Cake Mix Spice Muffins

I don't really care how some people think cake mixes are "terribly unhealthy". Then don't use them if you think that. Sometimes, when people are in a hurry or just like to do things quicker, they use cake mixes. Don't judge! :)

 

1 yellow 15.25 oz cake mix

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. cloves

½ tsp. allspice 

1 cup applesauce (or pear sauce)

½ cup melted butter or coconut oil

1 small, ripe banana, mashed
1 egg

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk wet ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Scoop into muffin liners in a muffin pan. (I sometimes spray one squirt of cooking spray in the bottom of each paper muffin liner.) Place in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing muffins from pan. Makes about 13 muffins.

Two Ingredient Biscuits

 This might actually be "four" ingredient biscuits, depending on if you keep self-rising flour on hand. I don't. So what you can do is add 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt to EACH cup of all-purpose flour to make your own "self-rising flour".

2 cups self-rising flour (OR 2 cups all-purpose flour with 3 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Mix both ingredients together (mix dry ingredients together first if not using store bought self-rising flour) and knead 10 times, using extra flour if needed. Roll with rolling pin onto floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter, avoiding twisting, just cut straight down. (Twisting sometimes doesn't allow the biscuits to rise as easily, kind of "pinching off" the sides of the biscuit with the cutter.) Roll scraps and repeat until dough is used up or too small to make another biscuit.

Bake in 400 degree oven on ungreased baking sheet--I always use parchment paper--for 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Serve warm with butter, jam, honey or your favorite stuff. Can also be served at room temperature, but I really like 'em warm! 

Makes 12-14 biscuits.

Jam-filled Hand Pies

1 ¾ cups flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup cold butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

2-4 Tbps. Milk

6 Tbsp. jam (I used homemade raspberry jam)

Stir flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until it looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in egg and sprinkle in one tablespoon of milk at a time into flour mixture just until the dough comes together. Knead gently a few times until the dough holds together and can be rolled. Roll about 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut with large cookie cutter hearts or make rectangles or squares using a knife or a small baking rotary blade. Cut pairs of the same size and shape. Spread jam onto the middle of half of the cutouts. Moisten edges of the jam side of the pastry and place a matching pastry cutout on top. Seal edges by pressing with a fork. Brush tops with milk. Bake on a parchment papered cookie sheet for about 17 minutes (oven may vary) or until the tops begin turning golden.

You can also cut out hearts (or whatever seasonal shape) and attach them with milk to the tops of pastries to make them decorative. They can also be glazed for decoration.

Better Homes and Gardens, Feb 2019 p.97

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

I kept losing this recipe! Now I will have it online so I can find it whenever I need to!

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
1 pinch salt

2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 2/3 cup milk
4 Tbsp (half a cube or 1/4 cup) butter, melted and cooled

Stir together the first seven ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat together last five ingredients. Beat well. Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Cook on hot waffle iron according to waffle iron directions. Makes about 6-7 round waffles.

Blueberry Muffins

Crumb Topping
Stir together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Melt and stir in (then rub in):
3/4 cup melted butter
(These are the measurements for the cake--see below. You will have extra if making muffins.)
Set aside.

Muffin Batter
Beat together until soft and light:
1 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups sugar

Add one at a time, beating smooth after each egg:
3 eggs

Beat in:
2 tsp. vanilla

Sift together:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
Add flour and baking powder to the batter in three additions, alternating with:
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup milk (start and end with flour mixture)

Fill muffin cups half full with batter. (I use paper baking cup liners for easy removal and clean up.)

3-4 cups blueberries
Press berries lightly into the batter. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top.

Bake at 350* for 33 minutes, or until the tops are browned and the muffins spring back when touched.

For cake: This can also go in a 9" X 13" pan--bake 40 min.

Omelette Muffins

Someone posted this on Facebook so I'm putting it here for safekeeping. These are great for breakfast lunch or anytime! They can also be put in the refrigerator or freezer for later.

