APPLE SPICED MINI-MUFFINS

Friend Sandi offered to make a sugar-free cafe treat for us for this past Sunday. I was so surprised and so happy. That meant I wouldn't have to make something. She said she had some apples she needed to use up and since she is borderline diabetic, she usually tries to make sugar-free desserts. 

As it turned out I was really glad she offered. I ended up baking most of the day making three different quick breads to give to our four ministers for Pastor Appreciation Month. We have four ministers so I ended up having to make two of the recipes twice because the recipes only made 3 mini-loaves. That meant though I could freeze a few for us. The other loaf made two - 9 x 5 loaves or six - mini-loaves. I will add pictures of them below. Two of the loaves I have already shared here. The third loaf I will be sharing soon.

Sandi told me her apples were medium sized. She used her food processor to chop them up, so they were almost more like chunky applesauce. She didn't measure them, but said she would guess about 1-1/2 cups of chopped apples.

Some people don't like S-F stuff, so if that describes you, just use a regular yellow cake mix. They were really so delicious! You could also make regular sized muffins if you liked, just adjust the baking time.

PRINT RECIPE.

APPLE SPICED MINI-MUFFINS

4     apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

1     yellow cake mix (Zero-Sugar for SF)  

1     large egg

1     tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2  tablespoon ground ginger 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray mini-muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix up well.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. (A tablespoon cookie scoop works well for uniformity.)

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes.

Makes approximately 48 mini - muffins.

My baking from Saturday...

The front six are my Banana Split Bread. That is my husband's favorite banana Bread. RECIPE.

The back five and then mini bundt cake is Norma's Cranberry Pumpkin Bread. RECIPE.

The third one called Cranberry Cottage Bread is new...(It also contains dried apricots.)

 

MINI PUMPKIN PIE PANCAKE MUFFINS

 

I'm so behind in my posts sharing. I have had a post each day this week so far. It's been a while since I did that. I got behind two weeks ago when we had our stair railings and spindles replaced. They look so good. I'll share some before and after pictures at the end of the post.

We were lucky that we could reuse the posts and only had to replace the railings and the spindles. That meant work for me though because Chris Webb who replaced the carpet in our house 14 years ago and laid down hardwood flooring doesn't do any painting. Fortunately I do paint and usually enjoy it.

I had to sand the posts that had been stained and then paint them. "Iron Ore" was recommended to me for the color paint to use and it was perfect. I also had to prime and then paint the new oak railings. I did that painting in the garage so that meant my Ford EcoSport had to stay outside for about 5 days. Poor thing.

It took Chris and his assistant Jake 2-1/2 days to do their part. After they left I had to patch and touch up where the old railings had been attached to the posts. I'm so glad I had painted everything first so I only had to touch up. I can't imagine having to paint everything after they finished.

It looks so pretty, I'm just sorry we waited so long to decide to do them.

Now about the recipe. I had found the recipe and even though the recipe was only supposed to make 16 (I got one extra.) and I ask everyone to bring 3 dozen of their treat for the Cafe Treats, I just wanted to make the recipe. It sounded so good. I also made it sugar-free by using stevia for the 1/4 cup sugar.

They turned out so good, too. It would be easy to just double the recipe, if you needed more. My chocolate chips were not real big, but if yours are, I would recommend using mini-chips so there will more in the mix.

PRINT RECIPE.

MINI PUMPKIN PIE PANCAKE MUFFINS

1      cup buttermilk baking and pancake mix

1/4   cup sugar

1      teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1      egg, beaten

1/4   cup milk

1/4   cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/4   cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 24-mini muffin cups pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the baking mix, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, egg, milk, and pumpkin until blended.

(If your baking mix looks lumpy, break up the lumps with a whisk, first.)

Stir in the chocolate chips. (You could use mini chocolate chips, if you like.)

Divide the batter among the mini muffin cups. I use my tablespoon (cookie) scoop to fill the cups. I made 17 mini muffins. So that the muffins will bake evenly, pour a little water in the empty cups.

Bake about 10 minutes or until golden brown and tops spring back when lightly touched with your fingers.

Cool 5 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack. I used a plastic knife to run around the edge of the muffins to aid in removing them from the pan.

