White Chocolate Lemon Muffins #MuffinMonday

The third in my candy bar series, a white chocolate lemon bar from Movenpick was the inspiration for these fluffy, lemon muffins flavored with yogurt, lemon zest and said white chocolate lemon bar. 

I’ve been experimenting lately with some gluten-free baking because one of my friends here is gluten-intolerant. What I have found is that I can pretty much replace the normal flour with a gluten-free mix, (I like the Dove Farms White Bread Flour because it has a little added natural gum.) if I weigh the flour and use 125g per needed cup. It seems that the flours used to make up the gluten-free mix, in this case rice, potato and tapioca, must be lighter than wheat so a cup of the flour mix is just not enough flour. By weight, it's perfect.

One last change in the recipe involves method. In most muffin recipes, one adds the wet ingredients to the dry and folds until they are just combined. With gluten-free flour blend, you need to make sure no flour still shows. In other words, mix well.

I made these muffins with the gluten-free bread flour today and they were light and fluffy and, frankly, one of the best sweet muffins I’ve ever eaten.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour (If subbing gluten-free flour mix, please use the weight measurement.)
2/3 cup or 130g sugar

For creative minds only!

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 oz or 100g white chocolate (with lemon, if you can get it)
Grated zest one medium lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup or 185g yogurt
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil

Optional glaze
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
About 4-5 heaping tablespoons powdered sugar

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Butter your muffin pan or line it with paper liners.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl. Grate in the lemon zest and mix.

Juice your lemon.

Chop your white chocolate bar roughly with a knife. I separated out 12 pieces of white chocolate to poke in the top of each muffin before baking.  They turned brown while baking, which is not attractive, so never mind that step. Fortunately, the glaze covered them up mostly.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, yogurt, juice and canola oil.

Let your helper clean out the yogurt pot for recycling.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until just mixed through. Or mix thoroughly if you are using a gluten-free flour blend.

Fold in your chopped white chocolate/lemon bar.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cups in pan.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden.  Allow them to cool for a few minutes then remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ignore the chocolate bits I put on top, as previously discussed. Those should be inside the muffins.

If you want to add glaze, put your tablespoon of lemon juice in a small bowl. Add powdered sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time and stir well, until the glaze is a good drizzling consistency.  When your muffins are cool, drizzle on the glaze.

Enjoy!

The Candy Bar Series

1. Dark Chocolate Toasted Sesame Muffins using Lindt Dark Chocolate Roasted Sesame

2. Pecan Caramel Chocolate Muffins using Frey Pecan & Caramel

Crème de Menthe Parfait

A simple retro cocktail recipe that can double as dessert, this delicious parfait is made with vanilla bean ice cream, crème de menthe liqueur, whipped cream and is topped with a cherry or two! 

When I saw the theme for today’s Sunday Supper – Retro Recipes – I was delighted. I’ve got quite a few cookbooks and magazines that date back to the Good Old Days of Jello mold salads and meatloaves baked in tube pans, many older than I am. It’s always amusing to see what my foremothers must have thought was the cutting edge of what was new and fun to bake and cook back then.

I can never resist buying a cookbook put together for a fundraiser either! Among my collection, I have books published  - with proceeds going to charities - by Jakarta International School, the Association of British Women in Malaysia, the American Society of Rio, Maadi Women’s Guild (Egypt), the American Women’s Association of Indonesia and the British Women’s Association of Singapore, just to name a few that I can lay my hands on. These are full of what I would call retro recipes, even that one that was published in the Nineties, because back before the days of the World Wide Web in far-flung places, we cooked what we knew and those were the old recipes.

Just a few of a vast collection!

My mother has a beautiful frosted glass decanter, rather like this one, which she kept filled with bright green crème de menthe liqueur when I was a child. To my young mind, it was the height of sophistication to sip something out of the tiny glasses that matched the decanter and I loved when my parents entertained and the crème de menthe was served. How could I resist making a crème de menthe cocktail for Retro Recipes! Many thanks to our host, Heather from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks for organizing this great event.

One thing that I’ve noticed about vintage cookbooks, is that quantities are often lacking and methods are not as complete as what we are used to now. Fortunately that doesn’t really matter when it comes to ice cream and whipped cream. This parfait recipe comes from a book published by Arrow Cordials in 1960 and I found it on Mid Century Menu, a blog that is all about retro food and vintage recipes.

Ingredients
1 oz or 30ml crème de menthe
Vanilla ice cream (I used Haagen-Daz Vanilla Bean.)
Whipped cream
Maraschino cherry or two

Optional to serve: drinking straws

Method
Scoop your ice cream into a pretty glass. Two or three balls will probably do. I don’t own parfait glasses so I used a Champagne flute. A brandy snifter would also work.

Pour crème de menthe over the ice cream.

Even the color is retro, don't you think?

Top with generous scoop of whipped cream and then a cherry. If you want to drizzle just the tiniest little bit more crème de menthe on the whipped cream, I would second that impulse. Stick a couple of plastic straws in, if desired.

Enjoy!

Let’s take a walk back in time together and check out all the groovy vintage recipes from my Sunday Supper group today!

