Category: Uncategorized

Chewy Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies (or Chocolate Chip)

Butterscotch and Chocolate Chip Cookies - trustinkim

Recently I had a request to bake some chewy butterscotch oatmeal cookies, a favourite of his from childhood. Now . . . I don’t actually like butterscotch chips . . . so I made a few cookies with chocolate chips instead (smart, huh?). They were all really delicious (to different people, depending on their feelings about butterscotch chips), and my apartment smelled amazing for a few days, thanks to those butterscotch chips.

Since I have this thing against butterscotch chips I figured I should at least get the best ones I could find. Most stores sell the typical (waxy) Hershey’s, Nestles, or store brand (but if you actually like butterscotch chips I’m sure these are just fine), so I had to do quite a search for a store in Vancouver that sold some of a higher quality. I was able to find Guittard butterscotch chips at the Gourmet Warehouse. Pretty much anything you need for baking can be found there – and they do online orders too!

The original recipe is from this website. It was written as a plain oatmeal cookie recipe, so I just added the chips to it and omitted the cinnamon. I made one mistake when I was mixing my dough – I used 1/2 a cup of white sugar instead of 1/4 cup. Normally I try to use less sugar, but these were perfect this way, so I won’t mess around with the sugar amount in this version of the recipe.

What you need:

  • 1/2 cup butter, almost melted
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons molasses
  • 1 & 1/2 cup quick rolled oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • a pinch of ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup butterscotch or chocolate chips
What you do:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Heat the butter until it is almost all melted, then pour it into a large bowl with the sugars.  Beat for 2-3 minutes, until it is nice and fluffy.
  3. Add the egg, vanilla and molasses and mix just until combined.
  4. Add the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, again mixing until  just combined. Mix in the chips, if you are using them.
  5. Scoop the dough using a medium cookie scoop (1 & 1/2 tablespoons) and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving some room for them to spread.
  6. Bake for about 9 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned, making a cookie that is still doughy in the middle.
  7. Leave on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
  8. Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. But . . . you will want to taste one while they are still warm . . .

 

cookie monster - trustinkim

This cookie monster stole a cookie

Green Thai Curry Chicken with Eggplant, Red Peppers and Cauliflower

green thai cury chicken - trustinkim

Your home will smell amazing while you are making this.
 
This is a recipe for Thai-style chicken that is cooked in a beautifully aromatic coconut curry, along with roasted vegetables. To the eggplant and red pepper I added cauliflower for my version, because I like to jam as many veggies in as possible. Feel free to substitute your favourite vegetables for any of these. I served this on jasmine rice.
 
This recipe was found in the cookbook Whitewater Cooks with Passion by Shelly Adams.
 
 

If you have trouble finding lemongrass that isn’t dried out or woody, here’s a product that you might be interested in. It’s lemongrass in a tube, made by Gourmet Garden. So until I can extend our summer growing season in Vancouver and grow it in my garden, I’ll be using this product. I plan to freeze portions of it so that it extends its shelf life.

What you need:

  • 1/2 cup green curry paste (but I used yellow)
  • 400 ml can of coconut milk (not light)
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 6 kaffir lime leaves (or the zest of a lime, which I used)
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, cut in thirds and bruised (or 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste)
  • 8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 long Japanese eggplant, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 head cauliflower, broken into florets
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup thinly sliced mini cucumbers
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro
  • juice of 1 lime

What you do:

  1. Combine the curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, lime leaves and lemongrass in ovenproof baking dish.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Rub the chicken on all sides with salt, then place it in the  sauce in the baking dish with the skin facing up. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 1 hour.
  3. Prepare rice if you are using it.
  4. Remove the lid from the chicken dish and bake for 30 minutes, until the chicken skin is browned and crispy.
  5. Meanwhile, on a baking pan, toss the eggplant, cauliflower and red peppers with olive oil. Roast in the oven for the last 30 minutes with the chicken.
  6. Arrange the roasted vegetables around the chicken on a serving dish. Garnish with the cucumbers and cilantro. Squeeze lime juice over the dish and serve.

Chicken and Black Bean Chowder

black bean and chicken chowder - trustinkim

Soups, stews and chowders are the perfect winter food, although I love them all year round. Here’s an easy chowder recipe that I’ve been using as a main dish. It’s hearty enough to leave you satisfied on its own, but you could always add a slice of bread, or the tortillas that the recipe mentions.

