Muffins make good accompaniments to soups and stews during cool fall or cold winter months. I love to experiment with new recipes in this category. Sometimes I latch onto a good one. Sometimes we end up tossing them because they were too dry or lacked flavor. One oatmeal muffin recipe I doctored until it had just the right sweetness. It’s one of my favorites. (See the recipes tab on the side bar and scroll down for this recipe.)

Two more muffin recipes come from two great cookbooks. The first I found in the Chocolate is Cheaper Than Therapy and you don’t need an appointment -  Recipes for the Chocoholic! Isn’t that a great title? This muffin recipe is one of my all-time favorites!

Mocha Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

1 T. instant coffee granules
1 T hot water
1 C. butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 C. sugar
1 egg
3 ripe bananas, peeled
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 C. flour (I mix whole wheat and unbleached white)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 C. chocolate chips (I like the Ghirardelli darker chocolate for this recipe but semi-sweet will do.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease fifteen to eighteen muffin cups (or use paper liners) and set aside. In a small bowl, combine instant coffee granules and hot water, mixing until coffee is dissolved. In a blender or food processor or electric mixer, combine butter, sugar, egg, bananas, vanilla and coffee mixture. Blend for 2 minutes. Add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Blend just until flour disappears. Stir in chocolate chips with a wood spoon (or electric mixer – makes no difference in my opinion.) Spoon mixture into prepared muffin cups. Bake in oven for 25 minutes. Let cool slightly in pans before removing to wire racks. Or if they are in paper liners, let cool in pans, then transfer to sealed container. Freezes well.

This one comes from the Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2002.

Cranberry Nut Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half white whole wheat and half unbleached white)
1 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, halved (If they’re fresh, don’t use them if they’re too soft.)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 T. grated orange peel

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, milk, butter, and egg; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in cranberries, pecans, and orange peel. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Or as said above, cool in pans, then remove to sealed containers (like Ziploc bags). Freezes well. Yield: about 1 dozen

Happy munching~