Triple-Chip Scone Muffins

Funny thing about this recipe. I'd pulled it out of a magazine years ago (yes, it was my own magazine), and it looked yummy. The little man and I liked the picture, so we decided to make them.

But the recipe was provided by a margarine company, and as a general rule, we don't keep margarine on hand. And to substitute butter just looked like ... a whole lot of butter for a batch of muffins. So we cut the butter in half. And then we changed a few other things, too. Like the amount of sugar. The amount of milk. The amount of chocolate chips. The baking time. So just a few things.

By the time we finished, the only components of the original recipe that remained were the flour and baking powder measurements.

But it worked! These aren't my usual jumbo-sized, gooey dessert muffins. In fact, the texture is much more like a scone than a muffin, and also scone-like in that they're not nearly as sweet as muffins usually are. But I think the lack of sweetness in the dough showcase the chocolate well, (although I'm glad we increased the amount of sugar from the original).

Triple-Chip Scone Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

3 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Jack chose Superman liners. So we could have a "daddy party." (Superman = Daddy and Cupcake liners = Party? Maybe?)

2. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in milk until just moistened, adding a bit more milk, if necessary.

3. Here's where things get a bit more complicated: The chocolate chips.

3a. First, pour your chocolate chips onto the counter.

3b. Count them.

3c. Sniff them for freshness. Maybe lick a few, for good measure.

3d. Form them into a picture. This was Santa.

3e. Heap your chocolate chips into a measuring cup. Jack likes to round up when it comes to chocolate chips. You know, for good measure. (Ba-dum.)

4. Fold chocolate chips into batter.

5. Spoon mixture evenly into muffin cups.

6. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until brown.

Serving suggestion: Serve in Superman liners with a cup of coffee in your favorite JLA mug.

Jumbo Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins

The hubby is gone fishin' again today, and my typical routine on such days is to get up early with the boys, take the puppies for a walk, and then do some cleaning and baking.

I also typically go shopping for chocolate, but that's just between you and me.

I had some lovely blueberries in the fridge, and decided to make a batch of blueberry cheesecake muffins. The muffins have the flavor of a typical blueberry muffin, but with little bites of cheesecake. And an admittedly strange streusel topping. (Hey, I wanted the streusel to taste like white cake mix, so I used white cake mix.)

You can easily substitute frozen blueberries for the fresh, and this is what I do throughout the winter. Justs be sure to thoroughly rinse the blueberries and then let them dry on a towel, or your batter will be stained a nice blueish purple. Not that stained muffins taste any different than "clean" muffins. But hey, this stuff matters to some people.

Jumbo Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins
Makes 8

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 egg, at room temperature
1 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, rinse and dry before using)
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. white cake mix
1 Tbsp. butter

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.

2. Using a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix until combined, but cream cheese is still chunky. (These are the chunks you'll bite into in the muffins.)

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the mixture and add the cream cheese mixture. Stir until just combined.

4. In a small bowl, combine blueberries, 1 Tbsp. flour, and 1 Tbsp. sugar. Add blueberries to better, gently folding in.

5. Add liners to jumbo muffin pans and fill each cup until mostly full.

6. In a small bowl, combine cake mix and 1 Tbsp. butter with a fork, until crumbly. Sprinkle mixture evenly across muffins.

7. Bake for about 25 minutes, until muffins are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

8. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool on racks.

Jumbo Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Muffins

I recently posted a recipe for jumbo butterscotch-oatmeal muffins, and mentioned that the hubby and I aren't butterscotch fans. So we've never tried that version, although we hear they're quite good.

When I make this recipe for the hubby and me, I swap in some chocolatey substitutions and it tastes like a completely different muffin. But still heavenly. And heart-healthy, with all that oatmeal. And butter.

Can't decide between the two? Mix up the batter, and divide it between two bowls before you add your chips and toffee. Then just make a half-and-half batch. Taste test. See which ones you like better. And pass on the info.

Enquiring minds want to know.

Jumbo Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes 9-10 muffins

2 c. quick oats
1 2/3 c. low-fat buttermilk
¾ c. brown sugar
¼ c. granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
1 c. flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1½ c. chocolate chips chips
½ c. chocolate-covered toffee bits, plus more for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats and sugars. Pour buttermilk over mixture, stir to combine, and let sit 5 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine eggs and vanilla. Poor cooled butter into egg mixture and combine. Pour butter and egg mixture into oat mixture, and stir to combine.

4. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour flour mixture into oat mixture. Stir until just combined.

5. Add chocolate chips and toffee bits, stirring gently.

6. Place muffin liners in jumbo muffin tins, and fill about ¾ full. Sprinkle with additional toffee.

7. Bake about 20 minutes, or until golden. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pans, then let cool on racks.

