Glazed Cranberry Cornbread Muffins

Anybody out there still surviving on leftover turkey pot pies and mashed potato patties? Not us. We were picked clean. Except for one thing, and I was just about to toss it out and move on. But wait! I read on my friend Valerie's blog that cranberry sauce is the number one discarded item after Thanksgiving. (Check out her post-she also has a recipe for pumpkin soup that I'm dying to try.) I had to give my frugal face a good hard look in the mirror. Am I a cranberry man or a cranberry mouse? Well, I'm more like a cranberry house-frau. But I am a decent cook, and a penny pinching one at that. I decided right then and there that I was going to use up that sauce and we were gonna like it. So let it be written, so let it be done. Amen and Hallelujiah. So, that's how these Glazed Cranberry Cornbread Muffins came to be. What a lucky experiment! I used up every last bit of that cranberry sauce, and guess what? The Quiet Man and the charges all asked if I would please make these again tomorrow. Oh, yes I'll make them again. But not till I've got some leftover cranberry sauce hanging around.

Money Saving Tips: If you don't have extra cranberry sauce, swap it out with some jam. Buy your cornmeal in bulk and store it in an airtight container in your cupboard.

Sweet Cranberry Cornbread Muffins

Estimated Cost: $2.50 for 12

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

2/3 cup sugar

2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

6 tablespoons melted butter

2 eggs

12 teaspoons cranberry sauce

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, powder, soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter and eggs. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Line 12 capacity muffin pan with paper liners. Divide batter between evenly between cups. Top each with a teaspoon of cranberry sauce. Place muffin pan on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 16 minutes, or until tops are browned. (Middles will sink a little.) Prepare a glaze by combining powdered sugar and cream to a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm muffins and serve.

P.S. The charges are doing acts of kindness everyday in December with their church classes. The Quiet Man and I are jumping in, too. It's a great way to celebrate the holidays all month long. Join in! Some ideas for the next couple of days: Call a relative on the phone that you haven't spoken with recently. Rake leaves, shovel snow, or pick up trash in a neighbor's yard.

Next Up:

Potato Latkes for Hanukkah

Better for You Chocolate-Buttermilk Muffins

All of your virtual well-wishing has brought about a shaky, cheerful recovery. I wish I could return the favor when you are feeling ill. I'd tuck you in and spoon feed you some homemade chicken noodle soup, the equivalent of what your kind comments have done for me. I feel physically better, but mostly overwhelmingly grateful for your readership. I can only promise to endeavor to deserve it in the coming year.

It's a brand new year. It comes shiny and packaged, like a Christmas present, leaving me wondering what kind of surprises lay ahead. I know that I want what I had last year, only more so. I want family dinners, with casual conversation and funny anecdotes. I want lazy Sunday breakfasts in pajamas. I want late night snacks and movies, moshed together on the couch, under a comfy quilt. I'd like Birthday cakes and everyday cakes, both with candles and wishes. I want comfort food when my family needs band aids and respites from the inevitable bumps in the road. And celebratory meals with friends crowded around makeshift tables and big laughs from little children. I want contentment, with a scoop of ice cream on the side and a cherry on top.

So here's what I resolve to do this year:

Stay healthy. No diets, just healthful foods (and treats, too) and lots of running (half-marathon or full?) and fun family exercising like tennis, ice skating, swimming, bike-riding, and hide and go seek. Maybe I should sign up for fencing with West.

Stay happy. Take a good long look at my charges when they are sleeping, every night. Listen to their stories, even if its the 179th time that West wants to tell me about a scene from Star Wars. Never skip dessert, unless it is Fruitcake. Play Trivial Pusuit with my parents, who incidentally clean my clock everytime. Take the charges to New York to see their Oma and Opa, on their turf. Tell my nieces and nephews why I love them. And I really do adore each and every one of them. Write secret notes to the Quiet Man, especially during church, since it reminds me of when we were dating and why I knew I'd be no good without him. Keep blogging and strive to be worth of my readers.

Stay sane. I need a little help with this one, since I'm starting with a deficit. Ask for help when I can't do everything. Refuse late papers from students, unless they have a really, really, really good excuse. Telephone my sisters, since they are my free psychologists. Go through the drive thru at Del Taco when dinner seems impossible. They actually have pretty good cheese quesadillas, don't they? Don't let myself get so busy that I don't have time to be spontaneously kind. Laugh in the face at perfection, and embrace imperfection.