I found the recipe on the Jamie Oliver website. The only changes I made were to use canned corn, to rinse the black beans before adding them, and serving with a dollop of yogurt. A number of people commented on the Jamie Oliver website that their soup was grey, so I think rinsing the beans first helped to avoid that.

This made quite a large batch, which was excellent for leftover lunches for several days.

What you need:

  • 1/2 bunch cilantro stems
  • olive oil
  • 2 small onions, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 sticks of celery, sliced
  • 250 g cooked chicken breast
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 400 g tin of black beans, rinsed
  • 750 ml organic chicken stock  (or water and chicken bouillon)
  • 1 fresh corn on the cob or 1 can Peaches and Cream corn
  • 1 bay leaf

For serving:

  • cilantro greens
  • Plain yogurt (optional)
  • 2 corn tortillas (optional)
  • 1 lemon

What you do:

  1. If you need to cook the chicken breast, flatten it a bit first by pounding it with a mallet, rolling pin or heavy frying pan. This will help it to cook uniformly, and you won’t have dried out or raw bits. Add a little olive oil to a frying pan, then add the salted chicken breast, sprinkling on a little chili powder if you want. Let it cook a few minutes per side until cooked through. Set aside to cool.
  2. Pick the cilantro leaves and set aside for garnishing. Finely slice the stalks. Peel and  chop the onion and garlic, slice the celery finely.
  3. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a large saucepan and place it over a medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery and cilantro stalks, then sauté for about 10 minutes. The vegetables should soften but not brown.
  4. Add the cumin and cayenne to the pan and fry for about a minute. Add the black beans, chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut or shred the chicken breast and add it to the pot. Cut the corn kernels from the cob or use the corn from the can along with its liquid, and stir into the chowder. Allow to simmer for about 5 more minutes.
  5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the lemon juice. Serve with optional tortillas and a dollop of yogurt, and sprinkle with the cilantro leaves.

Tapenade Tarte Soleil and Feta Dip

 

feta tapenade tarte soleil - trustinkim

This really is a stunning and delicious puff pastry appetizer with a feta-cream cheese spread. The photos on Smitten Kitchen look so much better than mine – but I feel like I’m giving you a more realistic version of this recipe, because we can’t all make things look quite so perfect. I love the olive tapenade filling, and the feta spread is amazing. I was able to put it all together, to high praise from the devourers . . . but I’m not going to lie to you . . . it was a little tricky, and doesn’t quite look like the supermodel version I thought I’d be presenting.

It still looks pretty, and tastes amazing, but it was hard to make the rays look as uniform as the original. The biggest problem was that I baked it for double the time the recipe specified, and it was still not flakey in the middle . . . and yet the people loved it.

The only planning ahead you need to do is to thaw the puff pastry overnight in the fridge, or four hours minimum.

feta tapenade tarte soleil - trustinkim

What you need for the tarte soleil:

  • 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
  • 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
  • 1 large garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil or oil from tomatoes, plus more if needed
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 packages puffed pastry (I used La Baguette & l’Echalot)
  • 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water (for egg wash)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame or poppy seeds to sprinkle (optional)

What you need for the dip:

  • 170 grams/ 6 ounces feta, crumbled
  • 55 grams, 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • salt to taste, or none if your feta is very salty
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

What you do:

  1. To make the filling, combine the sun dried tomatoes, olives, oregano, garlic, olive oil and pepper in a food processor. Blend until finely chopped. Thin it with some olive oil if it doesn’t seem spreadable.
  2. Heat the oven to 350F.
  3. Roll the first package of puff pastry out on a large piece of parchment paper until it is about 30cm/12 inches in diameter. Use a 30cm round bowl or plate as a guide to cut the pastry into a circle. Put this pastry in the fridge, then repeat the process with the other pastry.
  4. Place the first pastry, still on its parchment paper, on a baking sheet. Spread the filling over the pastry, leaving about 2cm around the edge uncovered. Dab the edges with water and then place the other pastry on top.
  5. Place a small glass into the centre of the pastry as a guide, so you do not cut all the way into the middle. Cut the pastry into quarters from the edge of the glass out to the edges, at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock marks. Cut each quarter in half, then each in half again, until you have 32 strips. If the dough becomes difficult to work with you can put it in the freezer to get firmer (or if your freezer is too small, you can just do your best with it, like I did.)
  6. Remove the glass and begin the twisting; place a finger near the centre circle so that the strip doesn’t break off, and twist each strip a few times.
  7. Beat the egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water and brush it over the pastry. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  8. Bake for 30-35 minutes (or much longer in my case) until the pastry is golden brown.
  9. While the pastry is in the oven, make the feta dip. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until they are smooth.
  10. Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. To serve, place it on a serving tray and tear off the rays and dip them in feta or spread it on to eat.

