Form a well. Add in oil, buttermilk, blueberries and banana chunks. Stir gently just until combined. Fill greased muffin cups, pie pan, or similar. Bake at 350*F for about 20 minutes for muffins, 25 minutes or so for larger dish. When done, tops will spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center will come clean. Don’t overbake.

Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

1/3 cup vegetable oil (or butter/marg; could increase to 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup sugar (could increase to 1/2 cup)
1 egg
2/3 cup orange juice (or substitute another fruit juice, soured milk or buttermilk)
1 banana, sliced in half lengthwise and then into small chunks
1/2 cup or so of blueberries

1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Stir together oil and sugar. Beat in egg. Add juice. Slice banana into small chunks. Toss in blueberries and stir together.

Mix flour, oats, soda and salt in a separate bowl. Pour in wet ingredients and stir just until moistened. Take care not to smash the blueberries.

Spoon into greased or lined muffin tin and bake at 350*F for about 20 minutes or just until top springs back when pressed.

Makes 10 muffins.

Cinnamon Twists (makes 8 )

Dough:
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold butter
scant 1 cup milk

Topping:
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in microwave in a glass measuring cup or correlle cereal bowl, or similar.

2. Measure and mix together 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon sugar in a second shallow bowel (eg. corelle cereal bowl).

3. Set oven to 425*F to preheat.

4. Measure flour, 2 Tbsp. sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl. Stir with wooden spoon or whisk.

5. Cut in 1/4 cup butter with pastry cutter.

6. Add milk and stir in. Turn out on floured counter and knead 8 – 10 times to gather dough together.

7. Cut into 8 fairly even pieces.

8. Roll each piece into a rope about 9 inches long. Form a ring and pinch ends together to seal.

9. Dip dough ring into melted butter, then into cinnamon sugar.

10. Twist once into a figure 8 and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.

11. Bake about 10 minutes, until lightly browned (check bottom of twists). Serve hot.

Note:
HOT OVEN CAUTION: This is a recipe my kids made. Depending on their age, you will probably want to be there to help, especially with the hot oven.

Alternate: You can omit the cinnamon, and just make “Sugar Twists”.

Apple Rolls

1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup hot water
1 tsp yeast
3 tsp (1 Tbsp) sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached flour
2 apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
4 heaping teaspoons brown sugar (2 – 3 Tbsp)
sprinkle of cinnamon

Add hot water to milk. Stir in yeast and sugar. Add salt and whole wheat and stir. Add melted butter and beat well. Add 1 cup unbleached flour, then remaining flour a bit at a time until dough is stiff enough to begin to handle by hand. Knead until smooth and elastic on a lightly floured counter. Add additional flour only as necessary – keep dough as moist as you are able to manage and still knead comfortably without it sticking to everything.
When dough is smooth and elastic, round into a ball, coat with melted butter or oil. Cover and let rest for 15 or 20 minutes while you prepare the apples.

Peel and core apples. Use a food processor or chop finely by hand. Stir in brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Roll out rested dough into a rectangle about 18″ wide and 12 – 15″ long.
Spread chopped apple mixture evenly over the top, except for an inch or so along one 18″ edge so that you can seal it. Roll up toward dry edge and seal. Cut into 12 slices about 1 1/2″ thick. Place in greased 9 x 13 pan. Let rise until double, about 1 hour.

(A trick I tried this time to speed rising, was to place the pan on a hot, wet towel, and cover it with another tea towel (well wrung out). Once the towels cooled, I removed them and covered with a dry tea towel instead.)

Bake at 350*F for about 25 minutes until done and tops are lightly browned. Serve with butter, if you like. These buns are not sweet. If you prefer them sweeter, drizzle with an icing sugar glaze.

Note: Diced apples mixed with sugar will get quite juicy if left to sit. Which means your rolls will have juice running out the bottom as you cut them and set them in the pan. Oh well.

