Mini-Donut Muffins

I recently acquired a couple of mini-donut pans. I bought mine from Avon, but I've seen them online as well, so I know they're out there. The fun thing is that the recipe that came with the pans, (for "Old Fashioned Buttermilk Donuts") makes really delicious little cinnamon donuts that remind me of The Forks in Winnipeg and The Exhibition, where we used to buy little mini cinnamon donuts. I reasoned that this recipe should work with regular mini muffin tins, so I tweaked it a bit- cutting down the recipe for a start (the original makes about 6 dozen of the things), and have come up with this manageable facsimile. They are very quick to mix up, and can be baked and ready to serve in about 30 minutes. I hope you try them. Not just for little children.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ground cloves (optional) and ground cinnamon
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine melted

Topping:
2 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325*F. Lightly grease 1 & 1/12 mini-muffin pans.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and first amount of cinnamon together.

Mix buttermilk, egg and first amount of melted margarine together in another bowl; stir into the dry ingredients.

Fill each greased muffin tin about 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 minutes, until muffins are lightly browned and spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool 3-5 minutes, (until you can handle them) then remove from pan.

Topping:
Put butter (melted) in a small bowl. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in another bowl. Dip tops of slightly cooled muffins in the butter, and then in the cinnamon/sugar mixture to coat the tops.

Makes about 18 mini-muffins.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I needed to make some sugar free muffins this week and I had oatmeal on the brain. I also had a bunch of overripe bananas, but I couldn't find a recipe that had both oatmeal and bananas, so I ended up going to my new "Company's Coming Mostly Muffins" cookbook, which has the most amazing muffin recipes, and taking inspiration from two recipes: Basic Banana Muffins and Basic Oatmeal Muffins. I really liked the texture and flavour I got. I also liked the numbers that came up when I crunched them. I think these would be really good with chopped walnuts or pecans, together with or instead of the mini chocolate chips- (which are great for muffins because they are tiny and give the illusion of chocolaty goodness without actually adding too much chocolate). It made a lovely big batch of pretty large muffins. I'm hoping they freeze well, as the extras were tossed into the freezer this morning for breakfast and snacks later on.

1 cup oatmeal (not instant)
1 cup buttermilk (or milk soured with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice)

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener (you could make it 1/3 cup if you like 'em sweet)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Canola/vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

Combine oatmeal and buttermilk in a medium sized bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.

Combine next 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.

Add eggs, oil, vanilla and bananas to the oatmeal mixture. Mix well. Add to the well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine, until just moistened.

Divide between 15 paper-lined or greased muffin cups. Bake at 375*F for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Let stand in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cooled with butter if desired.

Makes 15 large muffins.

Nutritional Analysis per 1 muffin:
Calories:  154
Total Fat: 6.4 g
Cholesterol: 27 mg
Sodium: 178 mg (lower this to 100 mg by omitting the salt)
Potassium: 112.55 mg
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sugars: 6 g
Protein: 4 g

Healthier Butter Tart Squares

Butter Tart Squares are a family favourite around here, but I don't make them very often because I like them, and they're traditionally VERY full of sugar and flour. Although this version is still very high in carbs and calories, I switched up more than half of the white flour for whole wheat flour and wheat germ, so between kicking up the fibre and replacing half the brown sugar with sweetener, it's at least a little better for you. If you cut them smaller that will help a bit too. Just remember- one at a time. Savour the sweetness.


Bottom Layer

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 Tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)
2 Tablespoons Splenda  artificial sweetener
1/2 cup hard margarine, softened

Second Layer

2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Splenda  artificial sweetener
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or hard margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups raisins

Crumble Bottom Layer ingredients together then press into an ungreased 9" square pan. Bake at 350*F for 15 minutes.

Mix eggs, brown sugar and Splenda together. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spread over Bottom Layer and bake for about 20 minutes, until light brown. Cool. Cut into 36 squares.

Almost Gwen's Harvest Bread

My friend Gwen Ericson brought me the most wonderful loaf of bread when I was recovering from surgery last year. She's such a generous lady that she happily gave me the recipe. I've modified the ingredients to reflect my pantry and changed her instructions a bit- I'm lazier than I ought to be and found I could throw everything together in my Kitchen Aid mixer with good results.   I also adjusted it to make just one very large loaf instead of the three or four her original recipe made. This is a lovely, light multi-grain loaf with a beautiful texture. I like it with sunflower seeds, but others here don't, so I leave them out. Adding a quarter cup of dried cranberries would be nice too. I haven't tried it "Regular", so if you try the "Regular Instructions" and find something in the method that needs to be changed, let me know!

