The Best Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

Pumpkin Muffins Rock!

I have been using this recipe all fall and winter and everyone here just LOVES it! The muffins are soft, full of pumpkin flavor and the crumble sends it over the top! These muffins don't last long around here and I bet you will have the same problem at your house too. 

This is a simple recipe that uses ingredients you probably have in your pantry already. So what are you waiting for get those mixing bowls out get baking!

Click HERE for the pdf version of this recipe

enjoy,
Erin

Breakfast Inspirations

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Breakfast has become known as the most important meal of the day. How about a sample recipe from the classic cookbook by Thomas Murrey to inspire your morning meal! The full cookbook titled Breakfast Dainties has many great ideas. I made the recipe below to try with my kids and we LOVED it! Healthy and it tastes like a sweet treat.

Apples, Baked.—Peel and core six large sour apples; mix together a cup of sugar, half a teaspoonful of mixed ground spice, a saltspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of grated cracker crumbs, and two tablespoonfuls of milk or water. Fill the core with the mixture; put the apples in a pan, and bake; serve them hot or cold with sweetened cream. A border of whipped cream around the apples may be substituted for the plain cream.

Apples may be served sliced, covered with sugar and a mild liquor poured over them, and topped off with whipped cream.

What do you enjoy for breakfast? I'd love to hear how you get your day off to a good start.

Erin

Solar Oven

This summer has been nice and warm with lots of great sunshine - a great opportunity to do a little "summer school" and build a solar oven. The kids are always asking how hot it is outside and I always say "hot enough to fry an egg" which they then give me a silly (yeah sure mom) look. So after doing a little googling and finding some great instructions and recipes we went about building our own solar oven. Instead of a pizza box we used a USPS priority box and just used one of the front openings to insert our cookie sheet with peanut butter cookie dough. Don't you just love the pink duct tape! The girls and Drew checked the solar cooker every 10 - 15 minutes to make sure the sunlight was properly reflected into our oven for maximum heat. After awhile (I lost track of the time!!) we brought in the solar oven and using an oven mitt extracted a tray full of solar baked peanut butter cookies! Since we propped up the solar oven in the beginning the cookies kind of ran together but they still tasted great! Here are some pics of our summer science experiment!

Apple Streusel Cake

Here is a great recipe for an apple streusel cake. This is an easy recipe! It not only goes great with your coffee (or hot chocolate) in the morning it can also be served as a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

FOR THE STREUSEL:

1 c. light brown sugar

1 c. chopped apples (peeled or unpeeled - it is your preference)

1 c. sliced almonds, pecans or walnuts (optional)

1/3 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

FOR THE CAKE:

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. butter (1 stick) softened

1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 c. orange juice

FOR THE GLAZE: (optional)

1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

2 1/2 tsp. orange juice

1. Making the Streusel - Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9 or 10 inch tube pan. To prepare streusel, in a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, apples, almonds, flour and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter.

2. Making the Cake - In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; mix well. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well after each addition. Add vanilla.

3. Set mixer to low; alternately beat four mixture and orange juice into egg mixture. Spoon half of batter into tube pan. Sprinkle with half of streusel. Spoon the remaining batter over the streusel, spreading to make an even layer. Swirl batter with a knife to create a marble pattern.

4. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove cake from oven; sprinkle with remaining streusel. Return cake to the oven; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Making the Glaze - combine confectioners' sugar and orange juice. Mix well. Turn cake out onto a serving plate; invert so streusel is on top. Drizzle glaze over cake; serve!

Cupcake? Cupcake!

Here is the recipe for the yummy cupcakes Dianne (Mom) made while our southern relatives were visiting. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1st bowl

1 - 8oz pkg cream cheese

1 egg

1/3 c. sugar

1/8 tsp salt

6 oz. chocolate chips

Stir together first 4 ingredients then fold in the chocolate chips.

2nd bowl

Mix together the following ingredients

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1 c. sugar

Next add:

1/3 c. cooking oil

1 c. water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp vinegar

Beat until combined.

Grease or line with cupcake wrappers a cupcake baking sheet and fill each cup 1/2 full of BOWL 2 ingredients. Top each filled cup with a heaping tsp. of BOWL 1 cream cheese mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes. Yields 2 dozen.