Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

Last week at choir practice, I volunteered to bring treats. Maybe if there were treats every week more people would come. After all, what church function doesn't involve treats? Even though we were having a big family dinner yesterday, I got up early enough to whip these up for choir. The original recipe was from Lizzie over at Your Cup Of Cake, but I modified it slightly.

Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins 

½ cup butter, melted and cooled

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 Gala apples, peeled (or Granny Smith)

1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice

2/3 cup Cinnamon Chips (I used the tiny ones from Prepared Pantry- also available at Gygi's)

Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

4  whole cinnamon-flavored graham crackers (or use regular graham crackers and add 1/4 tsp cinnamon)

2 ½ tablespoons cold butter diced

P     Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt butter and allow to cool while gathering your other ingredients. Make the streusel topping. If you have a food processor, it will be super simple. Toss your cookies (sorry, that doesn't sound very appetizing!) in the bowl of your food processor along with the sugar. Pulse a few times until the cookies are uniformly ground. Add the cold butter and pulse until the butter is blended well with the sugar and cookies. Set aside. In your mixing bowl, blend the sour cream with the cup of sugar, eggs and the vanilla until smooth. Sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and add it to the sour cream mixture, but just mix it together until the dry stuff becomes moist. Over-beating muffins will make them either tough or domed or both. Neither are a good thing. After dumping out the streusel mixture into another bowl, use your food processor to shred your skinned apples. If you are food processor-less, then just chop the apples into small chunks. Stir the apples into the batter, along with the 2/3 cup of cinnamon chips. The batter will be pretty thick. Don't worry, you've done nothing wrong! I use my cookie scooper to dollop the batter into the muffin wrappers. Sprinkle on about a tablespoon of streusel and bake for 15-18 minutes. 

I Still Cry

I started looking through my Picasa folders a little while ago and this was the one that came up first. Do you still miss him? I miss him. Like crazy.

He died four years ago. 

My favorite prophet. Forever. I need a tissue. 

Oreo Brownies With Cream Cheese Frosting

Karen was disappointed with the cupcakes I made a few days ago because all she could taste was the cinnamon. No one else that ate them thought it was a problem, but it was for her. Anyway, she was still craving something chocolate, not something that was cinnamon disguised as chocolate (seriously, I couldn't even taste the cinnamon).
She decided brownies were the answer. On the back of the box it had a recipe for Cookies 'n Creme Brownies. All you had to do was add to the brownie batter one cup of "creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs" (aka Oreos).  

So you mix up the brownies as instructed on the box, and add the cup of Oreo crumbs. Bake it as directed on the box (we did not follow the high altitude directions). 

Use a plastic knife to cut them so you don't scratch your non-stick pan. 

I scarfed my slice down, and then since I needed to cut another piece to take this picture, why put it back in the pan. Yes, I scarfed that down too.
Remember how I don't have canned frosting in my (newly cleaned out) pantry? Here's the recipe I made up for the frosting. Jenny, it's easy enough that you don't need canned frosting. Really!

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick butter, softened slightly
4 oz. cream cheese (I used light, again)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar (I sifted, but you don't have to)
1 T heavy whipping cream (or milk)
Beat the butter and cream cheese for five minutes. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until well combined. Add the whipping cream (in its liquid state, not whipped) and beat for one minute longer.
Spread it on your brownies (you won't need to use all the frosting) then add 1/2 cup of additional Oreo crumbs. Show more restraint than I did and only have one piece...if you can.

This frosting is less stiff than what I would use to pipe on cupcakes, and was perfect for these brownies. And yes, I used a knife to frost them...sort of. It was actually an offset spatula, but close enough, right Jenny?

Patti's Pantry

From time to time, my sister will call and ask if she has reached Patti's Pantry. That means she's out of something and needs to borrow it from me. I looked at my pantry recently and realized it was way overdue for a clean up/out. I thought I would share the process with you. Here's the before picture. Gasp.
Jenny, thanks again for the shelf-stable apple pie filling!

