Buttermilk Banana Walnut Muffins for a Crowd!

Cooling on my King Arthur Flour
folding rack! A favorite kitchen tool!

First of all, before it's over, I'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my readers. Whether or not we are moms, we all have or had a mother and this day is significant. So, I hope that you had happy times or happy memories of time with your mom (as I do). Mine was a lovely Mother's Day, spent with some of my kiddos and also with my two little grandsons as we visited their great-grandmother, Mary Lou Eddy. My own beautiful mother has been gone for 12 years this spring, and that awareness has me cherish those too-rare moments I get to spend with Mary Lou. It's wonderful that she's been able to nurture three generations of children, all of whom adore her. I am forever grateful that she's been a part of my life for over 40 years. She is a wonderful woman.

When we visited, Henry (six years old) had very exciting news to share with "Grammy" Eddy - he's lost his first tooth, just last night! He was very proud to show his great-grandma this recent development. It is a big deal in his young life!

So, beyond little lost teeth, what else is new? Well, I didn't bake today - I gave myself the day off! My daughter Katie baked enough for both of us with an incredibly delicious Cooks Country lemon pound cake (I found it posted on Chowhound.com) she served with a mixed berry compote for dessert tonight, along with a strawberry/mango shortcake. I had the lemon pound cake but had to pass on a 2nd dessert (!). Anyway, after baking a LOT for the past few days, I welcomed the day off after keeping my kitchen in over-drive! Katie's husband Bill brought in dinner, again this year from Augie's in Ballston Spa. They make a dish called "the kitchen sink" which is a penne pasta in a creamy tomato sauce with chicken, shrimp, and sliced sausage. There was a container of spaghetti with marinara, and four meatballs the size of my fist which we divided up. It was a great dinner, and the fact that we didn't have to prepare it was a bonus!

It was great that my kitchen (and I!) had the day off! But, when my kitchen is busy, it's VERY busy! I don't usually bake in small quantities. Most of the time, I make batches by the dozens. This recipe for Buttermilk Banana Walnut Muffins is one that I make in large quantities all the time. The buttermilk ensures a light, tender muffin with a high rise. Chopped walnuts inside and sprinkled on top add a nice nuttiness and as well as a healthy boost. With half the sugar compared to other muffin recipes, this muffin is sweet enough when paired with ripe, mashed bananas. It also freezes very well so go ahead and make a big batch, take some to work, give some away, and keep some out for a great start to your day or as a not-so-guilty snack during the day!

BUTTERMILK BANANA WALNUT MUFFINS
Makes 24 (half the recipe for one dozen)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Get two big bowls out.
Spray muffin tins with cooking spray or line with paper liners

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon) baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

4 bananas
2 cups buttermilk (or, 4 tablespoons vinegar plus enough milk to make two cups total, let sit for 5 minutes)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts plus more for sprinkling on top.

Directions:
In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large mixing bowl, mash four bananas. I do this with a whisk attachment. To the mashed banana in the bowl, add and mix in buttermilk, beaten eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.

Pour liquid banana mixture into dry ingredients in the other bowl. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold wet and dry ingredients together until all dry particles have been incorporated and there are no more pockets of the flour mixture. Fold in walnuts.

With an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, drop batter into prepared muffin pans. Sprinkle top of batter in muffin tins with crushed walnuts (see photo). Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are dry and bounce back when pressed lightly.

Cool in pans on wire rack for about 20 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

Healthy Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

The coffee cake I've made for years was adapted from a Cooking Light recipe, but because I wanted it to be as rich and luscious as possible, low-fat ingredients were replaced with their full-fat counterparts -- yes, counter-intuitive -- but man-o-man was it a good coffee cake! So, going back to the original recipe, I've decided to make it even healthier by replacing butter with canola oil, half the all-purpose flour with whole white, and incorporating nutrient- and fiber-rich blueberries with brown sugar and cinnamon to create a pretty swirl in the middle of each slice.  This adaptation is a doubled recipe. If you want to make a smaller coffee cake (8x8 pan or a bread-loaf pan - adjust baking time), halve the ingredients and proceed as directed.

Interior View ~ just look at that! (click for close-up!)

I'm not able to indulge in coffee cake or any cake for that matter, but I'm a baker and I have to bake!  So I am happy to offer it to my co-workers. For those who do enjoy this coffee cake, they can know that it packs a greater nutritional punch than the original with healthy oil, less sugar, more fiber, low-fat sour cream, and antioxidants. It has all that. Oh yeah, and a whole lot of flavor!

