Manhattan, Kansas is a college town of about 50,000 residents. If anything can be said of Manhattanites it is that they believe in the adage “be true to your school.” Around The Little Apple this is demonstrated by wearing and displaying the colors of Kansas State University: royal purple and white. With a house full of graduation-goers this weekend, I’ve been finding ways to play on the purple and white theme. To all the graduates out there, we at The Morning Star congratulate you and wish you happiness and success!
Category Archives: Baked Good & Sweets
Best Ever Gluten-free Blueberry Muffins
The first time I heard of gluten-intolerance was about fourteen years ago, back when we still had the B & B at our previous house. A guest who was staying with us for six weeks had Celiac’s disease and so I learned how to cook without wheat, barley or rye, and how to avoid cross contamination of the gluten-free foods. After that, it was several more years before I had another guest ask for a gluten-free breakfast. Now we receive that request every few weeks. Our gluten-sensitive and gluten-intolerant guests are always delighted to have these sweet and moist muffins. (Note, there are different degrees of gluten-sensitivity; but if you are cooking for someone who is truly gluten-intolerant, you will need to be extremely careful to avoid cross-contamination and even use cookware that has never has never had a gluten product in it. I always make a point to tell people on a gluten-free diet that we do not have a gluten-free kitchen, but that we take every possible precaution to avoid cross-contamination.)
Best Ever Gluten-free Blueberry Muffins
(Makes about 12)
2 c. white rice flour
1 c. granulated white sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 c. low-fat buttermilk
2 lg. eggs
2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)
confectioner’s sugar for serving
(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line muffin pans with muffin cups (using a foil cup inside a paper cup) or place muffin cups (using a foil cup inside a paper cup) on a large baking tray.
(2) In a large bowl, whisk together rice flour, sugar and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, buttermilk and eggs. Stir buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries.
(3) Scoop batter into muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes or until muffins are firm to the touch and lightly golden brown around the edges.
(4) Place muffin pans or baking sheet on wire racks until muffins are cool enough to serve – about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar before serving. Individually wrap any leftover muffins in plastic wrap and freeze.
Just Out of the Oven: Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
My husband has a hard time starting his day without chocolate. So I make these muffins (or a variation thereof) pretty frequently!
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Makes 10
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. granulated white sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground mace
1/2 t. ground ginger
1 c. mashed banana (about 2 lg.)
1/2 c. canola oil
2 lg. eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/4 chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
honey for glazing
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 10 half-cup size ceramic ramekins* with baking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (except chocolate). Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (except honey). Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until the dry ingredients have been absorbed. Stir in chocolate.
4. Scoop batter into prepared ramekins. Use the back of a spoon to shape the batter in each cup into a slight mound. Place ramekins on baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.
5. Remove baking sheets from oven and place on cooling racks. Immediately spoon honey over muffin tops.
* If you don’t have ramekins, use a standard 12 muffin baking pan.
Just out of the Oven: Bill’s Blondies
Getting ready for check-in, I just made a batch of Bill’s Blondies (honey-glazed, milk chocolate chip, cinnamon blondies). Boy do they smell good!
Bill’s Blondies
(from Confectionately Yours, p. 31)
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted
1 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 lg. egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. milk chocolate chips or 5 oz. chopped milk chocolate
about 3 T. honey
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8″ square baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
3. Place the butter in a medium size bowl. Stir in the sugar. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Beat in the egg and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. (This takes several minutes. Do not underbeat.)
4. On lowest mixer speed, beat in the dry ingredients and then the chocolate.
5. Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan. Bake for about 24 to 26 minutes or until blondies start to pull back from the edge of the pan and the center feels almost firm to the touch.
6. As soon as you remove the pan from the oven, place it on a wire rack and then drizzle honey over the top of the blondies. Spread honey around evenly using the back of a spoon. cool and then cut into squares. If desired, chill before serving.
Bill's Blondies
Sugared Peach Muffin Recipe
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. + 2 T. granulated sugar, divided
1 T. baking powder
1 c. Honey Vanilla Yogurt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 lg. eggs, lightly beaten
1 t. orange extract
2 c. peaches (fresh or frozen), peeled and cut into 1/2″ chunks
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare muffin cups (12 standard or 10 1/2-cup ramekins) with baking spray or with butter and flour. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 3/4 c. of the granulated sugar and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, butter, eggs and orange extract. Stir yogurt mixture into dry ingredients. Fold in peaches. Divide between muffin cups. Using the back of a spoon, shape each cup of batter into a slight mound. Sprinkle muffins with the remaining 2 T. sugar. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Muffins are firm to the touch when done. Recipe from A Taste of Morning p. 50.
Sugared Peach Muffin Photo
A Taste of Morning 