Bodacious Breakfasts and Appetizers:

• Classic Chex Party Mix from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Healthy Green Goddess Dip from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
• Homemade Donuts from Cosmopolitan Cornbread

Made in the Shade Main Dishes:

• Bacon Individual Meatloaf from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Chicken ala King from Recipes Food and Cooking
• Chicken and Rice Casserole from Curious Cuisiniere
• Chicken in a Basket from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Chicken Parisienne from Carrie's Experimental Kitchen
• Chicken Pot Pie from Whole Food | Real Families
• Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast from FoodieTots
• Creamy Baked Pork Chops from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Individual Beef Wellingtons from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Mom's Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuits from Simply Healthy Family
• Mom's Shepherd's Pie from Momma's Meals
• Ravioli di Magro from Manu's Menu
• Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy from Webicurean
• Sweet and Sour Pork Meatballs from Palatable Pastime
• Tuna Noodle Casserole from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Uptown Goulash from Family Foodie

Swell Side Dishes:

• Broccoli Cheese Casserole with Ritz Topping from NeighborFood
• Creamy Lime Gelatin Salad from Magnolia Days
• Harvard Beets from Take A Bite Out Of Boca
• Retro Crockpot Crabby Soup from Seduction in the Kitchen
• Seven Layer Salad from Lifestyle Food Artistry
• Wedge Salad from Our Good Life

Dreamy Desserts:

• Bananas Foster from The Redhead Baker
• Creamsicle Jello Mold from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Dream Balls from Wallflour Girl
• Hummingbird Cream Cheese Cookies from Dandelion Greens
• Jello Poke Cake from The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch
• Mom's Heath Bar Cake from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Old Fashioned Banana Pudding from Pies and Plots
• One, Two, Three Jello from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Original Mayonnaise Chocolate Cake with No Cook Fudge Frosting from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Eat, Drink and be Tracy
• Raspberry Crunch from Peaceful Cooking
• Tunnel of Fudge Cake from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

The Bee's Knees Beverages:

• Crème de Menthe Parfait from Food Lust People Love
• Side Car from Nosh My Way
• Vanilla Bean Old Fashioned from The Texan New Yorker

Spicy Georgia Sugared Peanuts #FoodieExtravaganza

Crunchy, sweet and spicy, these peanuts are easy to make and even easier to eat! 

Since March is National Peanut Month in the United States, this month’s Foodie Extravaganza ingredient is, of course, peanuts. And, yes, yes, I know we already did peanut butter last November. It’s not the same, people! Plus, one can never have too much peanut butter or too many peanuts. Especially these little sweet and spicy ones. I could not stop eating them. Then my husband came home and I offered him a taste. He said, and I quote, “You better close the container or I’ll just keep eating them.” They’d be perfect to put around in bowls at a party. They go especially nicely with a cold beer!

The original recipe is all over the internet because apparently Georgia Sugared Peanuts are a thing. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since Georgia has the largest production of all the peanut producing states, accounting for 46 percent of all US grown peanuts. According to the Georgia Peanut Commission, peanuts are a $2.0 billion industry in Georgia alone. So much for the idiom about working for peanuts!

The one change I made was to add a little cayenne into the mix, because just sweet is too sweet for us. We also need a little hit of heat.

Ingredients
2 cups or about 350g raw peanuts, shelled, with skins on
1 cup or 200g sugar
1/2 cup or 120ml water
1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 300°F or 150°C.

In a medium size pot over medium heat, combine the sugar, salt and water and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Add in your peanuts and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the syrup is very thick.

Sprinkle in your cayenne pepper and stir well.

Continue cooking the peanuts until they are completely sugar coated and there is no syrup left.

Scoop the peanuts out onto an ungreased baking pan, spreading and separating the peanuts as much as possible.

Bake until the peanuts are completely dry, about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring at five minute intervals.

Allow to cool and then, enjoy!

A bowl for you and a bowl for me! 

Come celebrate National Peanut Month with us! Many thanks to this month's host, Alexis of We Like to Learn As We Go! 

Welcome to the March Foodie Extravaganza!  



Where we all share delicious recipes with the same main ingredient.

This month the ingredient is peanuts!  We have a great variety of yummy recipes from main dishes to desserts to share with you. If you would like to participate in the next Foodie Extravaganza, just go to the Facebook page to join. We would love to have you! 

American playwright Channing Pollock is quoted as saying, ""No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut." I say, "When you are blessed with a list of 11 lovely peanut recipes, courage is overrated."

• Chocolate Caramel Peanut Clusters from The Freshman Cook 
• Cold Spicy Peanut Noodles from Culinary Adventure with Camilla 
• Crunchy Peanut Surprise Cookies from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Kung Pao Chicken from Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Oatmeal Peanut Butter Scones from Baking in Pyjamas 
• Peanut Almond Polvoron from The Joyful Foodie 
• Peanut and Candy Popcorn Ball from We Like to Learn as We Go
• Peanut Crunch Pull Apart Bread from Mrs. Penguin 
• Peanut Whoopie Pies from Passion Kneaded
• Reese's Cheesecake Brownies from Making Miracles 
• Spicy Georgia Sugared Peanuts from Food Lust People Love