I have the "Cansolidator" which also needed revamping. Everything was rearranged (including the slots because some items didn't deserve a spot as it was an under-used item) and then I labeled the slots to remind me what goes where if the slot becomes empty. Besides, labeling is fun.

Caleb was happy to help fill it up. I was almost happy to have his help! Hey, Wyile- can you see what the problem is? (P.S. As hard as it was for me, I DIDN'T change it!)

In this picture, you can see my Christmas present from Samuel's family (thanks, Holly!). It's a cute little bag that I have been using for library runs, but Karen used it to bring up some cans from the basement.

See how the bread is just tossed in the back there with the peanut butter and honey?

I moved the #10 cans of dehydrated stuff from the bottom shelf to up behind the cereal boxes because I don't get into them very often.

Here you have (two days later) the finished project.

Now see how the bread has its own little area below the peanut butter? Better!

I think I've shown you my flour vault before. Love it!

Here's a little snack box for the young people that visit my house from time to time.

A much handier spot for my sifter. The hook had been put there a couple years ago, but nothing was hanging from it. I'll be needing it for the recipe I'll share with you tomorrow.

After all that work, I deserve some of this.

I love the container. Walmart- BHG containers for about $6.50. Clear, with a locking lid. Love it.

Lots of Birthdays!

Today is a busy birthday day! Let me send a wish to them- youngest goes first!

Happy Birthday Sara! You are such a sweetheart. I love you dearly! Five years has gone by fast! 

Next is Jackson! He is such a handsome boy- I was supposed to visit him this week, and I'm sorry that didn't happen. I would have loved to be there with him as he turns 7!

And Happy Birthday to my sister, LynnEl. It was so fun to be with you last week. Your birthday card is in the mail, but won't get there by today. I hope you have a fun day! Love you!

Happy Birthday to you all! 

Nearly Normal Chocolate Cupcakes

We were craving cupcakes. Not an unusual thing around here. I started with making these cupcakes because Karen really likes the combination of chocolate and raspberries. When I tasted the raspberry filling that Lizzy put inside her cupcakes, I almost gagged because it was terribly sweet. Maybe my marshmallow creme was too old or something, but it was yuck-city. So I ditched the raspberry idea and since Caleb just wanted chocolate frosting on his chocolate cupcake, I obliged.

Caleb was a big helper. He sifted the cocoa powder so there wouldn't be any lumps in the frosting, and he also sifted the powdered sugar for me too. Then he help decorate some of the cupcakes. Look at what a good job he did.

Would you like chocolate chips on your cupcake?

How about mini M&M's?

Or do you just want it plain?

No matter how you like it, you know you want some of this!

Karen looked in the pantry for a can of ready-made frosting. I don't own any. It's not something I can justify buying when homemade tastes so much better, in my opinion. Do you have a chocolate frosting recipe that you love? If not, consider this one.

Chocolate Frosting
2 sticks of butter, slightly softened
4 oz cream cheese (I used light)
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup cocoa powder
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
Beat the butter and cream cheese for five minutes. Yes, five. Add the vanilla and cocoa powder and powdered sugar. It helps if you sift the dry ingredients first, so your frosting isn't lumpy. Start with just a few teaspoons of the whipping cream, adding up to 1/4 cup or until it is the consistency you wish it to be.
I was talking to Laura this morning and we discussed how in the olden days, people just used a knife or spatula to spread the frosting on to their cupcakes. That would never be acceptable in my kitchen.

From My Window

We've had very little snow all winter. Caleb has been waiting for it for a long time. I guess he just wanted to do this.

The snow is beautiful and alluring...from my window.

Claire Turns Two

My sweet little Claire is 2 years old today! She's amazing. She can do so many things, and don't even get me started on how smart she is.
Look how fast time flies...

Even this picture is old; it is from last summer. 

Before you know it, she will be driving a real car. 

I love you, Claire! Happy Birthday!