HEALTHY BLUEBERRY CINNAMON SWIRL COFFEE CAKE
Oven - 375 degrees Farenheit
tube coffee cake pan, or angel food cake pan, sprayed with cooking spray

Coffee Cake Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil (I use Smart Balance)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
3 egg whites
2 cups low-fat sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole white flour (I use King Arthur flours)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (I use Wyman's Wild Maine blueberries - tiny and very flavorful)

In large mixing bowl, beat canola oil with sugar. Add egg, and egg whites, one at a time. Mix well. Add sour cream and extracts. Beat well. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix very well.

Spoon half of batter into prepared pan. Smooth to make an even surface. Sprinkle with brown sugar/cinnamon mixture, and distribute blueberries evenly over that. Add the rest of the batter and smooth top.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until cake tests done (springs back when lightly touched). If your oven runs hot, test at 40 minutes on.

Cool in pan for half hour. Remove pan and invert cake onto serving plate and continue to cool on wire rack. While still warm, spread glaze over top, and allow to run down sides a bit. Recipe follows:

Lemon glaze:

2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon Smart Balance spread, melted

Drops of water

Stir first four ingredients together as well as you can, and then add warm water, a few drops at a time, until the glaze is thick but loose enough to spread easily on its own. Be very stingy with the water as you add it. Even a few drops too much is too much. Pour over top of coffee cake and use the back of a spoon to spread it to the edges and nudge it so it spills over the edge here and there. If it's too thick to run, add a few more drops of water until it loosens up.

Maple Walnut Brownies from KAF

Those of you who know me know I am a devotee of King Arthur Flour (KAF), so much so that friends and I took a 3+ hour road trip to Norwich, Vermont to spend half a day and a lot of money!  I get a daily email from KAF (and so do many others, I'm not that special!) which links to wonderful recipes.  One I am intent on making and haven't yet is the recipe for Maple Walnut Brownies.  They sound great, and even though I haven't yet messed up my kitchen with their preparation, I can assure you that any recipe from KAF is beyond good.  King Arthur Flour is a kitchen/baking lab as well as a retail resource, and reviewers' comments attest to just how good the recipes are. Here's KAF's recipe for Maple Walnut Brownies

MAPLE WALNUT BROWNIES

"Chewy, moist, and with assertive-yet-smooth maple flavor, these brownies are a great change from chocolate."
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (5 5/8 ounces) brown sugar
1/3 cup (3 1/4 ounces) maple syrup
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor
3/4 cup (3 ounces) chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8" square pan.
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Melt the butter and brown sugar together in the microwave or over a burner; remove from the heat and stir in the syrup. Allow the mixture to cool to lukewarm. Stir in the eggs one at a time, then the maple flavor. Stir in the dry ingredients, and finally the walnuts.

Pour into the prepared pan, and bake for 25 minutes, just until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven, and cool before cutting and glazing. Yield: sixteen 2" brownies.

Maple Glaze

1 cup (4 ounces) glazing sugar or confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 to 2 tablespoons milk or cream

Recipe Credit: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/PrintRecipeOld?RID=1186593058013
Photo credit: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/maple-walnut-brownies-recipe

Road Trip to King Arthur Flour and Refrigerator Boxes

I've had a couple of nice summer days in a row.  Yesterday I joined "Eddy women" Kathryn, Lynn, and Carolyn on a day trip to Norwich, Vermont, where we visited the King Arthur Bakery and gift shop.  We allowed Lynn's Magellan GPS system, which she nick-named "Maggie" to guide us (in her beautiful new car) from Saratoga Springs north toward Lake George and eastward through the beautiful Vermont landscape to Norwich.  It seemed about a three hour ride, but it is hard to say because we never stopped talking the entire time!  Once at King Arthur, we  had a lot of fun checking out all the merchandise, from cook books to their own mixes to baking supplies.  KA has a wide range of products for the occasional baker/cook to someone who is always in the kitchen (me!).  I bought a few things, including Madagascar vanilla bean paste, and a nifty cooling rack.  It's tiered and holds four baking sheets at once.  That'll free up a lot of counter space on busy baking days.  The shop is home to KA's test kitchen as well as a small cafe where sandwiches, soups, pizza, and baked goods are available.  We all chose a slice of pizza for our lunches, and the roasted red pepper slice was delicious!  After lunch we browsed some more and then headed home, stopping at garden shops along the way.  I really love a day like that.  There's nothing like spending time with good women friends and talking, laughing, and solving the world's problems, enjoying each other's company.

