I Went Bananas When I Spoke to You on the Telephone

Last summer, my really good friend Kara moved wayyyy up north to Michigan and lived in an ice cube for a year. She came back to visit in early June and remembered that she liked the south. Two months later, she moved back and is enrolled to go to school this fall and everything.



In other news, I have been on a banana kick lately - eating them with different meals and as snacks, slathered in peanut butter. Keeping this in mind, I went to the store and bought a bag of Ready-to-use bananas for cheap and set to making some banana nut bread. This was good timing for me as Kara was due back in town that very night and bread is always a good gift.



To tie everything together, I made two loaves of Banana-Walnut bread and now I have to find a way to use up the other eight, extremely ripe bananas sitting on my kitchen counter. Most likely, I will just be making more bread and muffins later on in the week.



I used my standby banana bread recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook that I've been baking out of since I was a kid. In the middle of making this, I realized that cinnamon wasn't listed as an ingredient, which I found quite odd. It's my favorite spice, so I just added it in and the bread tastes delicious as usual.



Banana Nut Bread
Makes 2 loaves

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
3 to 4 mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vinegar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup nuts, chopped and toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and move oven rack so that tops of pans will be in the center of the oven. Grease 2 loaf pans, 8-inch for taller loaves and 9-inch for shorter ones or grease one 9-inch loaf pan and six muffin cups. Toast nuts if using.

Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat in eggs until well blended. Add the bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix until completely combined.

Then, stir in flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, just until moistened. Fold in nuts, and pour into pans.

Bake for about 45 minutes (for 9-inch pans); I'm not sure how long 8-inch pans would take, so make sure to check at 30 minutes, and be ready to allow for more time.

Cool completely before slicing. To store, wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate for up to 10 days.

Nothing Too Exciting

I made oatmeal-pecan cookies for my grandpa and they weren't that great. I guess that's what I get for straying from my tried-and-true oatmeal cookie recipe.



I won't be making this exact recipe again; it will have to gain something...like charisma. They just didn't have much character to them, honestly. They weren't bad, just boring.



Oatmeal-Pecan Cookies
Makes 2 dozen cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup chocolate or butterscotch chips
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Beat butter and both sugars with an electric mixer in a large bowl on medium until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

On low speed, gradually add flour, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt until completely blended. Stir in oats, pecans, and chocolate chips.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden.

Snicker Delight

My boyfriend (Andrew/gb) is allergic to milk, so I often have the challenge of trying out new recipes that are dairy-free. Luckily, he can have milk as long as it is baked into something, so that broadens my baking horizons a little bit. I have recently just been substituting soy milk in icings as well and will probably be more soy-dependent in the future.



Anyway, he really enjoys sugar cookies and snickerdoodles, especially his mom's recipe. As I didn't have much experience with cookies that aren't chock-full of nuts and chocolate and such, I've been searching endlessly for a recipe for superb snickerdoodles.



I'm assuming I found the recipe a while ago, because it was just randomly saved onto my computer; if I remember correctly, I found it on a forum somewhere after I had googled "Snickerdoodles" in hopes of finally finding that one recipe. I didn't remember ever having made them, so I decided the other day that I should bake him some cookies.



These were rewarding; they weren't as magnificent as his mother's, but they were pretty darn good. Andrew was pumped about them and promptly devoured three or so when I gave them to him. I added some vanilla to the recipe because it seemed a little to utilitarian to be considered as whimsical as Snickerdoodles should be. I thought about adding a little bit of cream of tartar because I have never actually seen a Snickerdoodle recipe without, but in the end I decided to give it a whirl and they turned out just fine.



Snickerdoodles
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl (I recommend using a fork to combine these more thoroughly). Shape dough into 1 3/4-inch balls; roll in cinnamon -sugar mixture. Space 3 inches apart on greased baking sheets; press each ball down gently with three fingers.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

Supercalichocalicious

One of the gifts that I received for my birthday was a book of cookie recipes (Cookies by Jill Snider). It is my favorite kind of cookbook - filled with pictures and alterations and easy-to-read instructions. Plus, lots of the cookies seem to include nuts and oatmeal, both of which I really enjoy in cookies.



