Carrot Gingerbread Muffins

This recipe is essentially a gingerbread cake batter that gets shredded carrots folded into it. It is really more gingerbread cake than carrot muffin. I love the flavour of these, there is quite a large amount of ground ginger in the batter and it gives the muffins a spicy kick while the cinnamon lends its lingering warmth to the palate. These "muffins" have the texture of delicate soft fluffy cakes. I think these would be delicious with cream cheese frosting, although that would definitely take them out of muffin-land and into cupcake territory.

Carrot Gingerbread Muffins

Dairy,
Time: 1 hour

• 1/2 sup golden raisins
• 2-1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cu packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup fancy molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cups plain yogurt or buttermilk
• 2 cups shredded carrots
  

1. In bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves.
2. In large bowl, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars until light, about 1 minute. Beat in molasses and vanilla; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in flour mixture; stir in yogurt until combined. Fold in carrots and raisins just until combined. Spoon into paper-lined or greased muffin cups.
3. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool.

adapted from: Canadian Living Magazine Sept 2010

Muesli Soda Bread

Sorting out my mom's old recipes this summer, I came across this recipe for muesli soda bread, quick loaf that uses whole wheat like my standard soda bread but also uses oats for a different flavour and texture. This soda bread is somewhere between soda bread and scone, in it's appearance. It is shaped into a round loaf and scored in an "x" shape rather than being baked in a pan. it is also sprinkled with oats and sesame seeds before baking . This bread is great as part of a ploughman's lunch served with sharp cheeses and grapes.


The loaf shape is nice because you can slice a thick wedge of this homey bread and douse it with honey and butter for breakfast. the oats add a nice richer flavour to it . I think this recipe will soon replace my usual recipe as it has a softer crust and it is certainly prettier.

Muesli Soda Bread

Makes 1 loaf, approx 20 slices

Dairy

Time: approx 2 hours, including baking time

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1-3/4 cups buttermilk

Topping:

• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon each rolled oats, wheat germ, oat bran, and sesame seeds

1. In bowl, combine whole wheat and all-purpose flours, rolled oats, baking powder, soda and salt; Stir in raisins. Add oil to buttermilk; pour into flour mixture and stir to make soft dough.
2. Turn out onto lightly floured surface; knead about 10 times or until smooth.
3. Place on a greased or lined baking sheet; pat into a circle about 2-1/2 inches thick. Cut large shallow “X” on top.
4. Topping: brush egg white over dough. Combine rolled oats, wheat germ, bran and sesame seeds; sprinkle over dough. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 65-70 minutes or until tester inserted in middle comes out clean.

Source: unknown, probably an old Canadian Living magazine…..

Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins were made to use up half a can of pumpkin puree. This recipe makes dense spicy muffins studded with raisins and pecans. They are great for a quick snack or breakfast. This recipe also works really well with shaped mini bundt pans.
Case in point, these adorable pumpkin shaped moulds. These are just sweet enough to satisfy a craving for baked goods while being wholesome enough for everyday. You could even slick them with a brown butter glaze or frosting but I don't because that would veer too far into cupcake territory, and sometimes you just don't need any adornment.


Pumpkin Nut Muffins

This recipe works well in shaped muffin pans, such as the pumpkin mini-bundt pan.

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin or cooked pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¾ cup milk
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line with muffin paper cups.
3. Beat the butter until fluffy.
4. Add the flour, sugar, pumpkin, egg, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and milk. Beat until well combined.
5. Add the whole wheat flour, pecans, and raisins and fold until just combined.
6. Fill the prepared pan until each muffin cup is about two-thirds full. Bake in 375 degree F oven, 25-30 minutes until risen and golden. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

Makes about 12-16 muffins.

Time: about 1 hour

From: Good Kitchen Magic by Carol Tennant

Pumpin Raisin Scones

When the Internet revealed to me that pumpkin scones existed I knew I would track down a recipe and devour these elusive scones with relish.

Pumpkin is one of my food obsessions. It bridges the gap between sweet and savoury and you can use it in just about everything. At the risk of sounding like Forrest’s good friend Bubba—you can make pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin soup, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bars, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin bread and these here pumpkin scones.

behold the scone circle of unity:

Pumpkin just screams fall. It is the quintessential autumn food, and it melds perfectly with other traditional autumn flavours, be it spices like cinnamon and ginger, or herbs like sage and rosemary.

While I’m not so keen on the whole “back to school” season, I’ve always seen fall as a renewing season. Spring and summer are more for shedding the baggage of winter but fall is the beginning, the time to start preparing yourself for a new year and the trials of a new winter.

Anyways this digression into my love of fall is related to these pumpkin scones because to me scones mean tea parties! And tea parties are rarely ever Fall themed. Now why is that? As far as I am concerned Afternoon tea should occur year round. This recipe is my attempt to rectify this dire situation, as these scones are fall personified; they represent the gentler aspects of fall. They are tender and soft, flecked with fall spices and studded with raisins. These scones are a great addition to a teaparty menu or just on their own with a chai latte. (Or a regular latte, whatever you like) I like these best dusted lightly with confectioner’s sugar and served with honey and butter. They are the perfect addition to a crisp fall afternoon.