Before pictures of our stair railings and wooden spindles:

This picture shows the before and after in the same picture. The spindles on the landing haven't been replaced yet, but the other ones have (with the 1 spoon wrought iron spindles). That's Charlie in the picture checking out the work after Chris and Jake left for the day.

After pictures...

Charlie and Parker, our cats, can't go between these new spindles since they are up to code now with no more than 4 inches between spindles. They loved going between the wooden ones. Here are some pictures of Charlie studying the new ones and disappointed he can't go between.

BUTTERMILK CINNAMON BARS

Not everyone likes pumpkin or zucchini and both of those are favorite ingredients in cakes and quick breads especially this time of the year. If that describes you, then this recipe is just what you have been looking for.

But maybe you like pumpkin or zucchini in cakes and quick breads, then you will definitely enjoy this Buttermilk Cinnamon Bars that Friend and Cafe Treats Baker Barb made for us last Sunday to offer in the Cafe at church.

Barb cut the pieces small just like I requested, but I have to admit I couldn't eat just one. I love the frosting, too. I usually just "dust" with powdered sugar to reduce the calories, but a good frosting  on top is a delicious addition. 

Barb made two batches to share and said she forgot the coconut in the crust in one of the batches. So if you don't like coconut, you can omit it in the recipe and it will be fine. Since she brought so much, I did freeze about 18 of the bars for another Sunday. 

 

PRINT RECIPE.

BUTTERMILK CINNAMON BARS

1-1/4   cups sugar

3/4      cups brown sugar

2         cups sifted flour

1/2      cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2      cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/2      cup coconut

1         egg, well beaten

1/2      teaspoon salt

1         teaspoon cinnamon

1         teaspoon baking soda

1         cup buttermilk

1         teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish. Set aside.

Mix the sugars and flour with a whisk. Cut in butter. 

Measure out 2 cups of the mixture and add the nuts, if you are using them, and the coconut. Press into the prepared pan to make a crust.

Combine the egg with the remaining ingredients, beating until smooth. 

Add the remaining crumb mix and beat til combined. Pour the mixture over the crust.

Bake for 35 minutes. 

When cool, frost with the icing. (Can sprinkle additional chopped nuts, if using, on top.)

WHITE BUTTER FROSTING

2       cups powdered sugar

1/4    cup ( 1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened

2       tablespoons cream

1/2    teaspoon vanilla extract 

Beat the powdered sugar and butter until smooth. Add the flavoring and then the cream gradually to desired spreading consistency.

GOOEY CAKE MIX COOKIE BARS

 Friend and Cafe Treats Baker Judy almost didn't bring these awesome Gooey Cake Mix Cookie Bars to church for the Cafe Treats. Our Sunday school class was having a picnic the day she signed up to bring a treat to the Cafe at church. She also signed up to bring cookies for the picnic. Since she had two places she was making the cookies, she made three different ones for a variety. When I saw her at the picnic, I told her how popular her Gooey Cake Mix Cookie Bars were, her husband Tom laughed and said she almost decided to not bring them since she wasn't sure how they would work. 

When the cookies had cooled and she started to remove them from the pan, she said they were a little crumbly. Not liking that, she decided to put them in the refrigerator overnight and then they were fine when she removed them from the pan. So she recommended that step in the recipe which I included in the directions. 

All I could say was how much I liked them. They were perfect as far as I was concerned. So ooey, gooey! Judy said different combinations of chips could be used such as salted caramel and semi-sweet chocolate chips or peanut butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

PRINT RECIPE.

GOOEY CAKE MIX COOKIE BARS

1       (15.25 oz) box white cake mix

1/2     cup canola oil

2        eggs

1/2     cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2     cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2     cup butterscotch

1        (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1        teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4     teaspoon salt, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat together the dry cake mix, canola oil, eggs, and vanilla; mixing until the mixture just comes together.

Divide the batter in half and press one half into the prepared baking dish to form an even layer.

In a medium heat-proof bowl, add the butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.

Stir the condensed milk and salt, if using, into the chocolate chip mixture until completely mixed up. Pour over the base cake layer.

Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter over the chocolate chip layer.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool.