This morning started with a visit to an antique show at the Washington County Fairgrounds.  I'm on the lookout for old-fashioned refrigerator boxes, the precursors to Tupperware and Rubbermaid.  There are a lot of reasons why I prefer these old kitchen relics, but mainly it is because I don't like reheating food in plastic in the microwave.  Glass is a much better alternative.  It doesn't stain and you know it's clean.  Besides, these are prettier and food is easily identified through the glass.  No more chemistry experiments under those plastic lids!  Once I found my refrigerator box (limited myself to one this time) we had a good time exploring the fair grounds for little treasures.  Katie and Bill bought Henry a kid-sized rocking chair, in great shape.  It looks like maple and it has a Windsor back.  My big find on the way out of the show was two Welch's grape jelly jar glasses with Winnie the Pooh images on the outside. We had those glasses when my kids were little -- ours had Flintstones characters.  I just loved those and still have two that are perfect for a small serving of orange juice.

My Saturday evening will be spent dog-sitting Hayden the bloodhound, and later I'll do some baking (of course).  Hope your weekend is off to a good start and that you have a chance to relax and enjoy the end of July and the beginning of August!

Photo image: http://images.containerstore.com/images/catalog/90575/GlassRefrigeratorStorge_xl.jpg

From KAF: American-Style Vanilla Biscotti

I love King Arthur Flour.  In fact, on Friday a few of us are taking a day trip to visit their store/shop/bakery in Norwich, Vermont!  I often go to the KAF Web site for recipes and inspiration.  This recipe for biscotti is among their top-rated, and its basic vanilla flavor complements summer fruits beautifully.  If you are wanting something more than basic vanilla, see the "variations" note below, where KAF makes scrumptious-sounding recommendations to make this recipe your own.

BISCOTTI

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
2/3 cup (4 3/4 ounces) sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) one large (about 18" x 13") baking sheet.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs; the batter may look slightly curdled. At low speed of your mixer, add the flour, stirring until smooth; the dough will be sticky.

Plop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Shape it into a log that’s about 14" long x 2 ½" wide x ¾" thick. Straighten the log, and smooth its top and sides; a wet spatula or wet bowl scraper works well here. Note: For extra-long, bistro-style biscotti, pat the dough into a lightly greased 12" x 5 1/2" biscotti pan.

Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool on the pan anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes; just work it into the schedule of whatever else you’re doing in the kitchen. Using a spray bottle filled with room-temperature water, lightly but thoroughly spritz the log, making sure to cover the sides as well as the top. Softening the crust just this little bit will make slicing the biscotti much easier.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Wait another 5 minutes, then use a serrated knife to cut the log crosswise into 1⁄2" to 3⁄4" slices. Or cut the biscotti on the diagonal—for fewer, longer biscotti. As you’re slicing, be sure to cut straight up and down, perpendicular to the pan; if you cut unevenly, biscotti may be thicker at the top than the bottom, and they’ll topple over during their second bake.

Set the biscotti on edge on the prepared baking sheet. Return the biscotti to the oven, and bake them for 25 to 30 minutes, till they feel very dry and are beginning to turn golden. They’ll still feel a tiny bit moist in the very center, if you break off a piece; but they’ll continue to dry out as they cool. Remove the biscotti from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.

Yield: 3 dozen 3 1⁄2" biscotti, when cut crosswise. Or about 1 1/2 dozen biscotti cut on the diagonal; the exact yield will depend upon just how much of a slant you cut them on.

Variations: Add up to 2 cups nuts, dried fruit (dried, not fresh), or chips to the dough, along with the flour. Adjust the spice to suit the add-in, if desired; e.g., add 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 1 cup chopped dried apple and 1 cup diced pecans. Or substitute hazelnut, butter-rum, or your favorite flavor for the vanilla. A classic Italian anise biscotti is made with 1/2 teaspoon anise extract (or 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon anise oil, to taste), and 1 tablespoon fennel seeds.