 

slicing tarte soleil - trustinkim

twisting tarte soleil -trustinkim

Salted Black Liquorice Caramel

salted black liquorice caramels - trustinkim

Liquorice/licorice – love it or hate it? That often seems to be the way with liquorice. I happen to adore it, so for me these caramels are the perfect treat. The sweetness is balanced out by the fleur de sel sprinkled on top, and I like the like the way the flavours of the molasses and anise combine for an awesome liquorice taste.

These are not too hard to make, mainly stirring a bubbling pot on the stove. I did spend a bit too much money on some organic anise extract to make these, but now that I have it I can make them again!

It helps to have a candy thermometer to make these caramels, but the Cold Water Test works too. You drop the candy into cold water and test to see if it’s at the right stage based on the hardness of the candy once it cools. For this recipe you need to get to the hard ball stage. Here’s more information about the Cold Water Test if you don’t have a candy thermometer. I’ve used it successfully in the past, but found using the candy thermometer makes things one step easier. I bought a digital thermometer because it’s easier to read, and therefore to get the pot off the stove at the right time.

I got this recipe from the Bon Appétit Magazine, The Holiday Issue 2016.

You can keep these for a week or so in a sealed container at room temperature, or longer in the fridge.

Um, and I made two mistakes – too much molasses, and no water – but guess what – they were still awesome!

What you need:

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon anise extract (not imitation)
  • 10 drops black food colouring (optional – I didn’t use it)
  • fleur de sel for sprinkling

What you do:

  1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so that the edges stick out over the top of the pan. Lightly coat the parchment with non-stick spray.
  2. Cook the sugar, condensed milk, molasses, butter, salt, and 3 tablespoons of water in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir with a silicone spatula until the mixture is melted and smooth. Bring to a boil and keep stirring until the thermometer reads 246F.
  3. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the anise extract, as well as the food colouring if you are using it.
  4.  Pour the caramel into the parchment paper-lined pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Let it sit for about 2 hours to cool.
  5. Pulling up on the parchment paper, remove the caramel from the pan and cut into pieces. You can wrap them individually in wax or parchment paper if you wish. Otherwise, store them in a container lined with parchment paper so they do not stick.

  6. Enjoy!

    salted black liquorice caramel - trustinkim

Sour Cream Cutout Cookies

sour cream cutout cookies - trustinkim

At first I wasn’t going to post this recipe because it gave me such trouble, so all I have is this iphone photo. After I tasted a cookie, however, I decided I needed to share. These are tasty and softer than many others cookies of this type.

The recipe comes from Fine Cooking Magazine from Dec 2016, and it makes a huge batch, about 5 dozen cookies depending on how big you make them.

So the problems . . . at first I didn’t read that I had to make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate, so I had to bake them a day later than I wanted to. Then I made the dough, let it rest in the fridge, and started rolling them out . . . and they were too soft to get off the counter! Argh! So back in the fridge with the dough, and I rolled them out right onto the parchment paper, cut the shapes, and got rid of the excess dough. This method worked better. Eventually I found that I could roll them out on the counter if I used more flour than I thought I would need.

Oh yeah, then the first batch I put in the oven got too brown in some places – so watch for that, and don’t roll them as thinly if that happens to you.

And the recipe says to refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes before baking, but I only did this once before realizing it would take the rest of my life to bake all these cookies if I had to wait half an hour for each little pan (I have a small oven, and a small fridge, so it really could have taken forever.)

Oh, and I wasn’t very patient with the decorating . . .

But the successes outweigh the problems, believe it or not! I now have lots of delicious, pretty cookies that I’m happy to share.