The other day, I really had a cookie itch and as I rarely get those and have thousands of books filled with cookie recipes, I decided to finally put one to use. So I went through Cookies and finally settled on a cookie that I already had all the ingredients for onhand and that sounded like they would be quite tasty.



I settled on Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, for obvious reasons. What else can you ask for in a cookie? There are only two things I would change about this recipe if I made it again: I would use extra peanuts and old-fashioned oatmeal.



Speaking of peanut butter, my grandma gave me this really cool device for measuring peanut butter, crisco, and other sticky things that are not particularly enjoyable to clean out of measuring cups. I highly recommend it, but I don't know what it's called.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs'
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups chocolate-covered peanuts, chopped (I substituted 1 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and 2/3 cup chopped unsalted peanuts)
1/2 cup crisp rice cereal

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, peanut butter, and both sugars until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix.

On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended. With a wooden spoon, stir in oats, chocolate (and) peanuts, and cereal.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about two inches apart on cookie sheet. Press flat with a fork dipped in flour (I forgot to do this on the first batch and the second batch, I just pressed it down with my fingers; honestly, I preferred the ones that weren't pressed flat.)

Bake in preheated oven for 11 to 13 minutes or until crisp and golden. Cool for 5 minutes on sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Welcome Home, Coconut!

As I mentioned in my previous post, my grandfather finally came home from being in the hospital for three months on July 9th. So last Saturday, we had a small "Welcome Home" dinner for him and I was able to make him the Coconut Cream pie that I had promised to make back in May when he planned to come home.



I had only made this pie once before as a gift for my boss's mother and I never really received a reply on whether it was any good or not. However, I had tried a little bit of the filling as I was making it and it was delicious, so I decided that the recipe would be good enough for us. I think my favorite part of the recipe was the cream of coconut, which I had never heard of before. Thankfully, my mom knew exactly what it was and helped me find it. If your local Wal-Mart doesn't carry it along with other mixers, you can find it in a Spanish foods section of supermarkets or in a Supermercado.



Because my grandpa currently has steroid-induced diabetes, he was only able to have a small piece. My piece was notably larger and I was extremely full just halfway through it; the pie was much more filling that I would have expected. The freshly-whipped cream on top balances the extreme sweetness of the pie filling, so I definitely wouldn't recommend adding sugar to your whipping cream.



Also, you need to pay attention to the amount of time needed to beat certain combinations; they are crucial to the texture and outcome of this pie.



Easy Coconut Cream Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie

1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup cream of coconut (like Coco Lopez)
1 (3.4-ounce) package cheesecake instant pudding mix
1 cup frozen sweetened flaked coconut, thawed
1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup whipping cream
Sweetened flaked coconut, for garnish

If making the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees; stir together first 3 ingredients; press mixture evenly in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes, and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and cream of coconut at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add pudding mix, beating until blended. Stir in coconut; fold in whipped topping. Spread cheese mixture evenly into prepared crust; cover and chill 2 hours or until set.

Toast coconut to be used for garnish until light golden-brown in spots. Beat whipping cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, and spread evenly over top of pie. Garnish with toasted coconut and store by covering with Saran wrap and placing in the refrigerator. Eat within a day of making.

Birthday Cake: Sheeit

As many (or few of you) may or may not know, I work at a coffee shop named Iron Horse (IHCC) in the old downtown district of Rogers. July 10th was IHCC's 10th year in business and our boss decided we would give out free cake in celebration; so I volunteered to make a vanilla sheet cake.



The same day I made this cake, my grandpa had also returned home after three months in the hospital, so the decorating was a little rushed, and I ended up getting the colors of the diamonds out of order. (The diamonds are usually red-blue-yellow-green and say "IHCC" inside of them.) I'm told this did not affect the taste.

I had a doctor's appointment on the morning of the tenth after which I went grocery shopping. When I finally had a chance to go by the shop at 4 to get my slice of free cake, it was all gone. Oh well.



I used a basic vanilla buttercream frosting recipe that I found on the Food Network website; it was the first time I had used it and I was really impressed by the simplicity and deliciousness of it. I will definitely be using it again for cupcakes and the like. Just as a note, I did a double recipe, using one recipe as the white frosting and dividing the other half into fourths and coloring them.

Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Makes enough to ice 13x9 sheet

3 cups (or more) confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

If you want to color the frosting, add the food dye one drop at a time, stirring thoroughly between each drop. Be sure not to use too much dye, as this can lead to an unpleasant taste and colored tongue.

Cake Pops

As far as I can tell, Cupcake Pops originated with Bakerella, and are adorable and somewhat trying and require much more patience than I have available. However, I decided to make a variation of them that I've seen in multiple spots on the blogosphere, which are a simplified version. Basically, they are Cake Pops, just balls of cake and frosting on a lollipop stick that have been dipped in melting chocolate. It sounds like a sugar overload, but eating just one is quite delicious. As some of my friends found out, eating three very quickly can make you very sick(ly).



The recipe is, by far, one of the most basic I've ever seen. On top of that, the flavor combinations are endless. You can pair any cake flavor with any icing flavor with any color for the outside. I decided to make two different choices: White cake with strawberry frosting and pink melting discs and brownies with milk chocolate frosting and regular semisweet melting chocolate. Both were equally delicious, although I found that the flavor really fully saturated and tasted better after about a day in the refrigerator.



The only issues I had with these occurred with the white cake mix. The original posts and recipes I read on Cupcake pops and such recommended mixing the cake and frosting while the cake was still warm. I waited until mine was mostly cooled and I still had a very hard time trying to get it to stick together when I rolled it into a ball. I figured out eventually that if I wiped my hands completely and kept them a little damp after each ball I formed, the next ball would not stick as much.



The dipping was also a little trying, as I almost ran out of the pink melting discs; I had fewer pops than I orinally started out with too because my brother had found them in the outside refrigerator and decided to help himself. So I guess I would suggest...buying an extra bag? Or just leaving a few lightly-dipped. The brownies were much easier to coat because I just added chocolate chips to my melting chocolate to produce more to dip.



Because I wasn't able to take homemade cupcakes into the bowling alley for my birthday party, I made these and packed them in goody bags to hand out when everyone left. Each person received two brownie pops and two strawberry pops. gb's sister liked them so much that she offered to pay me to make a whole other batch for her. I think I will probably take her up on it.



Cake Pops
Makes 30 to 45 cake pops, depending on size

1 (18.25 ounce) package cake or brownie mix
Eggs, water, and oil called for on cake mix box
16 ounces of store-bought or homemade frosting
1 (1 pound) package of melting chocolate or colored vanilla melts

Combine cake ingredients according to directions on box. Bake the cake in a 13x9-inch pan at the temperature and time noted on box. NOTE: A homemade sheet cake can also be used, if you'd like. Remove the cake from the oven when cooked and cool for about half an hour.

Scrape the entirety of the cake out of the pan and into a very large bowl. Then, add the frosting and stir vigorously until all the cake is in fine crumbs and the mixture is completely stuck together. Roll the mixture into one- to two-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. If using lollipop sticks, poke them into the balls. Refrigerate for at least three hours, preferably overnight.

At this point, the cake balls should be quite stiff. Heat the melting chocolate/vanilla/whatever in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly so as not to burn any of it (like I did). Turn the burner off and begin to dip the cake balls, making sure to cover each one completely and thoroughly in the melted substance. Place the pops back on the baking sheet and, after all of them are dipped, back in the refrigerator for at least two to three more hours.

Birthday Cake: Strawberry

I'm kind of cursed when it comes to basic layer cakes. Although they always taste delectable, I can never manage to make them look edible, let alone pretty. They're either crooked or falling apart or just plain ugly; plus, I've never ever been able to pop a layer out of a nine-inch pan completely intact. It's just something that had never happened for me until this cake.



My birthday cake was a strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting that I found at some point on Recipezaar. I have actually been wanting a strawberry cake since I realized I had never eaten one back in February; I waited until my birthday to make one so that the strawberries would be ripe and in season and I was extremely satisfied with the results.



While looking for a recipe that suited my tastes, I kept in mind that, above all, I wanted lots of fresh strawberries to be used and I wanted the cake to be pink. This recipe was convenient because I love cream cheese frosting.