Pumpkin Raisin Scones

Dairy

Prep time: 20 minutes

Bake:12-15 minutes

Makes: 8-12 scones

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup chilled butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup milk
• ½ cup raisins
• extra milk for brushing
• granulated sugar and icing sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a mixing bowl combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt. With a pastry blender cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the centre of dry mixture; set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine egg, pumpkin, and milk. Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir in raisins. Using a wooden spoon, stir just until moistened.
3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead dough by folding and pressing gently for 10-12 strokes or until nearly smooth. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8-12 wedges.
4. Place wedges 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Remove scones from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve scones warm with honey and butter.

Sweet Potato Bread with Golden Raisins

I had an overabundance of sweet potatoes sitting on my counter that I had neglected to use up. I originally intended to roast them but they were starting to get sprouty and impatient. Ugh I hate when vegetables sprout weird looking bits. Shudder. Anyways with my excess of sweet potato I decided I was going to try making a sweet potato yeast bread. Potatoes are often added to yeast breads because of the way the starch interacts with the yeast to create a very tender end result. But pureed sweet potatoes are another possible addition to yeast doughs, although I’m not sure they have quite the same effect on the texture of the bread. I haven’t made a yeast bread in a long time although they are one of my favourite things to bake, so I pulled out this recipe that’s been languishing in my untried recipe folder for a while. (yes, folders as in physical folders with real pockets. I’m old school )

This is a nice rustic feeling bread. It combines all of the very autumn flavours of sweet potatoes, brown sugar, cornmeal, raisins and citrus.

This bread is so beautiful and festive. It is a dark orange colour on the outside, but when sliced, reveals a golden yellow interior dotted with plumped golden raisins. It’s beautiful gold on gold.

The bread is slightly sweet, but with enough character to stand up to a savoury meal. It has a subtle sweet potato flavour that is brightened by the sharp taste of the raisins and the scent of citrus zest. This bread has a nubbly texture from the cornmeal in the batter. The cornmeal contributes to its rustic character and lends some yellow colour to augment the colour of the sweet potato puree. It is rich because of the addition of eggs to the batter (although there is no fat per se added to the batter) and the brown sugar used in the batter complements and brings out the caramel notes of the sweet potato.

The raw dough is slightly sticky but as long as you keep your hands liberally floured it doesn’t take much work as far as yeast raised breads go.

When baked, the bread smells like a cross between baked sweet potatoes and cornbread. This very rustic harvest bread has a tender close-crumb, and is crusty and chewy on the outside. This would be great for a thanksgiving type meal.

This tastes good with goat cheese, and I’ve also served it to sop up the gravy from a meat meal. It is good for breakfast toasted with honey and butter. But I really think this would be great with some melted brie and cranberry chutney as a Thanksgiving themed panini.

Sweet Potato Bread with Golden Raisins

Makes 2 loaves, about 2 8-inch rounds

No dairy involved!

Time: 4-5 hours including resting time

• 1 cup golden raisins
• 2 cups warm water
• 4-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (2 packages)
• ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sweet potato puree (homemade or canned)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ cup yellow cornmeal
• 5-6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• grated zest of 2 lemons

1. Place the raisins in a small bowl. Add ½ cup of the warm water and let stand until ready to use.
2. Sprinkle yeast in a large bowl. Add a pinch of the brown sugar and add remaining 1-1/2 cups of warm water. Stir just to mix. Then let stand 10 minutes or until bubbly.
3. Whisk eggs and sweet potato puree in a large bowl until smooth. Add it to the yeast mixture and whisk just until blended. Add remaining brown sugar, salt, cornmeal, 2 cups of the flour and lemon zest. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add flour ½ cup at a time while beating with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. ( You may not need the entire amount of flour. The amount of flour needed will depend on the weather and the type of flour you use. Do not add too much flour or the bread may become tough and dry. You can incorporate more flour as you need the dough if necessary.)
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl turning to coat and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Drain raisins, discard any remaining liquid, and pat dry with paper towels. Toss with 2 tablespoons flour to coat. Set aside.
6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or oil and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, parchment is easier) Gently deflate dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the raisins into the dough just enough to distribute throughout. (I like to flatten the dough a bit, press the raisins evenly over the surface and then roll it like a jelly roll and knead normally, but this is just an idiosyncratic technique I’ve made up)
7. Form dough into 2 rounds, each about 5 inches in diameter. Place loaves 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Cover with tea towel and let rise in a warm draft free place about 30 minutes. Use a sharp knife or razor blade to cut 3 or 4 3-inch slashes in the bread so that it can expand and rise as it bakes.
8. Place in centre of oven. Immediately lower oven temperature to 375 and bake 40-50 minutes or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. (Note: Do not overbake or the bread will be dry. if you plan to freeze the bread underbake by about 5 minutes.) Remove from pan, place on wire racks. Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. Or, wrap in plastic wrap, place in Ziploc bag; freeze for up to 3 months.

Mary Egelbreit’s Home Companion Dec 2004/Jan 2005