Muffins, Oh, We Love Muffins! #Recipe Roundup

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Every so often, you've got to have a muffin. Almost every Sunday morning, at our house! We like to bake up a batch, eat a few while they're fresh and warm, then cool and freeze the rest, 2 or 4 in a bag, since we're a two-human household. Happily, muffins freeze nicely. And even more happily, the Kitchen crew has many wonderful muffin recipes to choose from. Here are a few for your Sunday morning, or any day of the week!  

Lemon Zucchini Muffins Peg Cochran serves up these tasty Lemon Zucchini Muffins (pictured above), which she describes as "Weight Watchers style." I'm a Lifetime member myself, and one of the things I appreciate about how the program has evolved over the years is that you can actually eat muffins and other delicious treats and still lose weight. 

Our founding member, now a Kitchen alumna, Krista Davis, shares these Valentine Brunch Muffins, aka Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. It's a classic flavor combo, and by golly, they look good enough to eat!  Regular blog readers know we enjoy sharing Halloween-themed recipes every fall, and our Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) offers these fabulous Pumpkin Carrot Cake Muffins.   

Another alumna, Daryl Wood Gerber, is famous for baking gluten-free treats so good you'll never miss the gluten. She's actually shared two terrific recipes for gluten-free blueberry muffins, one traditional, which she calls Sunday Blueberry Muffins, and one for Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Blueberry Muffins.  And speaking of blueberries, one of our newer members, Molly MacRae, offers these Sourdough Blueberry Muffins. 

Click here for the recipe.

Muffins don't have to be sweet treats.  And in our house, these Omelet Muffins are year-round faves, especially popular at our annual holiday brunch. They're quite flexible, easily made with almost any combination of cheese and veggies you have on hand. For another savory option, try Cleo Coyle's Corn Muffin Tops a la Julia Child from the early years of the blog. And of course, many corn bread recipes can be baked in muffin tins -- if you lack one of those cool old pans with molds in the shapes of ears of corn!

Remember the old Pillsbury Dough Boy ads proclaiming "Nothing says lovin' like a fresh-baked muffin"? Well, okay, we revised it a bit. Whatever muffins you choose, we hope you bake, serve, and eat with love and joy! 

What muffins are favorites
in your household? 

Do tell!

🍰

~ The Mystery Lovers' Kitchen crew

Lemon Zucchini Muffins #WeightWatcher Style #Recipe @PegCochran

Are you still with me on my WW journey?  So far I've lost 20 pounds.  I'm aiming for five more.  It hasn't been quick, but then I didn't gain it overnight either.  I gained it sitting in front of a computer and not paying attention to what I was eating.  But I learned to go back to the way I always used to eat when I never had a weight problem--following a splurge with several light meals, measuring fats so I didn't go overboard, filling up on lean protein, veggies, fruit and legumes.  It's honestly been easier than I thought especially since I still work in my weekly wine!  Knowing how to cook has definitely made the journey easier...and tastier!

Someone posted this recipe on a WW FB site and I'm afraid I didn't note the name but I give her a shoutout for a great recipe that apparently comes in as 1 point per muffin (in case you're also on the plan!)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour 
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1/2 cup white granulated sugar substitute
1 cup shredded zucchini, unpeeled (1 medium zucchini) 
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 
1/4 cup water 
1 egg
¼ cup water
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp lemon zest ( zest from large lemon) 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Or, use cupcake wrappers--I sprayed those also for easy removal.

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Stir.

In a separate bowl combine unsweetened applesauce sauce, sugar substitute, water, zucchini, egg, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir.    

Slowly add wet ingredients to dry and fill muffin cups evenly. 

Do not over mix!

Bake 18 to 20 minutes.

Amazon Reviewer:  "Peg Cochran creates engaging characters and a wonderful sense of time and place. The mystery is well plotted and full of twists. There’s a little bit of humor, a splash of romance, and great historical details."

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

An intrepid 1930s Manhattan socialite uncovers deadly secrets during an assignment to the Hamptons in this riveting historical cozy mystery for readers of Victoria Thompson, Anne Perry, and Rhys Bowen.

Westhampton, 1938. To the dismay of her well-to-do family, Elizabeth “Biz” Adams is quickly establishing herself as a seasoned photographer over at the Daily Trumpet. Growing more confident in her decision to pursue a career, Elizabeth is thrilled when she and her reporter sidekick, Ralph Kaminsky, are sent to Long Island to cover the story of a young maid found dead in one of the glamourous summer homes in the devastating aftermath of the Great New England Hurricane—also known as the Long Island Express.

At first it’s assumed that the young woman was caught in the terrible storm, but when a suspicious wound is found on the side of her head, the police suspect murder. The maid’s death becomes even more tragic when it’s discovered she was pregnant, and with Elizabeth and Kaminsky at the scene of the crime, the Daily Trumpet scoops all the other papers in town.

The young woman’s boyfriend emerges as the likeliest suspect. But as Elizabeth follows the story, she begins to wonder whether someone in the household of the maid’s employers might be responsible—someone who’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth about the baby’s paternity hidden.

COMING DECEMBER 3