Morning Glory Muffins #MuffinMonday

Any morning can be glorious if you wake up to Morning Glory Muffins for breakfast. Chock full of goodies like carrot, pecans, apple and coconut, these beautiful muffins also make a wonderful snack or treat to bring along to a coffee klatch.

If you’ve been reading this space for a while, you have already heard me talk about the couple years we lived in Balikpapan, an oilfield town on the southeast corner of Borneo, almost 30 years ago.

It was years before the internet became the lifeline that it is now for folks in out of the way places, so we depended on our friends sharing their favorite recipes from the small stash of cookbooks or family jottings that they had brought along. That’s where I learned to make our favorite chocolate chip cookies and garlicky green beans with carrots.  And it’s where my friend MJ added sweet and sour chicken to her own family repertoire, which has now become one of ours.

Morning Glory Muffins

This recipe is another I got from a friend, after enjoying morning glory muffins at her house where we gathered weekly to play cards. Her name was Elisabeth and she was from Norway, married to an American, if I remember correctly. Of course I’ve searched for her on Facebook. I'd love to thank her again for sharing.

Pretty dog-eared and well-used, as you can see

Ingredients – for 18 muffins
2 cups or 250g flour
1 cup or 200g sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups or 245g finely grated carrot
1/2 cup or 90g raisins (I didn't have quite enough raisins so I threw in some dried cranberries.)
1/2 cup or 65g chopped nuts (I use pecans.)
1/2 cup lightly packed or 40g fresh or desiccated coconut
1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
3 eggs
1 cup or 240ml canola or other light oil
2 teaspoons vanilla


Method
Once you have all of your ingredients grated/assembled, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease or line a 12-cup muffin pan and a 6-cup muffin pan. This recipe makes 18 regular size muffins.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Add in the carrot, raisins, nuts, coconut and apple. Stir well, using a fork to separate the clumps and distribute the flour throughout the wetter ingredients.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and vanilla.

Fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.

Spoon the batter into your prepared muffins pans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes on a wire rack.

These are fabulous warm or cooled. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Enjoy! P.S. They freeze beautifully too!

Check out all the other lovely muffins we have for you this month! 

• Bouchon Bakery Style Carrot Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cocoa Beet Chocolate Chip Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Lucky Charms Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Morning Glory Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Rice Cereal Apple Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Strawberry and Chocolate Muffin Hearts from Sew You Think You Can Cook

 #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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Ground Lamb Lancashire Hotpot

This untraditional recipe uses ground lamb cooked with carrots, onions and thinly sliced potatoes, for an inexpensive, quicker-to-the-table version of the classic Lancashire hotpot.

Lancashire hotpot is a hearty dish from the northwest of England, made from some of the less expensive cuts of lamb cooked long and slow until they are tender. This is a great family meal on a chilly night when the heat of the oven is a comfort and we all need something warm in our bellies.

Browning the ground lamb until it turns crispy deepens the flavor of the gravy that is created with the added stock as the hotpot bakes.

Ground Lamb Lancashire Hotpot

My untraditional version uses an even cheaper cut, ground or minced lamb, which since it’s already tender, also shortens the cooking time. If you can't find ground lamb or you simply aren't a fan, substitute beef or pork.

Ingredients
1 lb 6 oz or 625g ground lamb
2 tablespoons plain flour
3 cups or 710ml beef or lamb stock
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf or 2 small ones
5 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil (for frying ground lamb and greasing Dutch oven for baking)

Method
Brown the ground lamb very well, until it’s a little crispy on the edges, adding a little of the olive oil if the lamb is dry. Some ground meat contains more fat than others, depending on which cuts the butcher has included in the mix.

Once the meat is well browned, sprinkle in the flour. Cook a few minutes more, stirring well. Turn the heat off and stir in the stock.

Add in carrots, onion and bay leaf.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Grease your Dutch oven with some of the olive oil. Line the base with potato slices then season them with salt and pepper.

Spoon the ground lamb mixture on top of the potatoes. Top with the rest of the potato slices.

Drizzle the potatoes with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

Cover the Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid and cook the ground lamb Lancashire hotpot in your preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. 

Remove the lid and cook another 20-30 minutes so the top can brown. If it is not browned to your satisfaction, you can put it under the broiler (Br. Eng: grill) for 5 or 10 minutes to brown further but do keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

Enjoy!

We eat a lot of lamb at our house. If you are also a fan of lamb, you might want to check out these other recipes, all family favorites.

• Irish Lamb Stew - perfect for St. Patrick's Day! 
• Saucy Persian Lamb Meatballs
• Grilled Lamb Skewers with Roasted Carrots

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffin Top Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

Full of protein and fiber, baked with unrefined brown sugar, peanut butter oatmeal muffin top cookies make a great on-the-go breakfast or mid-morning snack.