Jumbo Butterscotch-Oatmeal Muffins

These muffins, by far my most requested, are a tender and chewy concoction of butterscotch and toffee in an oatmeal-buttermilk batter. I make these pretty frequently to bring to work, and I always run out quickly.

One coworker calls these “the two-napkin” muffins, because they’re so nice and sticky that just one napkin won’t do the job. Another says she needs a nap after she's eaten one.

Those are compliments, no?

I first devised these muffins when a friend asked if I could create a muffin with butterscotch and oatmeal. I did some online researched and pulled together components from a few different recipes, and threw in some of my own. Like toffee. Toffee + muffins = happy.

As always, for more muffin tips ‘n’ tricks, see the Jumbo Apple-Walnut Muffins post.

It’s kind of funny that these are my most popular muffins, and I’ve yet to actually try one. I don’t like butterscotch. But I’m a people-pleaser. So I make them, anyway.

The next time I make muffins, I’ll include the Hubbyfied/Angelfied version of these for People Who Don’t Like Butterscotch. We should form a club.

Jumbo Butterscotch-Oatmeal Muffins
Makes 9-10 muffins

2 c. quick oats
1 2/3 c. low-fat buttermilk
¾ c. brown sugar
¼ c. granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
1 c. flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1½ c. butterscotch chips
½ c. toffee bits (not chocolate-covered), plus more for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats and sugars. Pour buttermilk over mixture, stir to combine, and let sit 5 minutes.

The buttermilk softens the oats and gives the batter a wonderful tangy flavor.

3. In a small bowl, combine eggs and vanilla. Poor cooled butter into egg mixture and combine. Pour butter and egg mixture into oat mixture, and stir to combine.

4. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour flour mixture into oat mixture. Stir until just combined.

There are a lot of mixtures involved here.

5. Add butterscotch chips and toffee bits, stirring gently.

6. Place muffin liners in jumbo muffin tins, and fill about ¾ full. Sprinkle with additional toffee.

7. Bake about 20 minutes, or until golden. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pans, then let cool on racks.

Jumbo Brownie Cheesecake Muffins

My baby brother, Cory, is staying with us this weekend. This always makes me happy. He’s so much fun to take care of and feed. There’s a pretty big age gap between us, and one of these days I might realize he’s a capable twentysomething. But until then, I’ll continue to ply him with questions like, “Hey Cor, do you need anything? How about some candy? Boys LOVE candy. Do you need books? Deodorant? Pants? Let’s go buy you some pants.” I’m a nice, caring, suffocating big sister.

Cory has to be up bright and early tomorrow to set up his booth at the wedding show here in Fargo. This is an annual event for him, and I always get up make sure he’s awake (this is key) and has pants (also important). And then I later swoop into the wedding show venue to help him set up his booth and bring him breakfast.

Everyone at the wedding show typically works through lunch and no one gets a real break until the show ends in late afternoon. Seeing people miss meals makes me sad. Feeding people muffins makes me happy. So I typically bring muffins both for Cory’s Sub-Zero Productions booth and the crew at Milestones Photography. (Although I've been notified that the Milestones crew won't be in attendance this year, and I'm just supposed to make a home delivery of muffins. I'll get right on that. How's 6 a.m.?)

This recipe was a new invention just this evening. I took a brownie muffin idea from Cuisine at Home and combined it with my basic cream cheese muffin recipe, and the result was a very rich and chocolatey delight with a texture much closer to a brownie than a muffin. Which is exactly what I was hoping for.

Just for the record, not ALL my muffin recipes include cream cheese. One of these days I’ll introduce my poppy seed and oatmeal collections.

Jumbo Brownie Cheesecake Muffins
Makes about 9 muffins

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
10 Tbsp. softened butter, divided
4 eggs, at room temperature, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. semisweet chocolate chips, divided
¾ c. sugar
¼ tsp. table salt
1 c. flour
Additional chocolate chips for sprinkling on top (I used larger milk chocolate Guittard chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using a mixer, combine cream cheese and 4 Tbsp. butter. Add 1 egg and vanilla, and mix until ingredients are combined, but cream cheese is still slightly chunky.

In fact, it should look a lot like egg salad, if that’s what you want to aim for.

3. Lightly stir in ½ c. chocolate chips.

4. In a saucepan, melt 2 c. chocolate chips and 6 Tbsp. butter over low heat. Let cool slightly.

5. In a small bowl, lightly beat remaining 3 eggs.

6. Pour chocolate mixture into a mixing bowl. Whisk in beaten eggs, sugar, and salt.

7. Stir in flour until just combined, and add ½ c. chocolate chips. Add cream cheese mixture, and stir until mixture is lightly swirled. Be gentle.