And now, to share with my dear readers, the first recipe of 2010. Here's a scrumptious, yet better for you Chocolate Buttermilk Muffin, partially in celebration of the second year anniversary of my online Baking Club "Tuesdays with Dorie," and partly in celebration of a new year. May it bring you much peace, happiness, sanity, and chocolate. Hopefully all together.

Better for You Chocolate Buttermilk Muffins

Notes: These are fantastic warm and fresh from the oven. They are every bit as yummy as a full fat cupcake.

Estimated Cost:$1.50 for six

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup additional chocolate chips, optional

powdered sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt chips and butter. Stir until smooth. Add buttermilk and stir well. Add sugar, egg white, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flours, soda, and salt. Add to chocolate mixture and stir VERY GENTLY, until just combined. Fold in additional chips, if using. Line a muffin pan with six muffin liners and divide batter between cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until puffed and firm to the touch. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired and serve warm.

Up All Week:

My Favorite Soups in the Crock Pot

Sherlock Holmes and Allspice Cookies

Welcome to the second day of Cookie Bookie Week. There's a lot going on today-Cookie Bookie and my Tuesday weekly baking club. So let's proceed in order, shall we?

Today's book is The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Did I ever mention how much I adore Sherlock Holmes? I bought the Quiet Man the complete set of Sherlock Holmes for Christmas last year. I also begged my little West to dress as Sherlock Holmes for Halloween; Indiana Jones won out, but West says maybe next year. I'm dying to sew this costume. Maybe I should dress up as Sherl-y Holmes.But the charges do love Sherlock Holmes, thanks to the old radio program cassettes that we regularly check out from our local library. I thought since they were already enamored with the brilliant old gum-shoe, that I ought to read them The Hound of the Baskervilles out loud at bedtime. The first night, I started in with Holmes and Watson considering the reported case of a phantom creature, prowling the grounds of an estate and causing general mayhem and particular murder. These are not good bedtime topics for young charges; even young charges who like Sherlock Holmes will become reticent. Especially if the wind wails outside the window and clatters the blinds. It is my experience that one night of The Hound of the Baskervilles is all that little children will be able to manage. I had to go on alone. It was better that way, because the book becomes truly spooky, suspenseful, even thrilling. But don't take my word for it; find out for yourself.

And now for our cookie, or rather first things first. Today is Tuesdays with Dorie, my weekly baking club. Not to miss out on my assignment, I baked some superlative allspice crumb muffins. They were scrumptious. Please click here for the recipe. But today is NOT muffin-bookie week. That sounds almost obscene. Today is cookie bookie, and I've created an allspice-snap, cousin to the more popular ginger-snap. I have to wonder why I have been ignoring allspice all of these years. It's only been a part-of-the-gang kind of spice, not something I was willing to use on its own. But after I tried the muffins above, I knew I had to give allspice a starring role in a cookie. So ta-da. Here it is. So get reading and baking.

Allspice Snaps

Estimated Cost: $1.50 for 16

Adapted from Didi Emmons

6 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more later)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon allspice (plus more later)

pinch of salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Stir in egg yolk. Add allspice, salt, soda, and flour. Form cookie dough into one inch bowls. In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon allspice. Roll cookies in sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with hand. Bake at 350 degrees6-8 minutes, or until puffed in the center and crinkled on the edges.

Come back tomorrow for More Cookie Bookie

Whole Wheat Banana Cakes

Welcome to Tuesday, the day in which hundreds of Internet bakers join together in preparing a sweet treat from Dorie Greenspan's massive baking tome, "Baking; From my Home to Yours." This week's recipe for banana bundt cake was chosen by Mary, The Food Librarian. (She has a beautiful blog with gorgeous pictures-especially this week's bundt cake.)Since our family of four is equally divided into two groups of banana lovers and banana haters, I knew that making an entire bundt cake would be risky. On the one hand, I could bake the cake and not mention that it contains bananas. I've pulled this one before, but the charges are usually astute enough to notice the sudden absence of the blackened bananas on the counter top. As much as they don't like to eat bananas, they watch the progress of their demise with a mixture of satisfaction and disgust. If I get caught not fessing up about adding bananas, it sets me back months in terms of culinary trustworthiness. My girl, with her aversion to almost all things healthful, will often ask me three questions before eating any of my baked goods: Does this have pumpkin? Chopped up raisins? For the love of pete, does this have bananas?

