Easy Breakfast Muffins

Last month I had a contest on Home with Mandy where I gave away a few dozen cake balls. In order to ship them and ensure they made it in one piece, I packaged the cake balls in egg cartons...then I was left with a bunch of eggs in my fridge. That's when I started looking for recipes calling for large amounts of eggs, hence the recent Creme Brulee post.

I found these super easy breakfast muffins are perfect to make on the weekend and then eat them one by one during the week. You can pop them in the microwave for 45 seconds before sprinting out the door because you are late for work… again. Oh, that’s just me?


I’m not the sharpest crayon in the box in the AM. It takes me a long time to get moving and time just gets away from me. Eating a good breakfast is the absolute last thing on my mind. Jim has tried really hard to get me to eat breakfast and stocks the fridge each week with something quick and easy, like greek yogurt, cut up fruit or a protein shake. He makes the best protein shakes with a frozen banana, protein powder and a squirt of honey for sweetness.

Blueberry Muffins for Jim

I was out of town for three days last week and itching to get back in the kitchen. We had a full weekend planned too, chores that needed to be done Saturday morning, guests coming in Saturday night. Jim’s working a lot these days too, balancing a demanding job and school full time so I wanted to do something really special for just him since my time is going to be split in many different directions. He has endured my lavender scone weekend, the boozey french toast weekend…but never have I made him homemade blueberry muffins and those my friends, are his favorite. Sure, I’ve bought the mix at the grocery store where you add an egg and some vegetable oil….but those are no match for Ina Garten’s Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins. They have sour cream in them. Yum!

Because I love easy Saturday mornings as much as anyone else, I actually mixed the dough the night before and refrigerated overnight. In the morning all I did was scoop the dough into muffin cups and baked them fresh. Because the dough was cold, it took an extra 10 minutes or so in the oven, but these turned out great. The recipe actually made two dozen blueberry muffins so I sent six home with my out of town guests, and took another dozen to the office with me.


Here is what you need:
A KITCHEN AID MIXER (Which Jim is getting me for Bday or Christmas!)
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 2 half-pints fresh blueberries
Be sure to pick through your blueberries for stems (like this one).
My butter was not at room temperature so I stuck it in the microwave to help it along.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Toss the blueberries in a little flour, according to Ina this helps them bounce around in the dough rather than sink to the bottom of each muffin.

Just a nice light coating.
Line your muffin pans, or you could use these super cool individual silicone baking cups. (Wouldn't these make a really cute stocking stuffer?)
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
This is what light and fluffy looks like.
With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla,

Sour cream,
And milk.
With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. I added a cup at a time.


Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

This is my one halloween muffin cup. All the others were pastel - probably left over from a baby shower I threw for a friend.

These were so moist and the perfect amount of sweetness. Eating these warm with a small pat of butter - decadent!

Banana Crunch Muffins

What do you do with four very ripe bananas? Make Banana Crunch Muffins. I saw Ina Garten make these on Barefoot Contessa and they looked very wholesome. I downloaded the recipe and realized they weren’t as wholesome I thought they were. 2 cups of sugar, ½ pound of butter, sweetened shredded coconut? Yikes!

Here is everything you need:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 extra-large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)

1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)

1 cup small-diced walnuts (I didn’t have any kind of nut to add)

1 cup granola

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

I put two sticks of butter on the stove and got them about half melted then took off the heat to let them melt the rest of the way and then cool off before I needed to use them.
Because Ina does it, I sifted the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer (this one happens to be Allysons, THANKS!) fitted with a paddle attachment.

I had to google "paddle attachment" and this is what one looks like if you weren't sure.
Add the melted butter and blend.

Combine the eggs,
milk,

vanilla,
and mashed bananas,

Add all this to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. But don't overmix.
Dice a banana,

measure a cup of granola. This is the local granola I bought at the Austin Farmers Market.
Add all this and one cup of coconut to the mixture and fold in gently.
Looks good!
One tip I learned from Ina on her cooking show is to brush vegetable oil on the top of the muffin tin to keep the batter from sticking.
Next, Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Look how mine puffed out and over, and then landed flat. I think these are ugly. I’m going to fix these by peeling off all the muffin tops (which some people really love, so I’m saving for later) and then icing these muffins to make them cupcakes. It’s not like they were healthy to begin with. I’ve found a couple recipes online that looked really yummy so I’m going to combine two recipes and make my own.

8 oz Italian Cream Cheese, otherwise known as Mascarpone

Half stick of butter, room temperature

1 t vanilla extract

2 t cinnamon

2-3 C powdered sugar (add more or less to make it a stiffness that you like)

1 tablespoons honey

1. Mix butter and mascarpone well.
2. Add vanilla and cinnamon, mix.
3. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, mix after each ½ cup addition.
4. Add honey to taste.