Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins #MuffinMonday

These Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins are made from rich chocolate batter with lots of extra chocolate chips. But because they are mini sized, they are perfect as a party snack or buffet table dessert.

Living overseas as I do and far away from most of my old friends and family, it’s not often that I get a chance to take part in wedding or baby showers. But this past weekend, I was delighted to be invited to a wedding shower for the bride-to-be of my friend Sandra’s son, Matthew. I loved meeting all the young women who attended and getting to know them and our guest of honor.

It was such fun! Sandra outdid herself, planning activities and games and, of course, there was a lot of delicious food to eat. I contributed a couple of dishes to the table, these chocolate chocolate chip mini muffins included. For my money, nothing says party like mini muffins, either sweet or savory. I hope you agree!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Ingredients - for 36 mini muffins
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/2 cup or 125g plain, unsweetened yogurt
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 40g cocoa powder
3/4 cup or 150g brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup or 150g semisweet chocolate chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Prepare three 12-cup mini muffin pans by greasing them or lining them with paper muffin cups.

Add the yogurt to the milk in a measuring cup. Stir and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and vanilla, along with the milk/yogurt mixture.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, until just combined.

There may still be some flour showing and that’s fine. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Use a scoop or large spoon to fill the prepared muffin cups. They are going to be pretty full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You do not want to over bake these and dry them out.

Put the muffin pans on a wire rack to cool for about five minutes.

Remove the muffins from the pan and continue to cool on the wire rack. You can eat these warm but be prepared to lick melted chocolate chips off of your fingers.

Enjoy!

Check out the other lovely muffin recipes my Muffin Monday bakers are sharing today.

• Black Raspberry & Brown Sugar Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mango Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Maple Oatmeal Muffins from Making Miracles
• Zucchini and Roasted Corn Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Ginger Lemon Sage Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

These ginger lemon sage cookies combine ground ginger, lemon and sage for bright tart bites that go perfectly with a cup of tea.

Growing up, my mom never used sage. She said it was a Texas thing and she didn’t like the flavor. I have to admit, that for the most part, I agree. I find dried sage overpowering in stuffing and breakfast sausage. The exception for me is fresh sage. To me, the herby flavor of fresh sage is not at all like dried sage.

A few months ago, at the start of our cooler winter weather here in Dubai, I planted some culinary herbs in a long, deep box outside the living room window. It gets lovely afternoon sun and as a bonus is hooked up to a drip hose on the irrigation system. In past years my basil has been eaten by something – I presumed bugs but could never find any, until one friend said she thought the culprits were birds.

So I trimmed and reshaped a mosquito net to cover the herbs and my handy husband knocked together a couple of wooden slats to attach it to. That put paid to the bird theory. The basil was still munched, but somehow from under the net. In prior years, I had cut the basil back and then the invisible bugs or snails, or whatever they were, moved on to the other herbs.

Fresh sage, anyone? 

This year, I was smarter. Let them eat the basil, I decided. At least I’ll still have parsley, chives, sage, tarragon and thyme. And so I did for a good many glorious months. But as the weather got hotter and hotter, the parsley, chives and thyme succumbed to the heat. Now I have what amounts to an enormous bunch of sage, with a smattering of tarragon.

So what else could I use for my Creative Cookie Exchange recipe when the theme of Herbs in Cookies was announced? If you aren’t a fan of dried sage, I urge you to give fresh sage a chance. And even if you think sage in a cookie is weird, do try these. The lemon and ginger are perfect partners for fresh sage with a little sweetness. All three taste marvelous in these ginger lemon sage cookies.

Ginger Lemon Sage Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup or 125g flour
1/4 cup or 35g cornstarch
2 tablespoons, minced, fresh sage leaves
Zest of small lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 113g unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup or 60ml fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For decorating:
1/4 cup or 32g icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon water
Small fresh sage leaves

Method
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, cornstarch, sage, lemon zest, baking powder, ginger, baking soda and salt. This takes the place of sifting your flour and helps aerate it just the same.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugar together until light and pale yellow.

Add in the egg, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Beat again until combined. This may start to look like it’s curdling. Do not be alarmed.

Add in the dry ingredients and beat until combined – just a couple of minutes - scraping the bowl down halfway through.

Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate at least an hour or until well chilled.

When your chilling time is almost up, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and line two cookie sheets with baking parchment or silicone liners.

Use a spoon or scoop to divide the soft dough into about 21-23 cookies. I suggest making them smaller rather than bigger because they do spread out. Even this far apart, a few of mine baked together at the edges.