Early in the morning, while the charges were still in dreamland, I mixed up some whole wheat muffins using bananas from the freezer to keep my secret. The batter was delicious and soon the house was filled with a sweet warm aroma. The Quiet Man and I happily ate our banana cakes, and when the charges woke up they stumbled into the kitchen and asked for some too. My little boy happily gobbled his down, never knowing the fruity truth. But my little girl, ever suspicious, plucked off a golden brown corner, examined it, put the daintiest crumb in her mouth, and then looked at me with one eyebrow up. "What kind of muffins are these?" And then she launched into her three questions, I confessed the truth, and she had a bowl of Cheerios. But at least my little boy loved the muffins, and that changes the score from two to two, to three banana lovers and one banana hater. Aha-I'm making progress.

For the real recipe, click here. I made a quarter batch to get six muffins, using half whole wheat, some maple extract, and some chopped pecans as well. When you've got overripe bananas, peel them, cut them into one inch sections and keep them in the freezer for smoothies, baked goods, and other deep dark secrets.

Up Next:

Blackened Corn Salsa with Cheese Quesadillas

Best Ever Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Home. Home Sweet Home. After nearly a week in the car with a passel of frisky (but suprisingly well behaved, considering the confinement) children, it's awfully nice to be home. Now that I'm back, I'm re-relishing every minute of my trip. Before I cast myself erelong into whatever comes next in my long line of projects, I want to share a little bit of the fun places we've seen.

Nantucket was the yearly vacation place of the Quiet Man's family. I confess that I hadn't even heard of it before I met him. Nantucket is a tiny island off the coast of Cape Cod, just a bit further east than Martha's Vineyard. In it's heyday, Nantucket was home to a booming whaling industry. Some savvy city planner was smart enough to insist on preserving the history and charm of the island, which retains the cobblestone streets and the Cape Cod style houses complete with the roof top widows-walks of yesteryears. I could wander the island for days on end, just staring at the houses. It's the painted doors that really make me flutter my lashes. There's not a color in the world that doesn't look purdy with salt stained shingles. Not to mention the quarterboards bearing the cottage names. A lovely tradition, don't you think? Here are a few of my favorites:Some are clever, like this "ALOFT"..."The Inn Between"

This one's on Union Street....And these two are on Fair Street...Some are just sweeter than apple pie....And some have classical references.....But this one is my favorite. If I ever become rich and famous, you'll know where to find me. You can't read the quarterboard because of the climbing plants, but it reads "The Fair Ever."I think it would be lovely to spend just about Fairever there. Sigh..... (But home is awfully nice too. And comfy. And my parents are across the street. I'll never leave.) And now I think I will share these fabulously delicious muffins with you. Once when the Quiet Man and I were on Nantucket we stayed at an adorable bed and breakfast. The first morning, they served muffins. They were quite good we thought, and so the next morning we were excited to go down to breakfast and see what they had next to offer. Muffins again. Still good. And the next morning? Muffins? Hmmm. And so it went all week. These muffins that I'm sharing are better than theirs, but still don't eat them all week, OK? Although you'll be tempted because they are just that good. They'd make an ideal Fourth of July breakfast, and speaking of which, I'll have a yummy Fourth of July menu right here all week long. So come on back. Lemon Blueberry Muffins (adapted from a few recipes)

Estimated Cost: $3.00 for a dozen

2/3 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of one lemon

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspooon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick butter, melted and cooled

1 and 1/2 cups blueberries, (frozen is fine)

For icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, rub sugar and lemon zest together with finger tips. Whisk in flour, powder, soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and melted butter until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and very gently toss to combine. Add berries. Bake in paperlined muffin tins for 18-20 minutes.
Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze. Drizzle over muffins.

Coming Up All Week:

Fourth of July

Spicy Blackened Corn Potato Salad

Catalina Island Cheeseburgers

Miniature Mango Snack Cakes

Welcome to Tuesday, the appointed day of my weekly baking club, wherein we create one of Dorie Greenspan's stellar recipes and report back. Today's assignment: Mango Bread.

