Memories and healthy recipes for your dinner table.
My Aunt Ruth usually had these delicious bites around many times when we stopped by for a visit. Ruth’s version of Mexican wedding cookies are also known as Russian Tea Cakes or Italian Butter Cookies. They are a very delicate shortbread like cookie. Her original …
One of our favorite indulgences is nachos. I love nachos. The crispy salty texture of the nacho chips dipped in the cool spicy flavorful salsa makes it hard to stop at seven measly chips. When we first got married we would frequent this amazing hole-in-the-wall …
My kids have always been a fan of bananas and blueberries. They usually do not last very long around here making it difficult to snatch enough to bake with. Occasionally I get away with freezing enough to throw into a batch of pancakes or muffins. Mason can smell these blueberry muffins a mile away. It is a struggle to keep the muffins out of the kids hands until they have cooled enough to eat.
Tip: If using frozen blueberries keep them in the freezer until it is time to throw them in the flour.
Source: Baking Illustrated
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4 cups sour cream or plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries, preferably wild
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. In another bowl whisk the egg thoroughly until light colored about 20 seconds. Add the sugar; whisk until thick and homogeneous about 30 seconds. Add the melted butter in 2-3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add the sour cream in 2 additions, whisking until just combined.
Add the berries to the dry ingredients and gently toss just to combine. Add the sour cream mixture and fold with a spatula until the batter comes together and the berries are evenly distributed 25-30 seconds. Small ribbons of flour may remain. The batter should be thick. Do not overmix.
Divide the batter among 12 greased muffin cups. Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 25-30 minutes, rotating the back halfway through baking. Invert the muffins onto a wire rack to cool.
Variations:
Ginger or lemon glazed: mix 1 teaspoon grates ginger or lemon zest and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl. Bring 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar to a simmer over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Simmer until the mixture is thick and syrupy and reduced to about 4 tablespoons. Brush cooled muffins with glaze, then dip the tops in the lemon or ginger sugar.
Variations:
Substitute the sour cream with plain or lemon flavored yogurt.
While we teach the kids the importance of sharing, sometimes it is better to choose your battles. So it is with the case of the one-eyed woolly monster. My friend relayed a story once about her husband and cereal. Growing up, it was first come, …
I love that my kids think the milkshakes I make for them are the “Bees Knees”. As I watch them down a cup of un-sugared bliss I am content that they are getting the vitamins growing bodies need. This banana milkshake has very fond memories …
A few years ago I attended a bake off held to raise money for a girls youth group. It was a yearly event many residents looked forward to as they stuffed their wallets with cash hoping to snag one of Mrs. A’s delectable delights. Lemon bars were on the block. The gavel rang at $72.00. Mrs. A is what I call her because I cannot for the life of me remember her name. She was a petite older woman but full of spunk. I asked her what the attraction was as I had never tried her lemon bars before. She pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, “I only use real lemon.” I supposed she was not about to give up the recipe but I have followed her rule of always using real lemon juice. Not the stuff from a bottle.
Source: Michelle Christensen
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 egg
3/4 cups, plus 1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp lemon zest, grated
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar, lemon juice, and egg. Sift together dry ingredients. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to make a thick batter. Stir in lemon zest. Spoon into paper-lined muffin tins (2/3 full) or loaf pan. Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 10–15 minutes or until golden brown. Bake loaf at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes. Just before the muffins or bread come out of the oven, combine syrup ingredients in medium saucepan.
Syrup:
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
Combine and heat just until sugar is dissolved. Prick small holes in top of baked bread or muffins with toothpick, then gently pour lemon syrup into holes. Cool. Makes 12 muffins or 1 loaf.