What you need:

  • 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, and more for rolling out
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • icing (I used half of this recipe)
  • sprinkles for decoration (optional)

What you do:

  1. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes; it should become light and fluffy.
  3. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
  4. Alternately add one third of the dry ingredients then one third of the sour cream until it is all mixed in. The dough will be quite sticky; make sure you don’t over mix it.
  5. Divide the dough into three pieces, forming a disc, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 8-24 hours (I actually kept one of mine for a few days). You could freeze the dough for up to a month, and let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
  6. Preheat the oven to 400F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  7. Work quickly with the dough so it stays cold – if it gets too soft put it in the fridge again. Heavily flour the rolling surface with flour. Roll half of one ball of dough (putting the other half in the fridge) to a thickness of about half a centimetre. Dip the cookie cutter in flour and cut out your shapes, then transfer the cookies to the baking sheet, giving them some space to spread as they bake.
  8. If you can, refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes. Otherwise, just bake them for 6-8 minutes, two pans at a time, flipping the pans around half way through.
  9. Place the baked cookies on cooling racks, and allow to cool completely before icing and decorating.

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies

salted caramel dark chocolate cookies - trustinkim

Delicious, not photographic.

That’s the subtitle to this recipe.

This year I thought I’d pull out all the stops for the holidays – make fudge, stollen, licorice caramels, and four kinds of cookies, one of which would be hand decorated with icing and sprinkles. But then I experienced fail after baking fail. Still edible, but a little embarrassing to give away – they are supposed to look pretty!

But these chocolate caramel cookies . . . they are awesome, and pretty much a success!

No, the photo doesn’t show them oozing caramel – because they just wouldn’t ooze when i broke them open and needed them to ooze. But they are decadent –  a dark chocolate cookie, dark chocolate chips, soft caramel inside, a little fleur de sel on top.

This recipe was created by Sally who has created an amazing blog called Sally’s Baking Addiction. She has so many awesome recipes that I wish I had the time to try out. I hope you will have time to explore them. The only change I made to the recipe was to use fleur de sel rather than coarse sea salt, because I prefer the finer grain on baked goods.

You do need to plan ahead for this one – part of my problem with all these holiday recipes, for me, has been not planning ahead for doughs that need to be refrigerated – like this one. So you can make the dough a few hours ahead, or the night before and store in the fridge.

The beautiful plate in the photo is handmade by my talented friend, Gary Leung. I guess he’s gonna need some of these cookies . . .

What you need:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 & 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli bittersweet, 60% cacao)
  • 3 packages of Rolos
  • fleur de sel for sprinkling

What you do:

  1. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a bowl.
  2. Cream the butter for half a minute, then add the sugars and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, scraping the batter down the sides of the bowl.
  3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
  4.  Stir in the milk to make a sticky dough, then fold in the chocolate chips.
  5. Chill for at least 2 hours. I let mine sit overnight in the fridge.
  6. Take the Rolos out of their packaging. Preheat the oven the 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  7. Scoop two pieces of dough, about a tablespoon each, and flatten them a little. Then form them around one Rolo, pushing the edges together so the caramels are sealed inside. Place on the baking sheet far enough apart so they won’t melt into each other when they spread-and they spread a fair bit.
  8. Before popping in the oven, sprinkle each cookie with a little fleur de sel. Bake for 11-13 minutes. The cookies will seem very soft; allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
  9. When completely cooled, store in an airtight container for a few days. I did not experiment with freezing these, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. I did keep a portion of the dough in the fridge to make a few days after I baked the first day, which I thought was a pretty good idea!

Avocado and Pinto Bean Enchilada

avocado and pinto bean enchiladas - trustinkim

This is a really satisfying vegetarian enchilada. The beans are loaded with flavour, and the avocado adds a lovely creaminess. Making this the first time was a bit of an experiment, as I was testing out what it would be like to bake the enchiladas with the avocado stuffed inside them – and it’s awesome!

The beans need to be soaked a day in advance, and then they take over an hour to cook. I made the beans and sauce ahead of time, so it was really quick to just roll the enchiladas, bake, and eat. It’s a bit of an involved recipe, but it makes a lot of delicious food that is excellent as leftovers.