Bake for 9-10 minutes in your preheated oven.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

To decorate the cookies, mix the icing sugar, lemon juice and water together in a small bowl and pick or snip off the prettiest of your smaller sage leaves.

Brush the cookies, one at a time with the glaze, stick on one fresh sage leaf and brush a little more glaze on top.

Leave to dry before stacking. Store in an airtight container. These ginger lemon sage cookies are soft in the middle, almost cake-like, but chewy around the edges.

Enjoy!

If you love baking sweet treats with herbs, this is Creative Cookie Exchange event is just for you. Many thanks to our host this week, Felice, of All That’s Left Are the Crumbs.

Felice is one of my favorite bloggers, and not just because she’s one of the few who are still awake when I get up in the morning. It’s always a joy to chat with her. She’s originally from Australia but lives in gorgeous Honolulu. As well as checking out her blog for tasty dishes, follow her on Instagram for almost daily doses of tropical flowers and scenery.

Check out all the lovely cookies with herbs we’ve been baking for you.

• Anytime Tarragon-Apricot Cookies by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Citrus Glitters by What Smells So Good?
• Ginger Lemon Sage Cookies by Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Thyme Wafers by Cream and Butter
• Strawberry Mint Cookies by 2 Cookin' Mamas
• Rosemary Parmesan Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories

Creative Cookie Exchange is hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life. We get together once a month to bake cookies with a common theme or ingredient so Creative Cookie Exchange is a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts at The Spiced Life. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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Chili Cheese Omelet

A fluffy omelet stuffed with sharp cheddar then topped with hearty spicy beef homemade chili, this chili cheese omelet is my take on my husband’s favorite dish from the House of Pies in Houston, Texas.

Omelets make regular appearances for weekend breakfasts at our house, especially if there are leftovers that need using up. If you need inspiration, check out my Omelets with Super Powers post.

But since it’s Father’s Day, today is all about what the fathers want. I chatted with my dad and he said he’d like a beef kidney dish that my grandmother used to make. Sadly, it seems that recipe has been lost. Not that Daddy is with me right now, but I thought I’d ask for future reference. I’ve been researching Cajun kidney recipes and hope to find one similar for sometime when we are together. If anyone has any leads, let me know. Also, I have no idea where to buy beef kidneys. This is going to be a challenge.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned in yesterday’s hearty spicy beef chili post, my husband asked for a chili cheese omelet.

We’ve been frequenting the House of Pies (or House of Guys, as we call it) separately since I was in high school and he was in college, and together since 1986. He always, and I mean, every single time, orders the chili cheese omelet. It comes with a choice of potato – his is always cottage fries - and toast, biscuit or English muffin. Today, tater tots would have to suffice.

Chili Cheese Omelet

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
2 whole large eggs
1 large egg white
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
4 oz or 113g sharp cheddar, grated
3/4 - 1 cup of spicy beef chili, warmed – your favorite or use my hearty spice beef chili recipe
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Optional extras:
Chopped onions
Sliced fresh jalapeños
Chopped cilantro

Method
Whisk the eggs well and then add the milk, whisking again. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Melt the butter in a small non-stick frying pan and cook it until the water evaporates and the butter begins to color.

Pour in the eggs and turn the fire down to medium low.

Occasionally push the cooked eggs back and let the uncooked eggs run under the cooked part.

When the eggs are almost cooked through, add most of the cheese to the top of the omelet.

Use a wide spatula to fold the omelet in half, enclosing the cheese. When the cheese has melted, slide the omelet onto a warmed plate.

Top with warm chili and an extra sprinkling of cheese. At House of Guys, the chili cheese omelet automatically comes topped with chopped onion but Simon always orders his without. And he wants me to tell you that you have to have cottage fries (or tater tots) to dip in the chili.

Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day to my sweetie! 

This week my Sunday Supper family are sharing their dishes for Father's Day. Many thanks to our event manager, Em, and our host, Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures for all of their hard work behind the scenes. Check out our Sunday Supper Father’s Day Menu Ideas. 

Sides Dad Will Love

• Best Dark and Stormy by Cricket’s Confections
• Spanish Cheese Plate by Caroline’s Cooking

Mains for the Main Man

• Blue Cheese Bacon Burger with Crispy Onions Strings by Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Chicken Fajita Burgers by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Chili Cheese Omelet by Food Lust People Love
• Chinese Chicken Salad by Pies and Plots
• Cider Braised Pork Belly Tacos by Gourmet Everyday
• Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches by Soulfully Made
• Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Cilantro Pesto by Cooking Chat
• Jalapeno Cream Cheese Burger (The JCB) by This is How I Cook
• Korean BBQ Steak Bowls by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Out of a Can Chili by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Pork Chops With Brandied Cherries by Mysavoryspoon

Dad's Favorite Desserts

• Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Brownies by Desserts Required
• Chocolate Tofu Cupcakes by NinjaBaker.com
• Devil's Food Strawberry Shortcake by The Freshman Cook
• Simple Fudgy Brownies by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Snickery Springform Cookie by What Smells So Good?

