Sweet Pineapple Muffins #MuffinMonday

These sweet pineapple muffins have a simple vanilla muffin batter, studded with pineapple. They are perfect for breakfast and snacks. Pop one in a lunch box as a special surprise.

I have a confession to make. These were supposed to be fresh pineapple muffins. My neighborhood grocery store has a special cutter that slices pineapples into circles at the same time that it removes the thick, spiky peel. Don’t you know, the day I was baking these, they didn’t have any fresh pineapples. They almost always have them!

I wanted fresh pineapple because fruit packed in syrup is usually too sweet for me but I took this as a sign to go and peruse the canned goods. Hallelujah! There was actually one option with pineapple slices in unsweetened juice. So, use what you’ve got!

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
¾ cup or 150g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Juice (not syrup!) from small can of pineapple plus enough milk to make 1 cup or 240ml
½ cup or 120ml canola oil or other light oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
Small can pineapple (4.9 oz or 139g, drained weight)

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and generously grease cups and top of 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper liners.

Drain the pineapple and save the juice in a measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup or 240ml.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl.

Chop the pineapple slices into bits. I like to cut some a bit bigger and save them to decorate the top and I suggest you do the same.

Put the bigger pile into the dry ingredients and stir to coat them so they don't stick together.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, vanilla and eggs.

Add all the milk mixture to flour mixture. Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Top each with a couple of pieces of chopped pineapple.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 before removing muffins from pan.

Enjoy!

Check out all of the great muffins my Muffin Monday group is sharing today:

• Appalachian Pawpaw Muffinsfrom Palatable Pastime
• Apple Oatmeal Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pineapple Coconut Banana Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Sourdough Date Nut Cranberry Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sweet Pineapple Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Whole Grain Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts

#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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Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup

Nothing beats roasted pumpkin soup on a chilly fall day. Add some bacon, ginger and green apple for a warm, bright bowl of goodness your whole family will love.

It’s never really winter here in Dubai so when we get a day that is grey and looks like it is threatening to rain (although honestly, it hardly ever does) that is what I call a soup day. Today it’s pumpkin soup since I am trying hard to channel autumn.

Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup

This makes two large, very, very thick bowls of soup. This recipe is easily multiplied to serve more.

Ingredients
600g or 1 1/3 pounds fresh pumpkin
2 slices or rashers of bacon (streaky) (optional)
2 cups or 480ml stock (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 small onion
1 medium carrot
1 green apple
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Small knob young ginger
4 cloves garlic
20g or 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper

Optional, to serve: Drizzle of cream

Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. Clean the seeds and fibers out of your pumpkin.

Cut it in pieces so it will roast faster. Trim the bottom a little, if necessary, to make it stand up properly. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

Roast the pumpkin for 40-50 minutes or until a fork goes in easily. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, if using, chop your bacon into little strips. Fry with a little olive oil over a medium fire.

Peel the vegetables then chop your onion, carrot and garlic and ginger.

Add to the bacon and sauté until softened, adding another couple of glugs of olive oil. Put the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if it starts to dry out.

Put one teaspoon of lemon juice in a small bowl. Peel, core and chop the apple and mix it around in the lemon juice.

Add the apple to the pot. Stir everything around and pop the lid back. Cook on medium, adding water occasionally if it starts to catch.

Once you are able to hold your pumpkin, scrape the flesh out of the skin.

Add the butter to the pot and then add the pumpkin.

Add the stock and give the pot a whisk.

Carefully ladle and then pour everything in to a blender. Make sure not to overfill the blender. You may have to do this in batches. Blend until smooth.  Return to the pot and check the seasoning. Add salt, if necessary, and a couple of good grinds of black pepper.

Serve with a drizzle of cream and hot buttered toast.

Enjoy!

Check out all the great easy pumpkin recipes my Sunday Supper group are sharing today!

Meals, Sides, and Snacks

• Autumn Harvest Pumpkin Soup by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Pumpkin Chia Pudding by Cricket’s Confections
• Chocolate Pumpkin Pastry Twists by Caroline’s Cooking
• Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Miso Broth with Roast Pumpkin and Noodles by Sprinkles and Sprouts
• Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Walnut Streusel by Baking Sense
• Pumpkin Kugel by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Pumpkin Monkey Bread Muffins by Jersey Girl Cooks
• Pumpkin Mug Muffin by Our Good Life
• Pumpkin Oatmeal Cups by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Pumpkin Shrub by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Rolls by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Roasted Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup by Food Lust People Love
• Savory Pumpkin with Red Onion Garlic and Coconut by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz

Delectable Desserts

• No Bake Paleo Pumpkin Bites by Bites of Wellness
• Pumpkin Blondies by Pies and Plots
• Pumpkin Bread Pudding by The Freshman Cook
• Pumpkin Cupcakes by NinjaBaker.com
• Pumpkin Hand Pies by Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Pumpkin Pot Au Creme by Cooking On The Ranch
• Pumpkin Spice Crumble Cake by Soulfully Made
• Simple Pumpkin Pie Pudding by Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Traditional Pumpkin Pie by Palatable Pastime
• Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies by Sunday Supper Movement

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Brown Sugar Banana Bundt Cake #BundtBakers

This delectable Brown Sugar Banana Bundt Cake also boasts browned butter in the batter! If you've never tried browned butter in a cake, prepare yourself. You are about to fall in love with the rich flavor it adds.