Croissants

Dough:
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp yeast
1 3/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt

Butter Layer:
1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

Prepare the Dough (several hours, or the day before):

Heat milk in microwave or in saucepan over low heat just until warm (about 110*F). If it feels, too hot, let it cool to lukewarm (will feel comfortably warm on wrist or back of arm). Add yeast and stir in.

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and pour in milk and yeast mixture. Stir together until combined, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be a soft and sticky ball. Don’t try to knead it! Cover with plastic wrap or sealed lid and refrigerate for 4 – 12 hours (or a little more – just get back to it by tomorrow!)

Prepare the Butter:

To prepare the butter, sprinkle 1 1/2 Tbsp. flour on a sheet of wax paper. Roll the cold butter in the flour. Cut it into chunks and push it back together into a lump, if you like. The idea is to keep it cold, but get it soft enough to flatten out. Put another piece of wax paper over top and push at the butter with your rolling pin and your hands until it’s malleable, but not melting. If starts to get too warm and soft, let it cool off in the fridge before resuming work. As you push it out, add up to another 1/2 Tbsp. of flour if necessary, to keep it from getting too sticky. You’ll want to try to get it into a rough rectangle about 6 x 9 inches, but it’s okay if you need to piece it together later, though. When done, put it back into the fridge (still between the sheets of wax paper) to stay nice and chilled while you prepare the dough.

Layer the Dough and Butter:

Remove the dough from the fridge. Lightly sprinkle the clean counter with flour, and dump the dough out onto it. Sprinkle a little more flour on top, just enough to keep your hands from sticking to it. Push and stretch the dough out into a 6 x 12 rectangle. Turn it so that the short ends are at the top and the bottom.

Take the flattened butter out of the fridge, peel it off of the wax paper, and lay it on the bottom two-thirds of the rectangle of dough. Piece as necessary.

Now, just like you fold a letter (except backwards), you’re going to fold the unbuttered top third of the dough down over the middle. Then fold the bottom third up over the middle, to make 5 layers of dough and butter.

Lightly flour the counter and dough. Turn the dough so the short ends are at the top and bottom again. Using your rolling pin, start to flatten out the dough. Start by pressing shallow indentations into the dough, then continue to gently flatten and roll out the dough into a 6 x 12 rectangle, being careful not to push the butter out the edges.

Now, fold both short ends in towards the middle, leaving about 1/2″ of space between the ends. Then fold in half.

Gently roll again out into an (approximate) 6 x 12 rectangle. Wrap loosely in plastic wrap (this will allow for expansion as it rises) and place it in the fridge. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to 24 (although, if you plan on leaving it in the fridge this long, place a plastic bag over top, or another layer of plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out).

Cut the Croissants:

Sprinkle the counter lightly with flour. Remove the prepared rectangle of dough from the fridge and unwrap. Carefully roll the dough out into a 12 x 12 square.

Cut in half, making two 6 x 12 rectangles. A pizza or pastry wheel works best, but you can use a sharp knife, too. Grab opposite corners (eg. upper right and lower left) and gently stretch the rectangles a little. This is so you can cut out those triangular croissants a little nicer, especially those first and last ones.

Mark out each rectangle into about 6 triangles (I ended up with a little more), each with about a 4″ base. Using your pizza or pastry wheel (or knife), cut them out.

Roll the Croissants:

Now, take each of these triangles and stretch them across the base (bottom), so that it’s about the same length as the other two sides. Then, turn up the bottom about 1/2 inch and hold onto it with one hand, while with the other, grab the point and stretch it out another 2 or 3 inches. Roll up the croissant.

Place the rolled croissants point side down on pans lined with parchment (or wax paper, in a pinch) about 2 inches apart, and curve each croissant a little to make a crescent (moon) shape. (It’s best to use pans with low sides, if you can, as the butter may run off when it melts in the oven and make a mess. With sideless pans, you may want to not place any croissants too close to the edge, or place another pan underneath in case there are any drips.)

Let Rise, and Bake:

Cover the pans of croissants with plastic wrap and allow to rise until about doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Since the dough came out of the refrigerator, it will take awhile.