8. Line a jumbo muffin pan with liners, and add batter. Top with additional chocolate chips. (I also sprinkle mine with white sparkling sugar. I like sparkles.)

9. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove and let cool on cooling racks.

See how yummy they are inside, which all the the melty chocolate chips and the cream cheese pockets?

I need some milk just lookin' at 'em.

Jumbo Chocolate-Toffee-Cream Cheese Muffins

These are my favorite muffins in the whole wide world. Which is kind of like choosing your favorite child, but hey, we’re only human.

I created this recipe after testing several jumbo chocolate chip muffin recipes, but something was missing. I decided it was cream cheese, because I love the combo of cream cheese with semisweet chocolate). I needed something to sprinkle on top, so I tried chocolate-covered toffee bits. And then threw some in the batter for good measure. (It was a very wise decision.)

The hubby dislikes muffins in general, but he devours these. The batter isn’t dry in the least, and it’s chock full of chocolate chips, chocolate-covered toffee, and chunks of cream cheese. These are certainly part of a healthy, complete breakfast. The hubby prefers his warm, so the chocolate chips are melty. I prefer mine cold, so the cream cheese taste is more assertive. To-may-to, to-mah-to, it’s all good.

Jumbo Chocolate-Toffee-Cream Cheese Muffins
Makes 6-9 (I usually get 9)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ c. butter, softened
1 egg at room temperature
½ c. plus 1/3 c. milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1¾ c. flour
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2/3 c. chocolate chips
½ c. Heath or Skor bits, plus more for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Using a mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla. (Leave the mixture a bit chunky so your cream cheese stays chunky in your muffins.)

It’s rather lumpy and unattractive, I know. Kind of how I feel after all that holiday eating.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt.

4. Make a well in the flour mixture and add cream cheese mixture. Stir until just combined. Add chocolate chips and ½ c. chocolate-covered toffee bits.

5. Place liners in jumbo muffins tins. Spoon batter into liners until they’re about ¾ full. Sprinkle tops with additional toffee bits.

6. Bake 20-25 minutes until muffins are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Let muffins cool in pans about 5 minutes before removing. Then let cool on cooling rack.

Jumbo Apple-Walnut Muffins

I make muffins. Everybody has a thing, and making jumbo, decadent muffins is mine.

I started making muffins a few years ago, when my hubby’s sister was getting married. I wanted to make something special for her bridal shower brunch, so I figured I’d experiment with some recipes. So many of them were dry and cakey and shameful. So I started throwing in sour cream. Buttermilk. Cream cheese. And tastier ingredients, like chocolate, and butterscotch, and toffee. Lo and behold, I had me a hobby.

Since then, I’ve developed three basic batters that work well for me – a traditional muffin batter, an oatmeal batter, and a cream cheese batter. And when I get an idea for some fillings, I try to work them into one of those batters.

A few tips for making muffins:

• Bring your eggs, milk, and other refrigerated ingredients to room temperature before using.
• Don’t overmix your batter. The more you mix, the flatter your muffins will be.
• Taste your batter as you go along. If it doesn’t taste good, your muffins won’t, either.
• Fill any extra muffin cups with water to help ensure even baking if your muffin pan is only partially full.
• Only make jumbo muffins. Those normal-sized ones are just pathetic. (You had to hear this. I say it because I care.)

As I was baking an apple pie earlier this fall, I got an idea to make some apple muffins. With something crunchy, like walnuts. And cream cheese. That was flavored with shredded apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg. And this recipe was born. (Next time I might add some caramel.)

Jumbo Apple-Walnut Muffins
Makes 6-9

1¾ c. flour
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. grated whole nutmeg
1½ apples (about 1½ c.), peeled and chopped
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ c. butter, softened
½ apple, grated
2/3 c. milk
½ tsp. vanilla
Dash of cinnamon and grated whole nutmeg
½ c. toasted walnuts, chopped

Streusel topping
3 Tbsp. flour
¼ c. sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1/8 c. toasted walnuts, chopped
2 Tbsp. butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fold in apple pieces.

2. Using a mixer, combine cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add grated apple, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix until combined, but cream cheese is still chunky.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add cream cheese mixture. Add walnuts. Stir until just combined.

4. Put liners in about 8 jumbo muffin cups. Fill muffin cups ¾ full, and fill empty muffin cups with water.

5. Combine streusel ingredients in a small bowl using a pastry blender. Top muffins with streusel topping.

6. Bake about 25 minutes, or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on rack.