Posts by Beth

Bready or Not: Lemon Crumb Mini Muffins (potluck-sized)

Posted by on Jan 24, 2018 in Blog, Bready or Not, breakfast, lemon, muffin | Comments Off on Bready or Not: Lemon Crumb Mini Muffins (potluck-sized)

I found a lemon muffin recipe and thought, hey, I’ll rewrite this to be original and I’ll do mini muffins instead!

Bready or Not: Lemon Crumb Mini Muffins

Um. Yeah. The original recipe made a couple dozen muffins. My version? 113.

Bready or Not: Lemon Crumb Mini Muffins

I swear, I felt like I had created a Bowl of Holding. There was so much batter. So very, very much batter.

Bready or Not: Lemon Crumb Mini Muffins

The good news? My efforts were not in vain. The muffins were delicious. They were lemony and light, like puffs of flavor, the perfect remedy to the doldrums of winter.

Bready or Not: Lemon Crumb Mini Muffins

The recipe itself is pretty straightforward. Grease your mini muffin pans well (make SURE you have two pans to bake at once) and don’t overfill them. A touch of crumb topping makes them prettier and extra yummy.

Bready or Not: Lemon Crumb Mini Muffins

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Bready or Not: Lemon Crumb Mini Muffins (potluck-sized)

If you need to make a lot of delicious lemony mini muffins, this is the recipe for you! This recipe makes about 113 little muffins. The use of two mini muffin pans that fit side-by-side in the oven is essential here, or you'll be baking these muffins until the end of time.
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword: lemon, mini muffin, sour cream
Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

Crumb topping:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, melted

Mini muffins:

  • 4 eggs room temperature
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 large lemon zested and juiced
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 16 ounce sour cream 2 cups
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

  • Preheat oven at 375-degrees. Prepare two mini muffin pans with a heavy dose of nonstick spray.
  • Combine the topping ingredients with a fork. Set aside.
  • In a very large bowl, mix the eggs until they are thick and frothy. Add the sugar and oil, and beat until they become creamy. Add the lemon zest and juice, both extracts, baking soda, and salt.
  • At this point, if you are using an electric mixer, you likely need to switch to a big spoon because of the sheer amounts involved. Add the sour cream and flour, pouring in small increments of each to gradually combine everything. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. The batter might be somewhat lumpy.
  • Use a teaspoon scoop to add batter to each muffin cup. Do NOT fill over 3/4 of each cup--these will grow in the oven! Use a spoon to add crumb topping to the tops.
  • Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, until muffins in the middle pass the toothpick test. Let them cool about 10 minutes, then use something like a chopstick to pry out each muffin to set on a cooling rack.
  • Heavily apply nonstick spray to both pans again, then repeat the process. Using two pans, this will take three batches to bake.
  • Store muffins in airtight containers at room temperature. They can also be frozen for weeks.
  • OM NOM NOM!
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New Story at DSF and a Special Poem at Skiffy and Fanty

Posted by on Jan 22, 2018 in anthology:poem, anthology:story, Blog | Comments Off on New Story at DSF and a Special Poem at Skiffy and Fanty

The year has started of with some pretty cool things. First of all, Daily Science Fiction posted a new post-apocalyptic story of mine. “The Library is Open” is about libraries, and more.

The awesome site and podcast Skiffy and Fanty just debuted a new website, and to celebrate, they invited back many of their past contributors to take part in a month of joy. I wrote up a post that evolved into a poem… a very special, personal poem about my Porom, and loss, and love. Yeah, yeah, leave it to me to take the subject of joy and create something that makes people cry.

Porom with books

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Sunday Quote is Cold

Posted by on Jan 21, 2018 in Blog, Quote | Comments Off on Sunday Quote is Cold

“Books are like mirrors: if a fool looks in, you cannot expect a genius to look out.”
~ J.K. Rowling

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Bready or Not Original: (Gluten Free) Vanilla Pecan Granola

Posted by on Jan 17, 2018 in Blog, Bready or Not, breakfast, gluten-free, healthier | Comments Off on Bready or Not Original: (Gluten Free) Vanilla Pecan Granola

The breakfast theme goes healthy this week with my original recipe for Vanilla Pecan Granola!

Bready or Not Original: (Gluten Free) Vanilla Pecan Granola

If you eat gluten-free, this should be of particular interest. Use GF oats and other contaminant-free ingredients, and this will be a delicious, fiber-full option for you.

Bready or Not Original: (Gluten Free) Vanilla Pecan Granola

This is ridiculously easy to make, too. Combine, bake, stir every so often, then let it air out. Ta-da!

Bready or Not Original: (Gluten Free) Vanilla Pecan Granola

The granola keeps well for weeks, and the flavor is just so fresh. The recipe includes a full tablespoon of vanilla, which is a lot, yeah, but I do love that strong flavor. Some of the store granolas are wimpy in that regard.

Bready or Not Original: (Gluten Free) Vanilla Pecan Granola

Use this as a topping for yogurt or ice cream, or in milk like a cereal, or as a snack to munch out of your palm. However you eat it, it’ll be delicious!

Bready or Not Original: (Gluten Free) Vanilla Pecan Granola

Bready or Not Original: (Gluten Free) Vanilla Pecan Granola

This homemade granola is super-easy to make and tastes strongly of vanilla and cinnamon. These flavors will provide a much-needed pick-me-up atop yogurt, ice cream, or eaten straight out of hand! Use gluten-free oats and other contaminant-free ingredients to make this for the gluten-intolerant.
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Keyword: gluten free, granola, maple
Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats gluten-free or regular
  • 3/4 cup pecans chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven at 300-degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, toss together the oats, pecans, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, and stir well to coat completely.
  • Spread the granola onto the prepared sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, with a pause to stir every 15 minutes. Then let the granola sit out to cool and dry for several hours.
  • Granola will keep for weeks in a sealed container. Can also be frozen for several months.
  • OM NOM NOM!

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Sunday Quote had a Birthday Yesterday

Posted by on Jan 14, 2018 in Blog, Quote | 2 comments

“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.”
~ Jane Smiley, Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel

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