Set your oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 375*F.

Brush the risen croissants with egg wash (not too much, or it will puddle underneath, and you don’t want that). Put in the oven and bake about 25 minutes, until they are a dark golden color. They will also feel very light for their size when you pick them up (full of air, you know!)

Serve with jam, marmalade, or Nutella for brunch or tea, along with tea or coffee. Fresh fruit also makes a nice accompaniment.

The recipe I used wasn’t Mom’s, and although it was good, I can’t say it was quite the same. But maybe only Mom can make tea ring that good…

Here’s a picture of how my tea ring turned out:

Crumpets – Attempt #1

2 1/2 tsp. yeast (I used rapid rise yeast)
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp honey

Sprinkle yeast on top of lukewarm water (about 110*F – will feel warm on wrist or back of arm). Add flour, salt, melted butter and honey and beat 200 strokes or so until smooth. This dough is thin, really more of a batter. Cover and let rise about 1 hour. It should more than double (almost triple) in volume. (If you use regular rather than rapid rise yeast, it may take longer than an hour).

About 15 minutes before you’re ready to cook, set griddle or skillet on to heat over low to medium-low heat. Grease pan, or use nonstick skillet. Grease inside of crumpet rings (4″ across and 1″ high). Since I didn’t have crumpet rings on hand, I substituted canning rings, though I think if you had tuna tins you were able to cut the tops and bottoms out of, they might work better.

Stir the dough down thoroughly after rising (it may have fallen already – stir it anyway). Pour into each ring to cover the bottom to about 1/2″ thickness or a little more. A full 4″ muffin ring can take about 1/2 cup of batter. Use less batter if using smaller rings.

Cook until the crumpet is set. The top should fill with holes and become dry to the touch. Remove the rings. You may need to lift the crumpets off the skillet with a spatula in order to remove the rings. Turn crumpets and lightly brown the tops. Press lightly to see if it springs back to ensure it is baked all the way through.

If the top does not fill with holes…oh well. (And that’s what happened to me). Flip and brown the other side, as well. You’ve just made English muffins instead. Well, sorta almost…ha ha.

Eat fresh with butter and jam, or split and toast.

In this photo, I have split one of the crumpets/muffins and spread with butter and topped with a spoonful of jam.

Crumpets – Attempt #2

My second try at crumpets reduced the ratio of liquid to flour to 1:1.

1 (heaping) tsp yeast (or about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 tsp.) (I used rapid rise yeast)
1 cup warm water (may substitute milk)
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil or melted butter
2 tsp honey or sugar

Beat all together, and let rest/rise 15 – 20 minutes while you heat the skillet. (I used a rapid rise yeast which does not require as much time to rise. If you are using regular yeast, I suggest letting it go through a first rise of about 1 hour, stirring down, and then heating the skillet.) After a trial crumpet, add a little more warm water if necessary to thin the batter. A crumpet should have holes forming all over the top as it bakes – much like a pancake. If the batter is too thick, the air bubbles won’t make it to the top.

When the crumpet is covered with holes and becomes dry on top, you can remove the crumpet rings, flip and lightly brown the other side. Or, you can cook it on just one side until the top springs back with lightly pressed, showing it is done all the way through. Best served with a topping, such as jam.

In this photo, the bottom of a crumpet is shown on the left, while the topside of a crumpet, with a spoonful of jam, is shown on the right. They are unsplit. This second batch of crumpets did not rise to nearly the height of the first batch.

VARIATIONS: Some crumpet recipes include eggs, or replace the water with milk. Some use baking powder, or baking soda and cream of tartar, as well as yeast, while others use these types of leaveners instead of yeast. Feel free to try some of the variations.

If you use yeast and do not cook all the way through, they will taste very yeasty – which is not very nice in my opinion. So, be sure to cook all the way through. Reduce heat if they are getting too brown on the bottom before the top sets.

I’ve never made crumpets before. Have you? Any tips or recipes to suggest?