This month my Bundt Bakers group is sharing "back to school" cake recipes that slice up nicely and/or freeze well so that they are great in lunch boxes. One of my girls’ favorite treats when they were still at home was a light and fluffy banana cake straight from our favorite family cookbook, the 1980 edition of Good Housekeeping.

I can’t tell you if it freezes well, although though there is no reason it should not, but it never lasted long enough. I can tell you that it wraps up nicely for a snack at recess or lunch. For this month’s bake, I decided to take that original recipe and kick it up a flavor notch or two by browning the butter and switching out the white sugar for brown.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups or 280g flour, plus a little for flouring pan
1 1/4 cups or 250g sugar
1 1/2 cups (3-4) well-ripened bananas
1/2 cup or 115g butter, softened, plus a little extra for greasing pan
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda or bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan. Here's an affiliate link to the pan that I used: Nordic Ware Jubilee Bundt. Isn't it a beauty?

Heat the butter in a small pot until it starts to brown. Remove from heat immediately and set aside to cool. Full instructions can be found here at The Cooking Actress. The talented Kayle has been my mentor in all things browned butter.

Into large bowl mixing bowl, put your peeled bananas.  Give them a quick whirl to mash. Add in the eggs and beat again briefly.

Now measure all the other ingredients onto the bowl.  With mixer at low speed, beat until well mixed, scraping the bowl often.

Now beat on high for five minutes, occasionally stopping to scrape the bowl again. Pour batter into your prepared pan.

 Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

Cool your Bundt cake for 10 minutes and then turn it out of pan.

Serve sprinkled with confectioners’ or powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month’s host, Wendy from A Day in the Life on a Farm for her behind the scenes work and for choosing such a fun theme. Check out all the back to school Bundts we are sharing today:

• Applesauce Bundt Cake from I love Bundt Cakes
• Autumn Honey Apple Bake & Slice Bundt Cake from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Brown Sugar Banana Bundt Cake from Food Lust People Love
• Hummingbird Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze from Love and Confections
• Morning Glory Bundt Cake with Yogurt & Granola Topping from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Peanut Butter and Jam Bundt Cake from The Queen of Scones
• Persimmon Pudding Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• Pistachios, Blueberries and White Chocolate Bundt Cake from Bizcocheando
• Sesame Seed Bundt Cake from Katin špajz
• Twinkie Bundt Cake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Zebra Bundt Cake from Patty's Cake

 

#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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Marmalade-Glazed Baked Chicken #FoodBloggers4FL

A little bit sweet with a welcome sharp orange bite, this marmalade-glazed baked chicken tender is on the inside and sticky and more-ish on the outside. You will be licking your fingers and eating the sauce with a spoon.

Even as we planned the Food Bloggers for Texas event week before last, Hurricane Irma started bearing down on the Caribbean and Florida. By the time we posted, she had arrived and wreaked her damage. As a group we all agreed that another recipe post was in order, along with the added links to ways we can all help in the recovery from Irma.

It was easy to choose a recipe to share for the Texas post. After all, I grew up in Houston. I know quite a few Texas recipes, like the Four-Alarm Texas Chili I ended up sharing. For a Florida recipe I turned to my new favorite cookbook, Orange Appeal, written by my friend, Jamie Schler, and photographed by her alter ego, the very talented Ilva Beretta.

Jamie grew up among the Florida citrus groves the state is so rightly proud of and her recently released book is filled with delicious family-friendly recipes using all things orange.

So far, in addition to this fabulous baked chicken, I have tried the orange rosemary boule – a crusty French-style loaf, her rich Chocolate Orange Brownies, the mouthwatering Mediterranean Meatballs and, talk about fresh, the orange salad with sliced fennel, onions and carrots. If you haven’t bought your copy yet, here’s an Amazon affiliate link: http://amzn.to/2fiOKjQ Go buy Orange Appeal. You will not regret it!

Here are some links to organizations who need your help with Irma recovery efforts:

• Volunteer Florida 
• Miami Diaper Bank  
• Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida
• South Florida Wildlife Center 
• Heart of Florida United Way
• All Faiths Food Bank
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
• Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency
• Fondos Unidos
• Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands
• St. John Community Foundation
• Anguilla Beaches

Jamie very kindly gave me permission to share the following gorgeous marmalade-glazed baked chicken recipe with you, in honor of relief efforts in her home state. Thanks, Jamie!

