Holiday Eggnog Muffins

Eggnog Muffins

Melt in Pyrex cup: 1/4 c. butter
Add:
1 c. eggnog -good old-fashioned full-fat eggnog
1/4 c. rum
1 egg

Mix separately:
2 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
Mix eggnog and flour mixes together. Scoop into 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until tests done. Cool on wire rack. Eat several muffins with a large cup of eggnog for breakfast or snacking during the holidays. Read the following 'holiday eating tips' that was a forwarded e-mail sent to me by a dear friend if you need convincing. Happy Holiday!



Holiday Eating Tips:

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It’s rare… You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple , Pumpkin , Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day ?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!"

Marion Cunningham's Banana Muffins

A cup of coffee with something pastry-like is my idea of the perfect breakfast. I want a bit of sweet -all right, I want quite a bit of sweet- to help get me up and going in the mornings. These muffins are perfect and can be baked the night before so they're ready and waiting when I stumble down to the kitchen first thing in the morning. If you are not already a huge fan of Marion Cunningham, these muffins should immediately make you one. Those bananas I always buy too many of, which then turn brown languishing in the kitchen? These muffins use FIVE brown bananas, AND they are essentially fat-free, AND they are delicious. Other than a second cup of coffe, what more could you ask for?

Marion Cunningham's Banana Muffins
Adapted from Marion Cunningham's recipe

In a small bowl mix:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

In mixer bowl beat for 2-5 minutes:
5 very ripe bananas

Add:
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Fold flour mix in to banana mix. FILL 12 foil or paper-lined muffin cups (or greased and floured) completely full with batter. Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until toothpick tests clean. Cool on a wire rack until morning -and hope the young adults living in your house who make nightly food raids don't eat them all up before breakfast.

Banana-Nut Muffins

Yesterday, while I was waiting for my oven to preheat to bake these Cream Scones (click here) that I saw over at Food in Jars, I got distracted. Somewhere between washing the dishes, leafing through Diner Desserts, a cookbook by Tish Boyle I checked out from the local library, and looking at my calendar and noticing that today is Banana Bread Day (it's an old oven and it takes forever to heat up), I changed my mind and made these muffins instead. Diner Desserts is an absolutely charming cookbook filled with fun retro photos and fabulous recipes of, well, classic diner desserts. So far I have resisted buying it, but I couldn't resist making these muffins.

Banana-Nut Muffins
Adapted from Diner Desserts by Tish Boyle
Mix:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. wheat germ
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 c. finely minced walnuts

Mix separately:
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 c. butter, melted
3/4 c. yogurt, plain
1 large egg
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. vanilla

Combine two mixtures without over mixing. Fill paper-lined muffin cups. I had a bit more than 12 cups of batter and baked the extra as an adorable little mini banana bread loaf. Bake 350 degrees 18-20 minutes for muffins and 5 minutes extra for the mini loaf.

More Color of November

The squash, Delicata, acorn and Gold Nugget, harvested a few days ago after our first light frost.



My current knitting project, Brooke's Column of Leaves Hat pattern, using my last skein of a yarn I made awhile ago. A friend gave me a lovely yarn she had bought in Italy, and I plied it with a single of my handspun to create this yarn, the color of November.



And there's something about baking in November that draws me to recipes beginning with, "melt 1 stick of butter." Like these pumpkin Chocolate Chip mini-muffins. You SO want to make these, with or without the almonds. They are really great for make ahead, or take along, breakfasts or snacks. I take them to family reunions, and overnight visits, add them to gift baskets, and send them in care and holiday packages. I have been making them for years, being a big fan of all things pumpkin, and even those who are not big fans of pumpkin like them. Of course, when I say pumpkin, I mean a sugar pumpkin or squash, and not a jack-o-lantern pumpkin. These muffins were made with the leftovers from a baked Gold Nugget -good texture, not too moist, vividly orange and excellent flavor.



Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from Muffins by Elizabeth Alston

Melt:
1/2 c. butter
Cool and add:
1 c. mashed squash or pumpkin
2 eggs
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix:
1 1/3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. each nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. sliced or chopped, slivered almonds (optional)

Fold pumpkin mix into flour mix just until moistened. Scoop into greased or paper-lined muffin cups (12 regular size or 24 mini). Bake 350 degrees, 20-25 minutes (13-15 minutes for mini-muffins), Cool on rack and store in airtight container, preferably for one to two days.



Butterscotch Brownies from a recipe in a 1960's Ladies Home Journal Cookbook that I bought at a yard sale while on a camping trip with my Auntie Marilyn and toddler daughter. Butterscotch Brownies plus walnuts and chocolate chips make Congo Bars. These are worthy of the Dessert Queen, herself.



Congo Bars

Melt in a pot:
1/2 c. butter

Add: 2 c. brown sugar (almost a 1 lb. bag)
Stir to dissolve. Beat in:
2 eggs -one at a time
1 t. vanilla

In a bowl mix:
1 c. flour
1 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
Add and stir until mixed well. In all honesty, I just add the flour and all into the pot, giving it a quick fluff before stirring.

Add:
1 c. chopped walnuts (gathered and given to me by my Auntie Marilyn. I so appreciate them -and her!)
1/2 - 1 c. chocolate chips

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch Pyrex dish and bake 325-350 for 25 minutes. Cool a bit and cut into bars.