Small Batch Cheddar Muffins #MuffinMonday

Perfect with soup or for a snack, these small batch cheddar muffins are tender and cheesy. The recipe makes only six but is easily doubled if you need 12. 

I’ve been baking mostly small batch muffins because it’s just me and my husband at home. We do have sweet neighbors we can share with but 12 muffins are still a lot. In the case of these muffins, however, I sorely miscalculated since I was planning to bring them to share with my mother, my sister and her twins. 

I really should have made 12! Six disappeared in no time and one of my dear nieces even said that she would love the recipe. So, Brontë, here it is! Muffins are the easiest bake ever and you can even bake these in the Ninja on the bake setting. Any questions, just let me know. (The rest of you can leave a comment if you have a question! Happy to help.)

Small Batch Cheddar Muffins

I’ve called these cheddar muffins because that is the cheese I had on hand but, really, any cheese of a similar texture would work beautifully in this recipe. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 1/2 oz or 100g grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 large egg

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for the muffin pan

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 6-cup muffin pan by brushing it inside with melted butter. Set aside.

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

Add the grated cheddar and gently toss with the flour mixture to coat the cheese.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and melted butter. 

Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and fold until just combined.

Divide the batter into the cups of the buttered muffin pan. 

Bake in your preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. 

Ideally, serve warm but these are also good at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the last Monday of the month so that means it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out the recipes my fellow bloggers are sharing below: 

• Buttermilk Crumb Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Magdalenas from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Small Batch Cheddar Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Zucchini Oat Muffins from Passion Kneaded

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

Pin these Small Batch Cheddar Muffins! 

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Lobster Bruschetta

Lobster bruschetta is a wonderful appetizer with bright flavors from ripe tomatoes, fragrant basil, sharp garlic and, of course, succulent lobster. Treat your friends and family with this delicious finger food. 

Years ago, when our girls were young and we lived in a house with a pool, Sunday afternoons were devoted to swimming and lounging around. Mid-afternoon, I’d head to the kitchen to toast some baguette slices and stir up bruschetta as a snack. 

Our traditional bruschetta was very much like this lobster version, sans the lobster, of course. Tomatoes, basil and garlic combined with olive oil and vinegar – sometimes dark balsamic, sometimes white – create a flavorful mouthful that is more than the sum of its parts. 

Lobster Bruschetta

I made this recipe with the meat of one lobster and since I wasn’t serving many people, I kept the lobster bits pretty chunky. If you need to stretch it to serve more, you can add more tomatoes, garlic and basil and chop the lobster a little bit smaller. It will still be quite delicious. 

Ingredients

1 cooked lobster, about 1 1/2 lbs or 700g

2 ripe Roma tomatoes, almost 9 oz or 250g whole

Leaves from one sprig fresh basil

2 cloves garlic, minced, plus more to rub on toasted baguette

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon good quality olive oil

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

About 20 slices baguette, toasted

Method

Rub the toasted baguette slices with garlic and set aside. 

Remove the meat from the lobster and cut it in to small chunks. 

Cut the tomatoes in half. Cut out the hard core and remove the pulp and seeds. Dice them into small cubes.

Stack the basil leaves one on top the other and roll them up. Slice them thinly, a technique chefs call chiffonade. 

In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, minced garlic, basil and sea salt along with the olive oil and vinegar. 

Add in the lobster and stir again.

Or if you are passing the lobster bruschetta around and it will get eaten quickly, you can top them all just when you are ready to serve. If you top the bread too early, it can get soggy and no one wants that. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes that would be perfect for a Spring brunch. Check out the links below. 

• Baked Garlic Cheese Grits from Palatable Pastime
• Breakfast Tarts from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Lobster Bruschetta from Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Stuffed Potato Masala Idli with Pumpkin Sambar from Sneha's Recipe
• Torijas with Honey Orange Syrup from A Day in the Life on the Farm

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Mixed Mushroom Soft Bread Sticks #BreadBakers

These mixed mushroom soft bread sticks are flavored with dried mushrooms, ground to a powder. They impart a hint of umami that complements the garlic. 

When our Bread Bakers host for April picked “mushrooms” for our theme, I debated about what to make. First thoughts were 1. either something with mushrooms as an ingredient or 2. with mushrooms as a topping. 

But as I started to explore my options, I came across a site selling mushroom powder and was intrigued. I have Trader Joe’s Umami Seasoning in the cupboard which contains both porcini and white mushroom powder, along with a few other seasonings. It’s great sprinkled on almost anything savory. 

Since I always have dried mushrooms in the pantry, I decided I’d make my own mushroom powder and incorporate it in a bread stick recipe. While I did have a bag of just shiitakes, the mixed bag seemed like a better idea for depth of flavor. 

Mixed Mushroom Soft Bread Sticks

This recipe is adapted from one on Woodland Foods, where they also sell dried mushroom powder, if you can't be bothered to make your own. It makes eight long bread sticks but if you prefer, you can divide them in half to make 16 shorter ones. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 240ml warm water, divided

1 rounded teaspoon active dry yeast

2  2/3 cups or 332g flour, plus extra for dusting

1/4 oz or 7g mixed dried mushrooms (or any single variety)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1 small clove garlic, mashed and minced

Optional for finishing: Extra melted butter and flakey sea salt. 

Method

Brush the dried mushrooms with a clean, dry brush to remove any dirt or dust. 

Use a spice grinder to grind the mushrooms to a powder. I use a coffee bean grinder that I reserve for only spices which works great. 

Place 1/4 cup warm water and the sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle in yeast and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Assuming your yeast has bubbled up and is active, add in the flour, 2 tablespoons of the butter, 1 teaspoon of the salt, 3/4 cup or 180ml of water and most of the ground mushrooms, leaving a half teaspoon or so for brushing on with butter before baking. 

Mix with paddle attachment until a slightly sticky dough forms.

Switch to the dough hook and knead until the dough is very smooth and soft, about five minutes. 

Turn the dough out only a floured surface. Cut it into eight equal pieces and roll them each into a ball. Roll the balls out into 14-inch or 35cm long bread sticks. 

I’m lazy so I kept mine long so that I didn’t have to leave space between the end of the bread sticks which would probably meant having to bake them in two batches. 

 

As you roll them out, arrange the bread sticks on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with cloth or cling film, and let rise in warm spot until almost doubled.

 

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Melt the remaining butter. Mix the melted butter with the remaining ground mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Brush the mixture onto the bread sticks.

Bake the bread sticks in the preheated oven until golden, about 13-15 minutes.

If desired, brush the breadsticks with a little extra melted butter and sprinkle with flakey sea salt. 

Enjoy warm or at room temperature. 

My taste testers all agreed that while the mushroom flavor wasn’t prominent, the mushroom powder definitely added umami to the bread sticks. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s Bread Baker time! Check out mushroom recipes we are sharing below. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

Pepperoni and Mushroom Pan Pizza from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Cheesy Mushroom Calzone from Sneha’s Recipe

Wild Mushroom Flatbread from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Mushroom Swiss Bread from Palatable Pastime

Mixed Mushroom Soft Bread Sticks from Food Lust People Love

Porcini Swirl Bread from A Messy Kitchen

#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.

Pin these Mixed Mushroom Soft Bread Sticks! 

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