Morning Muffins

Breakfast during the week is difficult because I don't always have the time or feel like cooking something to eat. However, I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day so I try to find things I can make ahead. I found this recipe from Yummly for Morning Power Muffins that sounded healthy and filling. There were some bananas that were becoming dangerously ripe so I figured this was a a good option to use them in a different way besides banana bread. However, if you need to use up bananas be sure to check out this recipe for two ingredient cookies. These turned out to be super moist so don't let that scare you in thinking they are undercooked and sweet without being too sweet for first thing in the morning.

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
5 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar)
1 cup oats, quick cook
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or almond flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Note: the recipe says it makes 20 muffins, but mine only made 18 which is odd since I usually end up with more servings not fewer servings. 

Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners or spray generously with cooking spray. Peel the bananas and break into pieces. Mix on low for about 1 1/2 minutes.

Add in the canola oil, applesauce and honey. Mix on low until well incorporated.

Thoroughly mix in the baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground cinnamon for 2 minutes.

Next, add in the whole wheat flour and the oats. Mix only until combined. I mixed for about 30 seconds and then finished by hand just to make sure there wasn't anything at the bottom of the bowl that got missed. 

*Note: If you want to add in dried cranberries, raisins or any kind of nut, this is where you would fold them in. However, I didn't have any of that so I didn't add anything in.

Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. The muffins will still look wet when you take them out, but as long at the toothpick comes out clean, they are ready. Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes before letting them finish cooling on a wire rack. You can eat these plain, with a drizzle of honey or some kind of nut butter. You are ready to enjoy your breakfast, knowing you have fueled yourself properly for the day!

Fall at Dunkin' Donuts

Even though the North is my hometown, I am slightly ashamed to say that have never had Dunkin' Donuts before. I am not quite sure why that never happened, but never fear I finally rectified that situation! During a series of interesting events, I found myself at a Dunkin' Donuts. Apparently, their coffee is delicious and rated better than Starbucks. I decided that I was going to make the comparison simple and just do a plain coffee test. I ordered a cup of the regular coffee and found that is had a smoother, less bitter taste than some of the black Starbucks coffee I have had. I however did not like that they did not have sleeves for their cups as it was a very hot beverage. It also felt like the cups were a bit flimsy since the top ended up popping off my cup and spilled down my leg. Between that and the coffee, itself I was fully awake and functioning. I have to admit it was a strong contender to Starbucks coffee, but in order to make a final call I think I would need to do a flavored drink test.

What was an even better pleasant surprise was that they had pumpkin munchkins! Munchkins are what they call donut holes, which if you ask me is a much cuter name. These were the cake donuts (which I was even more excited about) and the glaze wasn't too overly sweet. They were pretty dense and had a brilliant orange color with tons of fall spices in the donut batter. They weren't super crumbly, so they were easy to eat without making a huge mess. It had a good pumpkin flavor without being too artificial since I am sure they aren't using fresh pumpkin. I guess it's probably a good thing, I am not close to a Dunkin Donuts since I probably shouldn't be eating a lot of these little munchkins.

Dunkin' Donuts doesn't just serve donuts, they also serve breakfast sandwiches, regular sandwiches and muffins. Of course, the muffin of choice would be pumpkin since it's that time of year. The muffin had a coffee cake topping with an icing drizzle. The color of the muffin was slightly more yellow than the donut holes which was interesting. It had a similar flavor, but was a bit different though I couldn't put my finger on what made it different. The muffin had a light and crumbly texture and the crunchy coffee cake topping was a nice contrast. Whether you are looking for a donut or muffin, these two pumpkin treats were pretty good so if you are close to a Dunkin' Donuts be sure to try them before they are all gone.

Sugar Donut Muffins

I had to admit that I love donuts, but tend to stay as far away as possible because they are really quite bad for you. However, when I saw this recipe for a donut muffin, I definitely needed to try it. This is a super simple recipe, but it only makes about 10 regular muffins. The recipe is super simple and the best part was I had everything on hand. Like usual, you beat the butter and sugar together and separately mix together all the dry ingredients. Then you add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar until mixed. Add in the liquids and you are ready to pop them in the oven. They cook at 350 for about 15-18 minutes. Usually my oven, takes about 5 minutes less than the suggested cook time, but this time it was exactly 15 minutes. Once you pull them out of the oven, you brush them with a bit of butter and roll in sugar. You can roll the whole thing or just the tops. I opted for sugaring just the tops an in half of them added a dash of cinnamon to the sugar. They are a dense muffin that doesn't crumble. I would say it has a very close consistency to a cake donut and was a perfect morning pick me up! I will definitely be making these again as they are fun and something different then just a regular muffin, so be sure to give it a try.