I learn something new every day. When the theme of this month’s Creative Cookie Exchange was announced as Breakfast Cookies, I dutifully wrote it down in my calendar and didn’t give it another thought till last weekend. Friends were visiting from overseas and as I checked my to-do list, we discussed the upcoming challenge.

What the hell are breakfast cookies? I asked. How have I never heard of breakfast cookies? Are they a thing? I was assured that they most certainly are and that they can be purchased in supermarkets, even in Aberdeen. There, normal cookies are called biscuits and yet, they still bake and sell breakfast cookies!

I declined to look them up but decided to create my own version, a cookie that would be reasonably healthy, delicious and portable for breakfast, something akin to a muffin top. These guys are a little chewier than a muffin top, but they are still plenty cakey, as a muffin top should be.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffin Top Cookies

Five-minute oats are the middle sibling between rolled oats and quick cooking oats. If you are measuring by weight, probably either of these can be substituted, with the rolled oats probably needing a little longer time to soften in the milk.

Ingredients
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
3/4 cup or 65g 5-minute oats
1/2 cup or 125g extra crunchy peanut butter (I prefer Jif but use your favorite.)
3/4 cup or 150g unrefined brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C and prepare your two baking sheets by lining them with baking parchment or silicone mats.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the milk and oats. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to beat the peanut butter together with the brown sugar, egg and vanilla until you have a nice homogeneous mixture.

Add in the oats and milk. Stir to combine.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the peanut butter bowl and fold until just combined.

Spoon about 2 level tablespoons of dough, at 2 in or 4cm apart, onto your prepared cookie sheets. I like to use a two-tablespoon scoop, which makes the process so much easier.

Use the bottom of a glass dipped in water or a damp hand to press the cookies down.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in your preheated over or until the edges are lightly golden brown.

Cool for a couple of minutes and then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. These turn out cakey and very much like a breakfast muffin top!

Enjoy!

Check out all the other breakfast cookies we are sharing today! Many thanks to Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs for her behind the scenes work this month.

• Brown Sugar Almond Biscotti by Queen Bee Baker
• Italian Breakfast Cookies by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffin Top Cookies by Food Lust People Love
• Ricotta Lemon Cookies by Cream and Butter
• Trail Mix 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. We post the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

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Clementine Almond Bundt #BundtBakers

Naturally gluten-free, this clementine almond Bundt is melt-in-your-mouth tender with a wonderful crumb that tastes buttery and rich, with the sweet and sharp flavors of tangy marmalade.

The first time I made this cake was probably 14 years ago, seduced by Nigella Lawson’s description, not of the cake itself, but how fabulous the house smells in the two hours it takes to cook the clementines, and then later, as the cake bakes. And, oh, my goodness, is she right! But even if she were not, the cake is delicious too.

I don’t think I’d ever heard of gluten-free baking so that aspect of the recipe didn’t even occur to me. I have no doubt, in fact, that I probably buttered and floured the pan with my normal all-purpose flour, essentially negating the gluten-free-ness. Not that it mattered back then. Now I know a few people who are unable to eat gluten or wheat, or just feel better when they don’t.

This month my Bundt Bakers are all sharing gluten-free recipes so this recipe is perfect, naturally gluten free.

Clementine Almond Bundt

Nigella Lawson calls this the easiest cake she knows and I have to agree. Aside from the hands-off two hours the clementines need to cook and the quick removal of the seeds, the pureeing and mixing is done in your food processor. Baking the clementine almond batter in a Bundt pan shortens the baking time.

Ingredients
3-4 clementines (about 13 1/4 oz or 375g total weight)
6 eggs
1 cup or 200g sugar
2 1/3 cups or 250g ground almonds
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method
Cover the clementines with cool water in a small pot and bring them to the boil. Lower the fire until the water is at a very low rolling boil and cook for two hours. Check the water level occasionally and add more as needed during the cooking.

Drain the pot and set the clementines aside to cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, cut them open and remove any seeds. Puree them in a food processor, peels and all, until smooth.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 10-cup Bundt pan by buttering and flouring it with a gluten free flour mix. Set aside.

Add in the eggs, almond flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the food process and blitz for a minute or so until completely combined.

Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes in the preheated oven or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Check the color of the cake as it bakes and cover it with foil if it starts browning before it is cooked through.

Remove the Bundt cake from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Check out all of the gluten free cakes we've baked for you today!

