Best Banana Muffins Ever !!

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It is time for Secret Recipe Club reveal today, and this month I was assigned the blog, Eliots Eats. If you haven't read this blog yet, please do so as soon as you can! Debra is the writer, her husband is her inspiration, and her recipes are amazing! For the second month in a row, I choose a Banana Bread recipe. I didn't do this on purpose, but when I saw Debra's recipe for The Best Banana Bread Ever, I had to put it to the test. Another thing I love about this recipe? Coconut Oil substituted for butter. Oh, so good! I made two changes to Debra's original recipe. I left out the chopped pecans, and I made muffins instead of a loaf. Oh, and yes, they are the best banana muffins, ever!

The Best Banana Bread {Muffins} Ever

1/2 cups coconut oil (in solid form)
1 cup sugar
2 large farm fresh eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (2 or 3)
2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together your coconut oil and sugar.
 Mix until creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time. Mix until incorporated.

Add bananas and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.

On low speed, mix the flour into the coconut oil and
egg mix. Just mix until incorporated. Do not over mix.
Spray mini muffin pan. Bake muffins for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from pan and let cool for 10 minutes.

Enjoy your muffins!

Thanks Debra for a great recipe!
Check out what everyone else made!!

Banana Mini Muffins

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Today is Secret Recipe Club reveal day and I am so excited because this month the blog assigned to me is Canela Kitchen! I love this blog! There are so many recipes to choose from that I changed my mind about 4 times before I finally decided on these Banana Muffins. I made mine "mini muffins" to accommodate my family, but oh boy, these are sooooo good! I know there are a lot of banana muffin recipes out there, but I love trying new ones, and I know you will want to make these!!

Banana Mini Muffins

250 g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

130 g  sugar

75 g butter chilled and grated

1 egg

175 ml milk

  1 medium sized ripe bananas peeled

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add your flour, baking powder, cinnamon,

sugar and grated butter together in a large bowl.

Stir to coat the butter in the flour mixture.

Beat together the egg and milk and stir into

 the bowl until just blended.

Don't over mix - it should still be lumpy.

Place your muffin cups in your pan,

and add batter. Slice your banana into 1/2"

slices, and cut each slice into quarters.

Place a quarter on top of each cup of batter.

Bake for 15 minutes. 

I used this scale to measure out the ingredients.

It works great when you are making a recipe 

that is measured in grams.

Thanks for joining me today!

Thank you to Gloria from Canela Kitchen for such a great recipe!

Here's what everyone else made:

Cannoli Cupcakes

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Today is Secret Recipe Club reveal day! This month I was the lucky blogger who was assigned the blog Mele Cotte, which is authored by Chris. I had a really difficult time deciding which recipe to choose. There are so many great ones and now I have a lengthy list of Chris's recipes that I will be making in the future! I finally decided to make the Cannoli Cupcakes and I was so glad I did. These cupcakes are just like the Italian pastry, and oh, so tasty!

Cannoli Cupcakes

2 cup cake flour
1 ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cannoli Filling
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

 (drained in a fine-mesh strainer for 2 hours to remove excess liquid)
1 cup mascarpone cheese
½ cup confectioners sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt

Mascarpone Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
16 oz. Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
4-5 cups confectioners sugar
chopped pistachios

Whisk flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar, mixing until just light and fluffy. 

Add eggs 1 at a time until combined, 

scraping down the bowl after each addition.

Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk 

and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.

  Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full. 

Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix filling ingredients using a wooden spoon. 

Cover and refrigerate until ready to fill cupcakes, at least 2 hours.

When ready to fill cupcakes, transfer the cannoli filling into a pastry

 bag fitted with a plain tip.

 Push the tip gently into the bottom of a 

cupcake and squeeze in the filling until the cupcake plumps.

 Continue with the remaining cupcakes.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, 

cream butter and Mascarpone until light and creamy.

 Add sugar and continue beating until smooth.

Top with mascarpone buttercream.

Add chopped pistachios.

Chris added a cannolli shell to the top of each of the cupcakes,

and they look so cute!

Thanks for joining me today!

Stop by Mele Cotte and see this great recipe and so many others.

Check out what all the other Secret Recipe Club members made today.

I Heart S'mores on a Stick!

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Today is reveal day for the Secret Recipe Club! This month I was so lucky to be assigned the blog, Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom! This fabulous blog is authored by Jamie. Jamie's blog is full of wonderful recipes, crafts, home projects, sewing tutorials, and wonderfully, creative crafts. I just love her blog, and you will to! I have been a little busy lately, so I picked one of Jamie's recipes that was quick, simple, and oh, so good~S'mores on a Stick. I dressed them up a little as a Valentine's Day treat, and they were a huge success. These are such a good idea and so yummy, I wish I had thought of it! :)

S'mores on a Stick

Red & White Straws, cut in half

Milk Chocolate

Pink Marshmallows, regular size

Graham Crackers

Red Ribbon

Crush your graham crackers, by putting them in a 

ziplock bag, and rolling over the bag with a rolling pin.

Melt your chocolate. I used Callebaut chocolate,

and it was perfect.

Poke the cut straws into the marshmallows.

Dip your marshmallow into the chocolate.

Roll your chocolate covered marshmallow in the

graham cracker crumbs.

Place the finished s'mores on a baking tray to set up.

Decorate as you wish. These would be perfect for a party,

with ribbons in the party colors, wouldn't it?

Thank you Jamie, for such a great recipe!

&

Thanks for joining me today!

We are joining these fun parties:
In and Out of the Kitchen Link Up Party 

Check out all the other Secret Recipe Club recipes!