1/4-1/2 cup finally chopped onion
1/4 cup finally chopped red pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 four oz. can of diced green chiles
Shredded cheese (about a cup)
Oil for sautéing

8 eggs
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper

Sauté the onion, red pepper and garlic in oil in a small frying pan on the stove. Remove from heat and add chiles; mix. Spray muffin tins with oil to keep from sticking. Add a spoonful of the onion mixture to each muffin compartment. Add about a tablespoons of cheese on top of the onion mixture.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, baking powder and milk. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Pour the egg mixture into each compartment, dividing equally amongst the compartments. Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes one dozen.

Granola

6 cups oats
2/3 c. wheat germ
2/3 c. shredded coconut (optional--I hate shredded coconut!)
2/3 c. sesame seeds
2/3 c. chopped nuts (also optional--I guess I like boring granola!)
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Place the oats in a microwave safe dish and microwave 4 minutes (or 15 min. in a 350* oven)
Add the above ingredients to the oats. Blend together and add to the oat mixture:

2/3 c. oil or melted butter
1/2 c. honey
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. banana flavoring
1/4 tsp. black walnut flavoring
1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring

Cook on high power for at least 4 minures, stirring after two minutes (or bake at 350* for 15-20 min., stirring often to keep it from burning). Mixture should be nicely browned.

Add:
1 c. dried fruit (raisins, etc.)

Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Breakfast Pie

8-10 strips cooked bacon, diced
1/2 cup finely chopped, sauted onion
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 small can diced green chilis, undrained

1-1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
3/4 cups baking mix
1/8 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper


Combine bacon, onion, cheese and chilis; put into baked pie crust (see below). Whisk milk, eggs, baking mix, onion powder, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Pour milk mixture over the pie crust filled with cheese mixture. Bake at 400* for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.


Pie crust:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold water

Mix with a pastry blender the first three ingredients until it looks like crumbs. Gradually add the cold water and mix with a fork until moisture is mixed it. Roll out on a sheet of parchment paper a pie crust circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use the parchment paper to fold the round crust into even quarters. Pick up dough and place in the pie plate, unfolding it to cover the bottom and sides of the plate. Cook crust for 10 minutes in oven at 350*. Then follow instructions above for filling. Serves 6 or how ever many slices you slice the pie into! :)

Food storage variations:
I used mixed powdered milk for the milk. I use a tablespoon or two of dehydrated onions instead of fresh sauted onions. I make my own baking mix using half whole wheat flour and half white flour, plus the other ingredients, of course. I use eggs that I rubbed earlier with mineral oil to keep them fresh--they stay for up to a year in the fridge.

Cinnamon Stack Biscuits

2 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar

Stir together and then cut in 1/2 cup shortening or butter with a pastry blender to make course crumbs.

Add 2/3 cup milk

Stir until mixture forms a ball. Turn onto lightly floured board or clean floured counter. Knead gently 4-5 times. Roll dough into a 10 X 16 inch rectangle. Brush with 1/4 cup melted margerine or butter.

Sprinkle with mixture of 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. cinnamon.

Cut into squares 1-2 inches in size. (I use a pizza cutter.) Stack 3-5 squares together, cut side down (squares are standing up on their sides, vertically) into greased muffin tin. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Puff Pancakes

6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. margerine or butter

Move oven rack to lowest level in the oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and heat up a 9 X 13 inch glass baking dish in the oven. Mix all ingredients-except the butter-together with a whisk. Melt the butter in the preheated baking dish while still in the oven. Quickly pour batter into the heated dish with the melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes. These are really fun for kids because the batter rises and becomes rather "puffy" in the pan!

Fairy Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

1 c. sugar
2 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbs. yeast
Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and let rise a few minutes.

1 c. melted butter (or magrarine)
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
Mix butter, baking powder, salt and eggs in to the yeast mixture.
Add 6 cups of flour to the mixture. Let batter stand 10-20 minutes.
Roll out dough about 3/8 inch thick rectangle and sprinkle with:

1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2-2 c. brown sugar
(1 container of apple cinnamon yogurt--optional, I didn't use it)
Roll dough into a tight log and slice into about 1 1/2 inch wide slices. (I use thin string or dental floss to cut the slices) Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 400* for 15 minutes.

After removing from the oven and while still hot, ice with:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbs. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

This recipe makes a LOT! I cut mine in half and still had several left over!