• Buckwheat Bundt Cake with Red Fruits Jam from Pat y Co. Candy Bar
• Clementine Almond Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Coconut Rum Gluten-Free Bundt from Sweet Sensations
• Gluten-Free Sweet Cornbread Bund Caket from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Flourless Carrot Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• Gluten Free Chocolate Bundt Cake from I Love Bundt Cakes
• Gluten Free Holiday Rum Cake from The Queen of Scones
• Gluten-Free Almond-Raspberry Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Gluten-Free Carrot Bundt Cake from Merce'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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Moo Shu Pancakes #BreadBakers

Moo shu pancakes, aka Chinese pancakes or Peking doilies, are traditionally served rolled up with a filling of crispy Peking duck, cucumbers and spring onions. They are easy to make, with only two ingredients.

This month my Bread Bakers are celebrating pancakes of all sorts at the instigation of our host, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm. Today is Mardi Gras – or Fat Tuesday – also known in many places around the world as Pancake Day.

In the United Kingdom, this refers to what we Americans know as crepes, a thin pancake made with batter. And, of course, most of my readers will be familiar with fluffy American pancakes, served with butter and maple syrup. But Wendy encouraged us to scour the world for pancake recipes so I chose to make moo shu pancakes, a favorite in Chinese cuisine.

When we lived in Kuala Lumpur many years ago, I used to make these to wrap store-bought roasted duck or char sui pork. They are so much better than the pancakes you can buy in the store. But if you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed a couple of hanging ducks in my feed in the last few months. We finally made Peking ducks ourselves, first as a trial run and then as the main course of our Christmas dinner. I even made my own chili plum sauce. It is so much better than the sickly sweet stuff you can buy in a store.

I’ll put a few photos in the instructions to help you with the method of making moo shu pancakes, but I highly encourage you to check out Ken Hom’s how-to video on YouTube as well. He is a master.

And if you are already a Ken Hom fan, you might want to try my version of his spicy Sichuan noodles. For even more pancakes, including my crunchy spring onion version, check out this post and make sure to scroll down to see what my Bread Bakers are sharing today.

Moo Shu Pancakes

Easy to make and even easier to eat, moo shu pancakes are great with all sorts of fillings.

Ingredients for 16-18 pancakes
2 cups or 250g  all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling 
3/4 - 1 cup or 180-240ml very hot water     
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil   

Method
Measure your flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour in 3/4 cup or 180ml of the hot water and stir the flour into the water until it is completely incorporated. If it is too dry, add a little more water.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 8 minutes, sprinkling with a little more flour as necessary. When you have a nice stretchy ball, put it back in the bowl and cover the bowl with a clean, damp cloth. Leave the dough to rest for about half an hour, or pop it in the refrigerator till you are ready to cook the pancakes.

After the resting time, roll the dough out into a long tube, about 1 inch or 2.5cm in diameter. Cut it with a sharp knife into about 16-18 equal pieces. You need an even number. Roll the pieces into balls and set aside.

Sprinkle your working surface with a little flour and put your sesame oil in a small bowl. Press one ball down to flatten it slightly. Dip another ball into the sesame oil and place it on top of the first ball.  Press down again to flatten the top ball.

Use a floured rolling pin to roll the two balls into circles about 6 in or 15cm wide. Repeat the process until you have rolled all of the twin sets of balls into circles.

Heat a dry griddle pan or non-stick skillet over a medium heat and cook the moo shu pancakes one or two at a time, depending on the size of your pan. This takes just a few minutes on each side and a few brown spots are desirable.

As each pancake is done, remove it from the pan and allow to rest briefly, until it’s cool enough to handle. Carefully peel the two pancakes apart and put them in a warm place, covered with a slightly damp cloth. This will keep them from drying out as you cook the rest.

These can be served with Peking duck, char sui pork, pan-fried duck breasts or frankly, anywhere you’d also use a flour tortilla. I even ate a couple with golden syrup. Any leftovers, should you be so lucky, can be wrapped tightly in cling film and frozen.

Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for hosting this month. Make sure you check out all the other lovely pancakes my Bread Bakers are sharing today!

• Aebleskivers by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Apam Balik by I Camp in My Kitchen
• Blueberry Lemon Dutch Baby Pancake by Spill the Spices
• Brazilian Tapioca Pancakes by Herbivore Cucina
• Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes by Ambrosia
• Eggless Chocolate Chip Pancake by Seduce Your Tastebuds
• German Pancake with Easy Fruit Compote by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Gluten Free Aebleskiver by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Hoppers by Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Hotteok by Sara's Tasty Buds
• Instant Multigrain Dosa by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Japanese Pancakes by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Kuih Dadar - Bujang Dalam Selimut - Asian Stuffed Pandan Pancakes by The Schizo Chef
• Moo Shu Pancakes by Food Lust People Love
• Soft and Spongy Poha Dosas by Sneha's Recipe
• Swedish Pancakes by Hostess At Heart
• Syrniki by The Mad Scientist's Kitchen
• Vegan Red Velvet Pancakes by Cook’s Hideout

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

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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