3 cups white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons whole flax seed
2 Tablespoons oatmeal
2 Tablespoons Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal
2 Tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds (optional)
1 1/2 cups very warm water
1 large egg
1/4 cup lard (or 1/3 cup vegetable/Canola oil)
2 Tablespoons oil

*Kitchen Aid Instructions:

Put all ingredients except the last 2 Tablespoons of oil into largest mixer bowl. Mix on lowest speed with dough hook for about 10 minutes. Add more flour if necessary, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until dough no longer sticks to your fingers when you test it.

Take dough off dough hook, and form into a ball with your hand. Remove from bowl, (either hold in one hand or rest on clean breadboard) and add 2 Tablespoons of oil to bottom of bowl. Put dough in bowl, swishing it around to cover the bottom with oil, then flip the dough to cover the other side.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1.5- 2 hours.

When bread dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and shape into loaf/loaves, and place in lightly greased bread pan(s). Set in warm place to rise again until bread is about doubled in size- 1-1.5 hours.

Preheat oven to 350*F, then bake the loaves for 30- 50 minutes until nicely golden.

Take the pans out of the oven, and carefully tip the bread out of the pans. Cool on baking racks.

Yield: 1 very large loaf, 2 small loaves, 1 good sized loaf + a couple of buns (hamburger/hot dog/ dinner roll shaped)

*Regular Instructions:

Measure water, salt, yeast, sugar, lard, egg and 2 cups of the flour into large mixing bowl. Using electric hand mixer/ beaters, beat batter together until lard and flour are incorporated, and mixture looks gelatinous, (kind of gooey/ glue-y) It will be very sticky.

Measure in 3rd cup of flour and the rest of the ingredients except the last 2 Tablespoons of oil.

Using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix dough together. As the ingredients are incorporated, the dough will get stiffer and you'll find it easier to just transfer it to a lightly floured board and mix with your hands.

When the dough starts to feel less sticky, and the flour is mixed in, begin to knead the dough, adding flour a Tablespoon at a time as needed to keep dough from sticking to your hands. As you knead it, the dough will get less sticky and the less flour you add, the lighter your bread will be.

To knead: Gather the dough into a ball. With the heel of your hands, push the dough away from you. Now with your fingers pull the dough back towards you into the ball. Repeat with pushing away and pulling it back 4 or 5 times. The dough should start to get longer, side to side. Rotate the dough, (1/4 turn), so it is long-wise to you; gather the longer end up into a ball with your fingers, then push it back out in the kneading motion as before. Continue kneading and turning the dough for at least 10 minutes. The longer you knead, the better your bread will be.

Put the 2 Tablespoons of oil in the bottom of the bowl. Put the dough in the bowl, swishing it around to cover the bottom with oil, then flip the dough to cover the other side.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1.5- 2 hours.

When bread dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and shape into loaf/loaves, and place in lightly greased bread pan(s). Set in warm place to rise again until bread is about doubled in size- 1-1.5 hours.

Preheat oven to 350*F, then bake the loaves for 30- 50 minutes until nicely golden.

Take the pans out of the oven, and carefully tip the bread out of the pans. Cool on baking racks.

Yield: 1 large loaf, 2 small loaves, 1 good sized loaf + a couple of buns (hamburger/hot dog/ dinner roll shaped)

Barbecued Pork Roast

I tried one of my slow cooker recipes on the barbecue... and it was wonderful! "South Pacific Pork Roast", from the 1976 Better Homes And Gardens Crockery Cooker Cook Book, is my favourite pork roast recipe and I am happy to find that it made the barbecued roast equally tasty. (You can make the marinade, marinate the meat overnight & cook for about 4 hours on high or 8 hours on slow in the slow cooker.) We also tried the new Kraft "Mango Chipotle" salad dressing tonight and together with the barbecued roast? Magnificent! 

a  3 pound pork roast (my preference is a pork loin when it's on sale)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry (apple juice will also work)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/4 tsp dry garlic)
1 Tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

Place the pork roast in a heavy plastic (freezer) bag, set in a deep bowl. Thoroughly blend the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the meat in the bag. Close the bag, pressing out as much air as you can, and seal it tightly. Place the roast in the refrigerator and marinate all day, (or do the prep in the evening and let it marinate overnight).