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Hearty Spicy Beef Chili

Beef and beans are simmered with onions, beer and peppers to create this rich hearty spicy beef chili. Eat it with cornbread, rice or chips or on top your favorite cheese omelet or hot dog.

Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you off of trying this wonderful hearty spicy beef chili recipe. It’s rich and satisfying. Once you’ve got everything in the pot, simmer till done!

The other night my husband and I were catching up – he’d been traveling – and I told him about this week’s Sunday Supper event, meal ideas for Father’s Day. What would he like me to make, I asked. Turns out this is an event he could totally get behind! I wielded my pencil and pad and he started the list. Right near the top was the chili cheese omelet he loves from the House of Pie restaurant in Houston.

So, ahead of tomorrow’s Sunday Supper event, when I will share the recipe for my version of that chili cheese omelet, here’s the hearty spicy beef chili you’ll need to make it. Normally, my chili would not have beans, but the House of Pies chili has them so I did what I had to do. Leave 'em out if you'd prefer.

Hearty Spicy Beef Chili

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lbs 5 oz or 1050g ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
1-2 fresh jalapeños, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (more to taste if you like it very hot!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 bottle (about 330ml) beer – I used an Adnams IPA.
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups or 360ml beef broth
1 (15-16 oz) can, red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Optional: 2-3 tablespoons masa harina whisked into some cool water.

Optional to serve:
Extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Onion, minced
Fresh jalapeños, sliced
Cilantro, chopped

Method
Fry the ground beef in the olive oil in a large pot until it’s sticky and brown. Add in the onion and peppers and cook till they’ve softened.

Add in the spices and cook for a few more minutes.

Now pour in the beer and use the moisture and steam to deglaze all the good browned sticky bits off of your pot.

Add in the tomato paste, beef broth and then the kidney beans.

Cover the pot and lower the heat to simmer. Cook for one hour or more, checking occasionally and adding some water if the chili is dry.

If you like a thick “gravy” based chili like we do, right at the end of your cooking time, add more water mixed with 2-3 tablespoons masa harina (the flour that is used in making corn tortillas) and bring the chili back to the boil till it thickens.

Serve this hearty spicy beef chili with cornbread, rice or even tortilla chips. (Or over a cheese omelet! Find that recipe here.) A sprinkle of sharp cheddar, minced onions and sliced jalapeños are also tasty.

Enjoy!

Like spicy dishes? Check out my Fish Steamed with Spicy Couscous, Cheesy Jalapeño Corn Casserole, Black Eyed Pea Salad or Saladu Ñebbe and, one of my favorites, Spicy Mexican Noodles.

Or try my chili cheese omelet!

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Garlic Lemon Fish Greek Salad Sandwiches #FishFridayFoodies

Garlic Lemon Fish Greek Salad Sandwiches are quite a mouthful, both by name and by flavor - pan-fried grouper tossed with a fresh salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, black olives, onion and feta, all stuffed in halved pita rounds.

This month my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing seafood sandwiches and I’m excited to join them. When the hot summer starts to pick up speed in Dubai, heading straight into the triple digits (in Fahrenheit, anyway) we eat a lot of salads along with fish, chicken or beef that’s quickly pan-fried so it doesn’t heat up the kitchen. Never mind dishes that have to be cooked long and slow (unless in the slow cooker) or recipes that require a hot oven.

This Greek salad is tasty completely on its own, but add some garlic lemon fish and a wrap or pita bread, and you’ve got the perfect hot weather meal.

Garlic Lemon Fish Greek Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients for 4-5 sandwiches
For the fish:
10 1/2 oz or 300g boneless grouper or other firm white fish, cut in chunks
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 tablespoons minced cilantro

For the salad:
3 1/2 oz or 100g feta, cut in cubes
handful black olives, pitted and halved
handful grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 small cucumber, chopped
1/2 small purple onion, sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt – use cautiously because the feta is salty
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 leaves of romaine lettuce, washed and ripped into small pieces

Method
To cook the fish:
Season the fish with salt and pepper. Pan-fry it in the olive oil till almost cooked through. This takes mere minutes. Add in the garlic and give the hot pan a stir and then quickly add the lemon juice so the garlic doesn’t scorch.