Once cool, cover and place in the refrigerator. (Judy left hers overnight in the fridge.)

Slice into bars when ready to serve.

DOUBLE BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING COOKIES

 

Butterscotch has always been a favorite of mine. When I was younger, I would order a butterscotch sundae instead of the very popular hot fudge sundae. It has been a while since I have enjoyed a butterscotch sundae since I now usually get the hot fudge sundae. That doesn't mean I don't like butterscotch anymore though. That's why when I saw this recipe for Double Butterscotch Pudding Cookies, I knew I had to make them.

Recipes using mixes as a shortcut, only takes a little bit of time off of the prep time, but it certainly is nice. I do like to find recipes for enriching mixes and making something better than just the mix.

I didn't have any sea salt called for in the recipe so I substituted some Himalayan pink salt. It worked well. I still remember the moment when one of our pastors, Mat, took one to eat, bit in it, and tasted the salt. He looked at me, smiled, and said "Sea salt. I love it!"

I have to admit, the salt was an excellent additive. 

PRINT RECIPE.

DOUBLE BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING COOKIES

1       pouch (17.5 oz) sugar cookie mix

1       box (3.4 oz) butterscotch instant pudding mix

1       stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

2       tablespoons water

1       egg

1       cup butterscotch chips

1       teaspoon coarse sea salt (I used Himalayan pink salt)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, mix the dry cookie mix, dry pudding mix, softened butter, water, and egg with a spoon until a soft dough forms.

Stir in the butterscotch chips.

Drop dough by a level tablespoon scoop onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are set.

Immediately sprinkle each cookie with sea salt. Cool 2 minutes before removing the cookies from the cookie sheet

to a wire rack to finish cooling completely, about 20 minutes.

Store in an airtight container.

FRUITY OATMEAL BARS

 I have a recipe for some fruity oatmeal bars that I found a month or so ago that I kept wanting to make but always found an excuse not to. Now I don't know which cookbook where I found it. I will look for it though when I have some time since I have too many potential cookbooks right now to skim through. I am interested in how similar the recipe is to this one. 

The recipe was called Apricot Oatmeal Bars but since I needed to make something sugar-free and I didn't have any sugar-free apricot jam, I did what I often do...I made the recipe my own and made Strawberry Oatmeal Bars and made them S-F.

When I sat down to write this post, I decided to call it Fruity Oatmeal Bars since you could use any fruit jam/preserves and have a delectable treat. I'm not adding Sugar-Free to the title of the post, since I don't want anyone to not check it out because they don't make sugar-free desserts. So many times when I make something sugar-free it wasn't written that way. I just substitute sugar-free ingredients for the regular sugar ingredients. 

As I said earlier, feel free to use any of your favorite jams/preserves in the recipe. I have a feeling I will be making these again and using a different sugar-free jam to give it a different flavor. I will write the recipe for sugared ingredients and then add my sugar-free option in parentheses.

PRINT RECIPE.

FRUITY OATMEAL BARS 

1        yellow cake mix ( I used a zero sugar yellow cake mix)

3        cups old fashioned oats

3/4     cup chopped pecans (I omitted to make it nut-free)

1        cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1-1/2  cups (12 oz jar) your favorite jam or preserves (I used a sugar-free strawberry preserves.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray or grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan. Set aside.

Combine the dry cake mix and oats in a large mixing bowl to evenly distribute the oats with the cake mix.

Add the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are wet.

Spoon half of the mixture into the pan and flatten with your fingertips. (I didn't do a very good job guessing half and had more on the top than on the bottom for a crust. Worked out okay, but next time, I will error on the side of a thicker crust. This picture isn't my "half", I always work with little amounts. That way I don't have to work hard trying to get it evenly spread out. )

Spread the jam with a spatula evenly over the pressed crust.

Sprinkle the rest of the cake/oats mixture over the top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until brown on the top. (I baked mine for 25 minutes, but it never got brown.)

Allow to cool completely before cutting into serving-size pieces.

I baked mine the night before, covered and stored in the refrigerator before removing the bars from the pan. That way they didn't crumble as I removed them from the pan. It also allowed the strawberry flavor to be enriched.