An hour before you want to eat, fire up the barbecue; heat it up on "high" for about 10 minutes. Lower heat on one side of the barbecue to "low", and on the other side to "medium". Using tongs or a meat fork, remove roast from bag and place on the low-heating side of the grill. Discard marinade.  Let it cook slowly for 15-20 minutes; turn the roast over and continue cooking until it's well grilled on the outside, and doesn't look pink when you cut into the middle. (the times I've given are for a pork loin- if you have a thick pork roast, cook it slowly until it's done, turning when the bottom half of the roast looks brown and cooked.)

If meat is cooked before you're finished the rest of your meal prep, turn the "medium" side of the grill to "low", and turn the "low" side right off. Keep the lid closed and hurry with the rest of the meal so the meat doesn't get dried out.

Serves 4-8

Trifle

I had some loaves left over after an event a few months ago, so I froze them for later. With another event looming at the beginning of next week, "Trifles" came up, and so I'm going to convert the leftover loaves into a couple of trifles.  I think the beauty of "trifle" is that, with a little imagination, you have limitless possibilities.  Kraft Canada has a great Trifle "formula" style recipe; they've made a chart and the 3 main components have been broken down, giving you ideas for mixing and matching what you have on hand. It's a good place to start if you're a first time Trifle maker.

To make a Basic Trifle, you need:
A clear/glass bowl
A cake/cookie layer
A fruit/jam layer
A pudding/custard layer
Whipped topping
A garnish

Start with a layer of cake on the bottom of the bowl.Traditional English Trifles have liqueur or sherry sprinkled over the cake. The older and drier the cake, the more liquid (whether alcohol or fruit juice) it will soak up. If you are using frozen or tinned fruit, you could drain the juice and sprinkle it over the cake. If you're using fresh fruit, you might spread the cake with a complimentary jam. Layer the fruit over the cake, followed by a layer of pudding or custard. A few inches of whipped cream is next.

I like at least 2 layers of everything, so I would try to use half of each item, and then layer it all again. If you have a tall trifle bowl, you might like to do 3 or 4 layers of everything. Top off the last layer of whipped cream with your garnish.

Trifle Ideas:

Tropical Trifle- banana bread/cake with crushed pineapple and coconut custard (Bird's Custard made with coconut milk), whipped cream with a toasted coconut garnish.

Banana Split Trifle- banana bread/cake with strawberries on one layer and crushed pineapple on another, chocolate pudding and whipped cream, garnished with fresh sliced strawberries & shaved chocolate, or chocolate sundae sauce drizzled over the whipped cream.

Leftover Waffle Trifle- Breakfast waffles, any kind of frozen fruit or jam, vanilla custard or pudding, and whipped cream with coloured candy sprinkles on top.

Leftover Loaf Trifle- how about Orange-Cranberry loaf with tinned mandarin orange segments, vanilla custard or pudding, whipped cream and orange sugar sprinkles, grated orange rind or maraschino cherries on top? 
Lemon-Poppyseed loaf or muffins with peaches or mandarin orange segments, lemon pudding, whipped cream and grated lemon peel on top.

Chocolate Trifle- chocolate cake, cherry pie filling, raspberries or strawberries, chocolate pudding, whipped cream with crushed Oreo cookies for a garnish.

Vanilla Trifle- white cake, strawberries or raspberries, vanilla pudding or custard, whipped cream with fruit to garnish.

*Use your imagination and share your trifle ideas in the comments.

Granola Squares

My friend Susan gave me this recipe. It's one of those "never exactly the same twice" recipes that is always good. The key is the "extras"- use whatever your people like and leave out what you don't have or what you need to if allergies are an issue. This is one of the few recipes I've done that doesn't work with homemade sweetened condensed milk, but "light" condensed milk works well. If the squares don't hold their shape when you cut them up, the resultant crumble can be used as dessert/yogurt topping, or you could add milk and eat it like granola cereal. I sometimes wrap the squares in plastic as soon as they're cooled, and store them pre-wrapped and ready for school lunches. Be careful, though, these granola squares are a little addictive... Easy to make, yummy to eat- enjoy!


1.5 cups rolled oats

1.5 cups Rice Krispies

Extras to equal 4 cups: raisins, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, sesame seeds, chopped dried fruit, wheat germ, flax seeds ...

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 325*. Line a jelly roll pan or your largest cookie sheet with tin foil; grease the foil. 

Mix cereal and the rest of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together sweetened condensed milk and melted butter, then add to dry ingredients. Spread well combined mixture over prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool slightly, then invert pan onto clean cutting board. Remove pan and peel off foil. Cut into squares while still warm. Store in a cool place in an airtight container. Save the crumbled bits to use as a yogurt topping.