Mini Cheeseball Bites!

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Today is the Secret Recipe Club reveal! This month I was given the blog, The Avid Appetite, written by Rachel. This blog is amazing and wonderful! Rachel's blog is full of incredible recipes. She has them all neatly indexed, and they are so easy to find. She has everything from appetizers to breakfast to meats to desserts, and more. Even her desserts are categorized! Thank you Rachel, for making it so easy to browse your blog. The problem is, you made it hard for me to decide what to make! Everything looked great! I finally decided on Cheeseball Bites, and I am so glad I did! They were perfect for a football party we were invited to, and everyone loved them!!

Mini Cheeseball Bites!

There were 2 kinds of cheeseballs in Rachel's recipe.

They were both so easy to make, which make them perfect for

a party, and they both had just a few ingredients, which made them 

fantastic for entertaining!

Feta Cheeseball Bites

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

3 oz Feta Cheese Crumbles

1/2 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Cloves, minced

Black Pepper, to taste

1/2 cup Mixed Nuts, finely diced

Cheddar Cheeseball Bites

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, fine shred

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

Black Pepper, to taste

1/2 cup Mixed Nuts, finely diced

For either recipe, beat the cream cheese until soft.

Add the second cheese and mix together. 

Add in the spices and beat until mixed well.

Place each cheese mix in plastic wrap

and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Roll the cheese into 1 tablespoon sized balls

and roll them in walnuts.

Serve with crackers!

Enjoy!

I made some minor changes in Rachel's recipe because

I wanted to use what I already had in my kitchen. 

Stop by and see her original recipe for a lower fat version!

Best wishes to Rachel! She and her husband Shaun are 

expecting their first baby any day now!

How exciting!

Thanks for joining me today!

 

 

Yummy, Yummy Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Crepes!

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I think that crepes are one of those recipes that carries a little bit of mystique with it, don't you? On the surface they seem difficult to master, and I always file the recipes into my "make someday" folder. Well, no more! When I was assigned Denise's blog, Creative Kitchen for the November Secret Recipe Club I found a great recipe for crepes, and I decided it was time to step outside my comfort zone a little. I am so glad I did! Denise's recipe for crepes was easy to follow and oh, so good! I served mine for breakfast, and they were a huge hit. I do need to practice my technique some, but I don't think that is a problem, as I plan on serving them on several occasions during the holidays! You can make these for breakfast, lunch, dessert or, I was thinking, maybe appetizers?!!

Crepes

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled & sliced
1 teaspoon Butter
1 tablespoon  Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 tablespoon Cream Cheese, softened
2 cups whole Milk
2 Eggs
2 cups Flour
pinch of Salt
1 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla

Place your apple slices in your pan with a teaspoon of butter.
Add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir together

over medium heat. Add the cream cheese, and melt
everything together.

Place milk and eggs in the blender.
Blend thoroughly.

Then add flour, 1 cup at a time, blending after
each addition. Add the remaining ingredients, and
blend until smooth.

I poured the mix in to a measuring cup, 

and poured it onto the hot pan that I had melted 

a teaspoon of butter in.

Swirl the pan so that it is coated with the batter.

After a few minutes you will see bubbles as the crepe

is cooking. Turn the crepe over to cook the other side.

Denise says in her recipe that she found it easiest to turn with

her hand, and I agree.

I put my apple mixture in the center of the crepe.

Place the crepe on the plate, and roll by putting the top 

of the crepe over the apples, and puling snug, but not too tight.

Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.

I think it looks Christmasy, don't you?

Enjoy!

Read Denise's original recipe for all her great ideas on what to 

fill your crepes with. She suggests things like Nutella, strawberries,

lemon curd, maple syrup, peaches, and more!

I can't tell you how happy I am I tried these crepes. I used up

all of my batter practicing on getting my crepes thin, but I kept

everything I cooked. I think I will freeze them, and then pull them out

to experiment. I really do think there is an appetizer 

recipe in there somewhere!

Thanks for joining me today!

Let's see what everyone else made!

<

Potato Buns!

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It is Secret Recipe Club day! It is also your lucky day because today you are being given the recipe to the most incredible homemade rolls ever! This month I was assigned the blog, A Tale of One Foodie's Culinary Adventures! This blog is written by Erin, and it is full of wonderful sounding and beautiful looking recipes. I had quite a difficult time deciding what to make until I saw these Potato Buns! I am so glad I made these. They are awesome and easy to make. You will never eat store bought buns again! Try these!

Potato Buns

• 2 cups very warm Water (120-130 degrees)
• 1/4 cup instant Mashed Potato Flakes
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher Salt
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup Butter, softened
• 4 1/2 -6 cups Flour
• 2 tablespoon Instant Yeast

Stir together the water, potato flakes, sugar and salt.

Fast acting yeast works best when the water is 

between 120-130 degrees. It needs to be at the right 

temperature now, because you won't find out it didn't work

until later. By then you have done a lot of work!

Add eggs, butter, and the your yeast mixed 

with 3 cups of flour.

Beat with mixer on high.  

This can be done by hand also.

Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the

dough can be easily kneaded.

Knead well.

I used my dough hook, on the mixer, but you can knead by 

hand if you want.

Place in a greased, covered bowl in the fridge 

to rest for 2 hours or overnight. 

Pinch 2-3  inch balls off the main piece of dough and

form into round roll shapes.

Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Let rise until doubled in size, at least 1 hour.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

The buns are done when

they sound hollow when you tap on them.

Not all mine turned out as pretty as Erin's :(

But they were delish!!

So Pretty!

Thank you Erin for such a great recipe!

I just love making and eating these buns!!