Photo and recipe source:  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/american-style-vanilla-biscotti-recipe

Hot Cross Buns and King Arthur Flour

I have childhood memories of hot cross buns.  They came in a box with a cellophane window, and there were six. This was a problem because there were nine of us in our house.  Hot cross buns remind me of Easter and spring time and warm weather.  Visions of green grass, yellow and purple eggs, and Easter bonnets come to mind as well.  When we were little kids, we got new shoes twice a year, for the beginning of school and at Easter time.  My parents would line all seven kids up at the shoe store, one of those foot-measuring devices came out, and there were boxes everywhere.  The girls usually got patent leather Mary Janes for Easter and saddle shoes for school, and I don't remember what the boys got, but we were loving our new shoes!  How my parents were able to do that, I can't imagine.  Seven pairs of shoes for dress and seven pairs of sneakers for playing all at one shot.  There were no discount shoe stores then.  If you wanted shoes, you went to the shoe store.  In Saratoga, we went to Sundial Shoes on the corner of Church and Clinton.  Mr. Izzo was there forever, and knew every family well.  If I remember correctly (which sometimes I do not) he had an index card for every pair of feet. I even took Joe and Katie there for their first pairs of shoes, in the days when all babies wore the stiff white walking shoes which some people (like my mother) later bronzed.  My brother Michael's baby shoes were the only pair bronzed in our family.  The six siblings that followed, no bronzing. 

In honor of Easter memories and hot cross buns, below you will find a link to their recipe for this spring-time treat from King Arthur Flour.  I love KAF because I read the Web site's blog story about its flour (very interesting) and vow now only to buy KAF even if it is $1.00 more than other brands for a 5 lb. bag.  It's worth it.  Their Web site is great.  They have a host of witty baker-bloggers and I love their products. 

Hot Cross Buns recipe and photo credit from KAF: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/easy-hot-cross-buns-recipe

Black & White Brownies courtesy of King Arthur Flour

This recipe comes from one of my favorite company's Web site, King Arthur Flour. The real brick-and-mortar King Arthur is practically upstate New York's neighbor, in Norwich, Vermont, and well worth a visit. Since this recipe comes from K.A., it recommends all their own ingredients, but you can use substitutes, of course (though K.A. ingredients are top quality and you can't go wrong with them). I'm not a fan of the run-of-the-mill blond brownie. Blond and brownie are not synonymous in my mind. These are not blond brownies - they're chocolate through and through in blond brownie clothing. The creamy, light batter is made with melted white chocolate! There's just a hint of spice with a touch of nutmeg and a good dose of vanilla. Not to be ignored, bittersweet chocolate (in the form of substantial chunks) makes its presence well known without overpowering its lighter counterpart.

• 1 cup chopped white chocolate
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup bittersweet chunks or chopped chocolate

• 6 ounces chopped white chocolate
• 2 ounces butter
• 5 1/4 ounces granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 5 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 ounces bittersweet chunks or chopped chocolate

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" square pan.

2) Place the white chocolate, butter, and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Heat at low power in the microwave at 1-minute intervals, or over simmering water, until the chocolate softens; white chocolate is sensitive to scorching, so be careful.

3) When the butter is melted and the white chocolate looks soft, stir in the vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm.

4) Beat in the eggs.

5) Whisk together the flour and baking powder, and stir into the egg mixture.

6) Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chunks. Spoon the batter into a greased 9" square pan, and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chunks over the top.

7) Bake the brownies for 25 minutes, until they're light golden brown and the edges pull just slightly away from the pan.

8) Remove from the oven, and cool before cutting.

Yield: 16 brownies. King Arthur Online Web site and photo credit: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/black-and-white-brownies-recipe

King Arthur Flour's Lemon Squares

This recipe comes from King Arthur Flour and is very highly rated. People love it. My friend Sue is a lemon lover and she brought lemon bars to lunch today. What a great surprise – the buttery crust and zip of the lemon make a perfect ending to a work-day, or any day, lunch.


King Arthur Lemon Squares
Bottom
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Topping
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice (recipe reviewers said 4 tablespoons is better).
2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
a pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Cut the butter into the flour and confectioners' sugar and press into a 9-inch square pan. Bake 20 minutes or until light brown.

Combine the topping ingredients. When the bottom is done, and still hot, pour the topping over it and continue baking for about 25 minutes.

Sprinkle top with confectioners' sugar. (This hides any lumps, bumps, and browning and makes it all look pretty!).

King Arthur Website: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/lemon-squares-recipe
Photo Credit: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss31/DJMagus/LemonSquares.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sociologycookbook.com/2009/04/lemon-squares.html&usg=__z_1SKLCsX_-PQhOmayD_5h17dX4=&h=317&w=500&sz=56&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=TnCHypBs2yuD_M:&tbnh=82&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlemon%2Bsquares%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG