DRIED CHERRY WHOLE WHEAT MUFFINS

 On Monday I shared a recipe for Apricot Sunshine Muffins that I made to share with some friends for Christmas. We have really enjoyed the few extras I kept for us. Two of the friends that I have heard from couldn't stop raving about them. 

I also made these muffins from the same cookbook, Pillsbury Healthy Baking. The recipe had a different title because they used dried blueberries, but did indicate that you could use dried blueberries, dried tart cherries, dried cranberries, or raisins. Since I had some dried cherries that I had not opened, I thought I would try them for something different. I really liked the results.

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DRIED CHERRY WHOLE WHEAT MUFFINS

1     cup flour

3/4  cup whole wheat flour

1/2  cup firmly packed brown sugar

2     teaspoons baking powder

1/2  teaspoon baking soda

1/2  teaspoon salt

1     cup buttermilk

1/4  cup oil

2     egg whites

1/2  cup dried tart cherries, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, or raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or line the muffin cups with paper baking cups and spray the paper cups with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt;

mix well.

In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, and egg whites;

blend well with a fork.

Add to the dry ingredients all at once;

stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Gently stir in the dried fruit.

Because there is always space in the cup when you are measuring dried fruit, I always measure a heaping cup measurement.

Spoon batter evenly into the muffin cups. I use a scoop I have that measures a scant 1/4 cup. I had just a little bit of batter left to make probably one more muffin

so I added just a dab to each cup and smoothed it out.

Bake for 14 to 19 minutes or until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (I usually press lightly on the center of a muffin to test for doneness.)

Immediately remove from the pan to a wire rack. 

Serve warm.

I am so glad I decided to use the dried cherries instead of blueberries or anything else. They were really yummy.

APRICOT SUNSHINE MUFFINS

 I usually share some of my baked goods with neighbors and friends at Christmas. This year I am a little behind. Our below zero temperatures for several days before Christmas kept me inside and I only got around to a couple of friends and the mailman. (Yes, he is a male.) Anyway, I guess I will be making up for it this week. I thought I would share one of the recipes I made that we especially enjoyed.

I have been wanting to find a recipe for dried apricots as I have had some in the refrigerator that we hadn't eaten. The bag was big that I bought at the store. I saw this recipe in my go-to cookbook lately from Pillsbury called Healthy-Baking Fresh Approaches to More than 200 Favorite Recipes that I got at an estate sale. I haven't made all 200+ recipes from it, but I've made a lot. This one for Apricot Sunshine Muffins didn't disappoint me at all. I love having the whole wheat flour along with the all-purpose flour.

I did make a few substitutions but it was because I didn't have the apricot or orange yogurt. I used a no-sugar-added and fat free vanilla Greek yogurt instead. The orange oil I got from King Arthur Flour. I also have lemon oil. I like to add a small amount when I really want to enhance the flavor. Worked out fine.

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APRICOT SUNSHINE MUFFINS

1       cup flour

1       cup whole wheat flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1       teaspoon grated orange peel

1/4    teaspoon salt

1       (8-oz) container low-fat apricot or orange yogurt (I used 1 cup of no-sugar-added & fat-free vanilla yogurt plus 1/4 teaspoon orange oil)

1/2     cup chopped dried apricots

1/3     cup orange juice

1/4     cup honey

1/4     cup oil

1        egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups or grease bottoms only. I did bought because I ran out of the paper baking cups. I did spray the cups with non-fat cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, orange peel, and salt;

mix well. Make a well in the bowl with the mixture.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients

mixing well.

Add to the dry ingredients and

stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. 

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

(I ended up getting three large muffins extra.

I added some water to the three empty cups so the three muffins would bake evenly.)

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Immediately remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Store in an air-tight container. Best if heated slightly in the microwave when eaten later.

MOM'S APPLE COBBLER

 The other day I realized I hadn't had anything "sweet" for a while and found this recipe contributed by my friend Sue Brashears in a cookbook from the Park Hill Association of Educational Office Personnel called The Good Cooks' COOK BOOK, Our Favorite Recipes. 

The recipe is called Mom's Apple Cobbler, but I don't know if it is her mother's recipe or not. The recipe has less liquid than most so the result is more "cake" in the cobbler. 

Wayne really liked it just as it was, but I liked adding a little vanilla ice cream with it. I used stevia when I made it so I could enjoy it and not feel guilty eating the sugar. I like the tartness of added cranberries, so after spreading the apple chunks to the pan, I filled in some holes with cranberries.

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MOM'S APPLE COBBLER

1     stick margarine (I used unsalted butter)

1     cup flour

3/4  cup sugar (I used stevia)

1/2  cup milk

1     teaspoon vanilla

2     teaspoons baking powder

3     cups peeled, chopped apples

1/4  cup sugar (I used stevia)

cinnamon

coconut (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the margarine in a 2-quart baking dish in the oven.

Set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder to blend.

Then  add the milk and vanilla.

The batter will be thick.

Spread over the margarine. (I tried to "lay" the batter as I spread it over the margarine since the batter was thick using a soup spoon and knife.)

I chopped 3 apples so I had more than 3 cups, but we like plenty of apples.

Spread the apples chunks over the batter.

I filled in the holes with some cranberries. 

Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon (about a tablespoonful) . I didn't use the coconut.

Sprinkle over the apples.

Bake for 45 minutes. 

Cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm... plain

or with ice cream

BANANA NUT WAFFLES

 Waffles just seem like comfort food to me when it's cold. It appears winter has come to Kansas City before it's officially winter as it's been cold here for the last two weeks. Hope that means that spring will come early also. 

Anyway, I made these Banana Nut Waffles from The Heartstone Inn a while back and just never got around to sharing them. I may have to make some tomorrow since I have one or two bananas that haven't been eaten in the bowl.

The waffles are mixed up in the blender, but I think you could use a mixer also. Your banana might be lumper unless your banana is very ripe though. 

If you don't have any powdered milk and want to use milk, just add 1-1/4 cups milk. Skim milk will work fine.

We like to eat waffles at night usually instead of at breakfast. We will order them for breakfast if we are eating out, but if I'm making them at home, it will be for supper.

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BANANA NUT WAFFLES

1       cup bananas (2 small)

3       tablespoons oil

2       eggs

1-1/4 cups water

1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour 

1/3    cup powdered milk

1/2    cup chopped nuts

Place bananas, oil, eggs, and water in the blender;

mix.

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, powdered milk, and nuts) with a whisk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl and

mix well.

Make waffles are usual.