However, I should probably address some of the issues I had with the frosting; I'm guessing that during the "thorough draining" of the mashed strawberries, some not-so-thorough work went on. All I really had on hand that I could think of using was a sieved spoon, so I picked up small amounts of the mashed berried and mashed them a little more while they were in the spoon, thinking this would lead to getting rid of all of the juices. Obviously, it didn't, which made the frosting a little apprehensive to set; I had to leave the cake in the refrigerator for a little under two days, so I pulled it out every four hours or so to swirl the frosting back up the cake because it had already dripped down into a puddle. I noticed around the last few hours before we ate it that I didn't need to push it up as much, so I guess the frosting finally decided to give up the battle and just stay put.



Anyway, this didn't take away from the taste at all; it was delicious and the coconut and pecan, which I originally thought were fairly out of place in the recipe, ended up adding a nice crunch and texture to the finished product. Of all of the people that ate the cake, my mom was the only one who disliked it and then it was only due to the coconut and pecan. I will probably make this again sometime sans crunchy stuff.



Also, I had a lot of the frosting left over, and I don't know if that was due to the fact that it never thickened up or if it was just because the recipe was specifically for three nine-inch pans and I only used two. Either way, if I hadn't let it sit in the refrigerator for a week and a half, I would have been able to make cupcakes with it and they would have been delicious.



I didn't do the best job with taking pictures of all of the steps included in this recipe, as I was really set on making it actually look good. This is unfortunate because it is probably one of the prettiest cakes I have ever made.



Strawberry Cake
Makes one 9-inch (2 or 3) layer cake, about 18 servings

Vegetable shortening, for greasing the pans
Flour, for dusting the pans
1 (18.25 ounce) package plain white cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry gelatin
1 cup mashed fresh strawberries, with juice (1 1/2 cups whole berries)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk (I used 1% and it worked fine)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup grated sweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Strawberries, sliced, for garnish
1 batch Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two or three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, mashed strawberries and juice, oil, milk and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The strawberries should be well blended into the batter. Fold in the coconut and pecans. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place them in the oven; if you are using two pans, simply place them on the middle rack; if you are using three and your oven is not large enough, place two pans on the center rack and place the third pan in the center of the highest rack.

Bake the cakes until they are light brown and just start to pull away from the sides of the pan, 28 to 30 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the layer on the highest oven rack. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more. (Okay, I didn't do the multiple inversions; I placed them on little hotpads in front of a fan that was on high for about 30 to 45 minutes until they were mostly cool.

To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. (At this point, I used a thin layer of frosting on top of the first layer; then I added thinly sliced strawberries and added another thin layer of frosting on top of the slices.) Add another cake layer, right side up, and frost the top. Repeat this process with the third layer and frost the top. Use the remaining frosting to frost the sides, working with clean, smooth strokes. Decorate the top layer with sliced strawberries, if desired. Serve at once or chill the cake for later serving. (I recommend chilling it - it really helps bring out the strawberry flavor.)

Place this cake uncovered, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes (or 2 days, if you're me: that's how long it took to start to set). Cover the cake with waxed paper and store, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator before serving. This cake is best served cold.


Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes a ton of frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted (I probably used about 5 cups, just trying to get the frosting to thicken up)
3/4 cup fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed, capped and mashed to make 1/2 cup, then drained well
1/3 cup grated sweetened coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for about a minutes. Stop the machine and add the powdered sugar and drained strawberries (IMPORTANT: If the strawberries are not completely drained, the frosting will not set). Blend the frosting on low until the sugar is completely incorporated; then, raise the speed to medium and mix the frosting for another few minutes until the frosting lightens and is well combined. Fold in the coconut and pecans.


By the way, if anyone was wondering, I have not yet made the Coconut Cream Pie for my grandpa because we are waiting until he gets out of the hospital on July 14th to surprise him with it. But I still need to post about Cake Pops, and that's worth waiting around for!

The Truth About Coffee Cake

Today I'm going to talk about coffee cake. My boyfriend (gb) pointed out that I hadn't really posted anything about original recipes and suggested that I do so; this was really the only recipe I could think of that was mostly me, so I think it might have been something of a scam for him to get a coffee cake.



gb doesn't like cake much, but this is the exception - he could probably eat an entire one in two or three days. Luckily for him, I really enjoy making it because it's super-easy and I usually have all of the ingredients on hand. Plus, it only takes me about seven or eight minutes to throw it together and it always comes out perfect.