Ingredients - Serves 6
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large shallots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup (120 ml) white wine vinegar
2/3 cup (156 ml) light soy sauce
1 cup (12 1/2 ounces / 350 g) orange marmalade
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large whole chicken, cut into pieces, or 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and legs

Method
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, and cook the shallots over medium heat until soft and golden, 3–5 minutes. Stir in the ginger until dissolved then stir in the vinegar and boil vigorously until reduced by half, 2–3 minutes.

Add the soy sauce, marmalade, salt, and pepper and stir until smooth and the jam has dissolved.

As soon as the marinade comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. (This makes about 1 3/4 cups or 414ml marinade.)

Rinse and pat the chicken pieces dry, removing excess skin and fat pockets. Place chicken in a wide shallow bowl or a large sealable plastic bag. Pour the cooled marinade over the chicken, making sure the pieces are completely submerged. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, or seal the plastic bag tightly. Place in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Prepare a large, shallow baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil, overlapping 2 extra-strong pieces of foil and folding over two or three times then pressing the seam flat. Oil the foil to keep the cooked chicken from sticking.

Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in the pan then spoon the marinade over the pieces. To avoid having too much marinade pooling in the bottom of the pan, spoon some over the chicken and spoon or brush more over the chicken once or twice during baking.

Bake for 35–45 minutes, until cooked through and beautifully glazed and browned. Keep an eye on the chicken toward the end of the baking time, as the marmalade will go from crispy to burned in a matter of minutes.

While the chicken is baking, place the remaining marinade in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until reduced to 1/2 to 2/3 cup (125 to 170 ml) and thickened.

Jamie's end note: For a wonderful variation on this recipe, prepare the marinade as indicated and set aside. Pan fry bone-in pork or lamb chops in olive oil. When the chops are done to your liking, remove them from the skillet to a plate and deglaze the skillet with a couple of tablespoons of sherry or orange juice, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom. Lower the heat under the pan, add the marinade and simmer until reduced and thickened, and then spoon over the chops to serve.

Enjoy!

Check out all of the recipes my fellow food bloggers are sharing today.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons #CreativeCookieExchange

Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons are sweet and chewy and just the slightest bit salty, with loads of flakey coconut, chopped almonds and dark chocolate. You will not be able to resist them! P.S. They are naturally gluten free.

Probably my second favorite candy bar in the whole wide world, right behind the Butterfinger, is an Almond Joy. Unlike its poor relative, the Mounds bar, an Almond Joy has almonds perched atop the sweet coconut before it is coated in chocolate.

Why anyone would want a Mounds when they could have an Almond Joy is beyond me but the Mounds does have one thing going for it. Dark Chocolate. Almond Joy bars are covered with milk chocolate. So, taking the best of both, I’ve made these Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons with dark chocolate and almonds.

Ingredients – to make 3 dozen
2/3 cup or 110g almonds, plus 36 extra (about 45g) for garnish, if desired
Pinch of salt
1 14 oz or 396g bag sweetened flaked coconut
10 oz or 283g bag dark chocolate morsels (or sub chocolate chips)
1 (14 oz or 397g) can sweetened condensed milk

Method
Preheat your oven to 325°F or 163°C and prepare your cookie sheets by lining them with baking parchment.

Toast your almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat, stirring or tossing regularly to make sure they don’t scorch. They should start to smell nutty as they toast and you will see the natural oils come to the surface making the almonds slightly shiny. Lightly sprinkle them with the pinch of salt, stir, then pour them out onto a large cutting board and leave to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, toss together your coconut and dark chocolate morsels.

Set aside 36 almonds to use as garnish, if using, and then chop the rest roughly with a sharp knife.

Add the chopped nuts to the coconut and chocolate and mix. Pour in the condensed milk and mix till fully combined.

Use a tablespoon or a cookie scoop to create 36 almond coconut macaroons, placing 12 at a time of your prepared cookie sheet or sheets. Press one reserved almond in the top of each macaroon.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the coconut starts to brown. (I like mine well toasted so I left these in for 17 minutes.)

Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then remove the macaroons to a wire rack to cool completely.

After they have cooled, keep the macaroons in an airtight container. These freeze particularly well, also in an airtight container.

True confessions: I have eaten a number of them straight from the freezer. Don’t judge me.

Enjoy!

This month my Creative Cookie Exchange group is sharing our favorite gluten free cookies and these Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons fit the bill. They just happen to be naturally gluten free so they are perfect to feed your whole crowd. (Well, the ones without the nut allergies. Entertaining is a challenge these days, isn’t it?)

Check out the link list below:

• Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Flourless Chocolate Cookies from Flours & Frostings
• Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cream and Butter Blog
• Fudgy Cookie Bites from What Smells so Good?
• Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies from The Spiced Life
• Hazelnut Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles from 2 Cookin’ Mamas

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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