Toss the fish with the cilantro and set aside to cool, off the stove.

To mix the salad:
Add the onion to a large salad bowl along with the lemon juice. Leave to marinate for about five minutes. Add in the oil and stir.

Once the fish has cooled somewhat, add all the other salad ingredients - except the lettuce - into the salad bowl and toss to coat with the dressing and onions. Add in the fish and toss again gently. This can now be refrigerated until you are ready to serve.

Take the salad out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving. Add the lettuce and toss again gently.

Cut your pita bread in half and carefully separate the sides. Fill each half with the salad. Or you can add the salad to the pita bread and fold it up like a taco.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other great seafood sandwiches we've got for you today! Many thanks to our host Colleen of Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Lemon Filled Lemon Bundt #BundtBakers

For lemon lovers everywhere, this lemon filled lemon Bundt will fulfill all of your sweet and sour lemon dreams, with sharp fresh lemon curd, zesty lemon cake and lemon drizzle.

This month our host for Bundt Bakers is Cristina from Bizcocheando and she has challenged us all to make filled Bundts. I’ve baked quite a few with fillings between layers of batter, like my dark chocolate mint truffle mini Bundts, glazed chocolate macaroon Bundt, cinnamon crown Bundt, Sock It to Me Cake and, a Texas favorite, sticky pecan pie Bundt. So I decided to do something different and add a filling after baking.

Growing up my favorite doughnut was always the lemon-filled. I find them a bit too sweet now, but as a child, they seemed the perfect amount of tart and sweet. Since I discovered a few years ago how easy it was to make homemade lemon curd, it’s made an appearance in several dishes. The prettiest lemon curd requires lovely yellow or orange yolks, just like the ones we get here in the UAE. I have no idea what those hens are eating but the color of their yolks is gorgeous.

The lemon curd recipe makes more than will comfortably fill this Bundt, but that’s not a problem. I promise you’ll want to eat the rest with a spoon.

Ingredients
For the cake:
3 cups or 375g all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups or 300g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 to 2 medium lemons)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola oil
3 oz or 85g cream cheese, cut in pieces, softened
3/4 cup or180ml whole milk
1/4 cup or 60ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 to 2 medium lemons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the lemon curd filling:
2 small lemons
2 large eggs
Heaping 1/3 cup or 80g sugar
1/4 cup or 50g cold, unsalted butter
2 teaspoons cornflour or cornstarch

For the lemon glaze:
3/4 cup or 95g confectioners' sugar or as needed to get the consistency you’d like.
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method
Start by making the lemon curd so that you can pop it in the refrigerator to chill before baking the cake. Follow these instructions.

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, use a whisk to combine and aerate the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

Add in the eggs, oil, cream cheese, milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat on medium for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down once halfway through.

Pour in your prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. Test with a wooden skewer to make sure the cake is cooked through.

Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes then turn the cake out of the Bundt pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely before attempting to cut.

Use a long serrated knife to cut the cake in half. Gently remove the top.

Use a melon scoop to cut a small channel into the bottom of the cake.

Spoon in your chilled lemon curd.

Replace the top of the cake. Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together for your lemon drizzle. Use a plastic bag with a small hole cut in the corner to drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Once the drizzle has dried and hardened, cover the cake with cling film and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely filled Bundts we've baked for you today! Many thanks to our host, Cristina from Bizcocheando for all of her hard work behind the scenes and for this great theme!

• Blueberries Kugelphopf Bundt Cake by Bizcocheando.
• Boston Creme Filled Bundt with Chocolate Ganache by The Queen of Scones.
• Bundt Cake de Piña y Coco by La mejor Manera de Hacer.
• Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bundt by All That's Left Are The Crumbs.
• Círculo Rojo Bundt Cake by Patty's Cake.
• Cream Cheese Blueberry Jam Filled Bundt Cake by Sweet Sensations.
• Cream Cheese Stuffed Caramel Apple Bundt Cake by Making Miracles.
• Jalapeño Cornbread Filled with Blueberry Quick Jam by Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice.
• Lazy Daisy Bundt Cake by Sneha's Recipe.
• Lemon Filled Lemon Bundt by Food Lust People Love.
• Peanut Butter - Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Peanut Butter Filling by Katin špaz
• Raspberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Curd Filling by Palatable Pastime.
• Tunnel of Cream Banana Nut Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes.
• Twinkie Bundt Cake by Living the Gourmet.

 

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

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