One specific thing to keep in mind with this recipe is your pan. I have always made these on those flimsy aluminum disposable 13x9's and they are always perfectly moist and crunchy after 38 minutes. The only time I have ever had problems with this recipe occurred when I used a plain metal baking pan - the cook time was off. Also, do not increase the amount of cinnamon too much, or it bakes into the cake and the crunch of the cinnamon-sugar is lost.



AwesomePossum Coffee Cake
Makes one 13x9-inch cake, about 24 servings

1 (18.25-oz.) box yellow cake mix
1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix (sorry, I don't know the exact ounce-age on this one)
4 large eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 to 1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt or 13x9-inch pan (I've never actually made it with a bundt pan; I usually don't have much luck with them).

First, make the filling/topping: stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and nuts in a small bowl until completely combined (I usually use a fork instead of a spoon - it helps the cinnamon-sugar combine easier). In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake and pudding mix. Whisk in eggs, water, oil, vanilla, and cinnamon until mixture is completely smooth. Pour a little more than half of the batter into pan.

Sprinkle more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mix over the batter, making sure to cover most of it evenly. Then, top with the remaining batter; try to cover the entire first layer. Sprinkle more of the cinnamon-sugar over the top layer, saving a small amount. Take two butter knives and move them in opposite directions through the pan, marbelizing the cake until the cinnamon-sugar is spread evenly throughout. Then top with the remaining cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 38 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you're lucky, a thin but crunchy crust will rise up on top of the cake.


Stay tuned later on for my birthday cake and a really easy coconut cream pie I'm making for my grandpa this week.

Muffins #2: Raspberry-Orange

As promised, I'm going to expound on the adventure that was the creation of my Raspberry-Orange muffins. I came across the recipe at Pittsburgh Needs Eated, but it originated in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. I saw it weeks ago and have been salivating over her pictures of the muffins ever since, so you can imagine my excitement when my mom told me that she had bought my berries for me when she went to the store last night. Unfortunately, my writing is somewhat illegible and she had actually bought me raspberries and blackberries, as opposed to the raspberries and blueberries I had scribbled onto the list.

Anyway, I made do with what I had and decided to just make the muffins with orange and raspberry and do something different with the blackberries later on (see yesterday's post).



The recipe was easy enough to follow along with, however I felt that it was fairly messy; at least, my kitchen was a mess by the time I was done. As stated in the original post on Pittsburgh Needs Eated, she misread and added 1 scant cup each of both types of berries. I had 6 ounces of raspberries and used all of them, although I'm sure that I could have added a little more if available.



Instead of buttermilk, I used 3/4 cup 1% milk mixed with 3/4 tablespoon vinegar, and my honey had to be heated in the microwave to help it lose the characteristics of a solid object. Then, in the oven, they didn't rise as much as I expected them to, and they started to burn a little on the edges after 13 minutes or so; after I noticed, I turned my oven down to 300 degrees F for about 3 more minutes and then I pulled them out.



Overall, they were just too tart for me, but they sure do look pretty. I'm sure my mom will like them, but I think they're much too strong to eat in the morning, when you just want something to tide you over until lunch. However, if like tart things, and especially if you like raspberries, these are the muffins for you. My slightly modified version of the recipe is as follows.

Supertart Berry-Orange Muffins
Makes about 16 regular-sized muffins

1 orange, grated zest and juice of
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup berries of your choice, fresh or still frozen (I used raspberries)
(PNE recommended powdered sugar for decoration, which probably will help to counteract the tartness, if you're only using raspberries)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray 12 regular-size muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet. (I didn't read that part - maybe that's why mine cooked so quickly on the edges.)

Juice the orange into a large glass measuring cup; pour in enough buttermilk so that the mixture equals 1 cup. Whisk the eggs, honey, and melted butter thoroughly.

Next, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips in a large bowl; the sugar needs to be completely moise. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the sugar and zest. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and use a whisk or rubber spatula to stir, gently and quickly. The batter will be lumpy and bubbly. Stir in the berries.

Pour batter evenly into muffin cups, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until muffins are golden, springy, and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean (Mine only needed about 15 without the baking pan). If you are using the powdered sugar, add it to the muffins after ten minutes of baking. Cool for at least 5 minutes before moving the muffins to a rack to cool completely.