I know I like zuchinni bread, pumpkin bread, carrot bread, and banana bread, so even though I hadn't tried mango bread, I was pretty sure it would be cute and loveable. Except, I have one little gripe with these moist quick breads: they seem like health food and yet they call for vast amounts of fat. Now, I'll make donuts and cookies and not bat an eye, but in those cases you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. But doggone it, if something seems good for you, then it ought to be. Since this week's mango bread called for 3/4 cup of oil, I thought I'd shake things up a little. I made a 1/3 batch into little miniature "snack cakes," since portion control is vital with my eat-it-till-it's gone MO. Plus, I swapped a little of the oil for buttermilk to trim some of the fat. I also used dried mangos, because my parents had some in their cupboard across the street. I borrowed them last night when they were out to dinner wiwth friends. By the way Mom, can I borrow your dried mangoes? OK, thanks. And now that I have them, I think I want some in a salad, so you may not get them back right away. Thanks again. These snack cakes were really yummy. The mango flavor wasn't pronounced, but present. They tasted like little gingerbread spice cakes with a touch of the tropics. They'd be lovely for breakfast, an afterschool snack, or for a casual dessert like we had last night. Come on back tomorrow for a Max and Ruby raspberry fluff birthday cake.

Money Saving Tips: Keep a big bag of dried mangoes on hand from Costco. They're great for snacking and baking. It's especially cheap if you can take them for free out of your parent's cupboard. Ahem, thanks again, Mom.

Miniature Mango Snack Cakes

Estimated Cost: $1.50 for 24

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup dried mangoes, chopped

1 egg

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour (I used half whole wheat)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small microwaveable boil, bring orange juice to a boil. Add mangoes and let sit for ten minutes. Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners and spray the top with cooking spray. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, combine flour, powder, soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, sugar, and brown sugar; mix until well combined. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients; batter will be thick. Stir in mangoes and orange juice. Pour mixture into prepared muffin cups and bake for 12-18 minutes, or until puffed and brown. They may rise up and fall back down, and that's OK. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Coming Tomorrow:

Raspberry Fluff Cake

Tuesdays with Dorie: Whole Wheat Pumpkin Maple Muffins

Time's a wasting! Join Tuesdays with Dorie baking club before October 31st, or you'll miss your sugary chance. Each week, we make fabulous treats on the cheap. Hurry on over!

Fall is my favorite time for a Saturday Adventure. I capitalize this term on purpose because it's such a grand idea that it deserves to be a proper noun. When we moved to our little southwest town from upstate New York, our notion of the Fall Saturday Adventure had to adjust a little. For one thing, a pumpkin patch-a real true pumpkin patch- was not easily found. After some inquiry, a local yokel informed us that the nearest thing to a pumpkin patch was 40 miles away in an even smaller town. A pumpkin growing farmer puts the gourds out on his front lawn with a lockbox on a card table. On the honor system, you pick out your pumpkin and cram some crumpled ones into the too-small slot. This sophisticated market system simply isn't used in Los Angeles, where I grew up. It sounded like the perfect Saturday Adventure to me; even if we didn't get a pumpkin it was worth it to see virtuous people handling a loaded cashbox. And so it has been for the last four years in a row. Each October we've headed off to someone else's front lawn in somebody else's hometown to buy somebody else's home-grown pumpkin on the marvelous honor system. This year, I woke up early and slipped a batch of freshly baked whole wheat pumpkin muffins whole wheat, perfumed with maple and studded with sunflower seeds, into a basket to take along. If there is any way to make an October Saturday Adventure even more ideal, it's with these fall flavored muffins. And this year, as the icing on the cake, during our drive home the sky sifted down gentle drifts of powdered sugar snow. It melted just hours later, but it was a good reminder that the holidays are coming soon, and muffins like these are not only good for Saturday Adventures but also for Holiday Breakfasts. Another capital notion!
Money Saving Tips: Maple extract is a HUGE money saver. You can make pancake syrup by boiling together sugar and water and flavoring it with maple extract. It's not as good as maple syrup, but for a child's frozen waffle, it does the trick. Also, maple extract makes a great frosting since the flavor is stronger than real maple syrup. Be sure to freeze any leftover pumpkins in 1/2 cup portions in zip top baggies. Sunflower seeds can be pricey, so use whatever nuts you've got available.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Maple Muffins
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan
Estimated Cost: $2.00 for six muffins
Notes: These are even better with a little maple butter. Stir together equal parts butter and maple syrup.
1 cup whole wheat flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 tablespoons softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, plus more for top (or other nut)
Grease a six cup muffin tin. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, powder, soda, cinnamon and ginger. In a separate medium bowl, cream butter and both sugars. Add the egg and beat well. Stir in vanilla and maple extracts. Mix in pumpkin and buttermilk. Very gently, fold in dry ingredients. Stir in seeds. Divide batter between muffin cups. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in muffin tins for five minutes. Remove from muffin tins and serve warm
Coming Tomorrow:
Sweet Red Pepper and Ginger Penne with Feta