Pecan Pie Surprise Muffins

These are a great way to use up any leftover pecan pie you might have after Thanksgiving! They are absolutely fabulous fresh out of the oven. I made these for Madison's teachers and as soon as they came out of the oven I immediately ate half of one and I don't even like pecan pie!

3 slices pecan pie, frozen - homemade or frozen

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 1/2 t baking powder

1 t salt

2 T sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin or spray with flour-added Pam. Cut each frozen pie slice into 4 chunks. Place one pie chunk in each muffin tin. In a small bowl, beat together egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add egg mixture; stir just until blended. Spoon batter into muffin tins, covering pecan pie chunks. Stir together topping ingredients (sugar and cinnamon) and sprinkle evenly over muffin tops.Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes; remove from muffin tins.
Makes 12 muffins

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Muffins

If you love white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, you are going to LOVE these muffins!

Muffins:
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup vanilla chips
3/4 cup macadamia nuts

Glaze:
1/2 cup vanilla chips
2 T heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the chips and nuts. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. For glaze, in a small microwave-safe bowl, melt chips with cream; stir until smooth. Drizzle over warm muffins.


Tomorrow's Daily Special: Orange Pound Cake

BLT Muffins

These muffins are great for a snack or appetizer. A savory muffin that comes together quickly and easily!


2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1 T sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise (do NOT substitute with light or fat free)
3/4 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled (about 12 slices)
1/2 cup diced, seeded tomatoes
2 T fresh parsley, minced


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and sugar. In another bowl, beat milk and mayonnaise until smooth. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the bacon, tomatoes, and parsley. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin or mini muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.



Tomorrow's Daily Special: Mini Ham and Cheese Cups

Apple Butter Scones

If you love apple butter, you are going to love these super easy scones!

2 1/4 cups flour
3 t baking powder
1 T packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup apple butter
1 t butter or margarine, melted
2 t cinnamon

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder and brown sugar in large bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup butter, the eggs, whipping cream and apple butter until soft dough forms. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Pat into an 8 inch round, about 3/4 inch thick. Brush with 1 t butter; sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Cut into 8 wedges. Place 1-inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve these warm with additional apple butter.

TIP OF THE DAY: If you don't want to make these in traditional scone shapes, you can use a biscuit cutter (or a glass dipped in flour) to make round scones.

Tomorrow's Daily Special: Greek Pasta Shrimp

Snickerdoodle Muffins

As much as I love Snickerdoodle cookies, when I saw this recipe for Snickerdoodle Muffins- I just knew I had to try it! Even though I couldn't taste any of them (my tummy does not like food right now) they were a BIG hit with both my family and Madison's teachers.

2 sticks butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

¾ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp cream of tarter

1 and ¼ cup sour cream

2 and ¼ cups all purpose flour, sifted

1 cup sugar and 2 TBSP cinnamon mixed together for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and cream of tarter. Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally. Using a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop, scoop out muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar. Place muffin in muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray. I made mini muffins and got 48 tiny muffins but if you use a regular muffin tin, you should get about 12 to 14 muffins. Bake them for approx. 12-15 minutes for mini muffins and 20-22 minutes for regular muffins in a 350 degree oven or until they are golden brown. Do NOT overbake.

TIP OF THE DAY: If you don't want to take the time to sift the flour for a recipe, simply put your flour in a bowl and fluff it up by mixing it gently with a fork.

Tomorrow's Daily Special: Mexican Lasagna

Peach Muffins

I found this recipe in one of my mom's magazines back when I was in high school and have been making it ever since. It sounds really simple but is truly the BEST muffin recipe EVER! If you have some fresh peaches, you simply must try it!


1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 t salt
1/2 t soda
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cup peaches (banana also works great)
1/2 t vanilla
1/8 t almond extract
1/2 cup almonds


Combine flour, salt, soda, and sugar. Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add eggs and oil. Stir only until ingredients are moistened. Stir in fruit, vanilla, almond extract, and nuts. Measure 1/3 cup batter for each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.


TIP OF THE DAY: To ripen peaches simply place peaches in a loosely-closed ordinary paper bag and set on the kitchen counter for one to three days - away from direct sunlight. Check daily for ripeness. When ripe, the fruit will become very aromatic and give to gentle palm pressure. After the fruit is ripe, it can be placed in the refrigerator for up to a week or so.

Time including baking: 30 minutes


Tomorrow's Daily Special: Chicken Caesar Pasta