The recipe for the sauce is from the Thug Kitchen cookbook, and the filling is my own creation. I prefer to make the beans myself instead of using canned ones; when you cook them yourself you can add all those great flavours. Plus it’s really cheap.

What you need for the beans:

  • 1 cup dry pinto beans
  • about 4 cups vegetable stock, or water and a bouillon cube
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 3 dry Morita chilis
  • 1 stalk celery, whole
  • 1 carrot, whole
  • 1 bunch cilantro stems, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste

What you need for the Enchilada Sauce:

  • 2 & 1/4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 2 & 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice

The other ingredients:

  • 5-6 flour or corn tortillas
  • 2 avocados
  • the greens from the cilantro, chopped
  • lime juice
  • 1-2 cups grated aged cheddar
  • salsa or hot sauce to serve
  • yogurt or sour cream to serve

What you do:

  1. Begin by soaking the beans the night before you want to cook them.
  2. Drain the beans and add the broth, or the water and bouillon. Add the onion, Morita chilis, celery, carrot, cilantro stems, garlic, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until the beans are soft. Add a little boiling water if they start looking too dry.
  3. At this point I cook off any excess liquid by raising the heat and stirring. Keeping all that concentrated liquid retains its flavour, making the beans irresistible.
  4. Discard the vegetable pieces and bay leaves.
  5. The enchilada sauce can also be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Put all the ingredients for the sauce except the lime juice into a medium saucepan. Whisk the tomato paste and let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes until it has thickened up a bit. Add the lime juice and take the sauce off the heat. Let the sauce cool before making the enchiladas.
  6. Preheat the oven to 375F. To make the enchiladas, begin by spreading some of the sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. Mix the beans with the chopped avocado, chopped cilantro, and some lime juice. Dip a tortilla in the tomato sauce so that there is some on both sides. Spread the bean mixture in down the centre of the tortilla and top it with some grated cheese. Roll it up and place it in the pan seam-side down. Do the same with the rest of the filling.
  7. Add any remaining sauce to the top of the enchiladas, and then sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 5 minutes more. Let the enchiladas sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

avocado and pinto bean enchilada - trustinkim

Homemade Croutons

homemade croutons - trustinkim

A photo cannot portray how addictive these croutons are. So here’s what happens  –  I make a batch, and most of them get snacked on before they even make it as far as a salad topping. Inevitably I save a few for a salad, and every time it is the Best Salad Ever because these things are just so delicious.

I think the best part is the hint of lemon in them. They’ve also got a little garlic (I use a clove of garlic instead of the powder that the recipe calls for), some thyme and paprika.

The recipe comes from Thug Kitchen. I use a lower baking temperature than the 400 degrees that the cookbook calls for, because I find they get a bit too blackened at the high temperature. I also add a little more lemon juice. Today I made them and (gasp!) I was out of olive oil, so I substituted butter – big thumbs up on that one!

My favourite salad to serve these on at the moment is a caesar salad with a lighter dressing made with yogurt.

You can keep these for a while in an airtight container.

What you need:

  • 1/2 loaf day-old bread (about 5 cups of cubes) (I like Olivier’s French Whole Wheat)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 & 1/2 tablespoons or more of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

What you do:

  1. Heat the oven to 300F.
  2. Cut the bread into cubes.
  3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix it up.
  4. Add the bread and toss it right away so all the pieces of bread get coated.
  5. Pour the bread onto a baking pan and shake it out so it is distributed around the pan evenly in one layer.
  6. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring a few times throughout the baking so it doesn’t burn.
  7. Enjoy!

 

Apple Carrot Bran Muffin

carrot apple bran muffin -trustinkim

Healthy, delicious and moist is the way I’ll describe these. An excellent item to have in the freezer for snacks or quick breakfasts. A great source of fibre, not too much fat or sugar, and I added nuts to up the protein. Did I mention really really yummy? I’ve already made them a half dozen times and given many away.
I found the recipe on the All-Bran website; I bought a box of Bran Buds and realized I was never going to eat it (ew!), so I searched for recipes to use it up. Now I’m purposely going out and buying it so that I can make these muffins. I could probably just make bran muffins, but I’m so addicted to these that I don’t want to risk a change.
I only made a few changes in this recipe; I added nuts, and I soak the raisins in milk. I find the raisins burn too easily on the top of the muffin if they aren’t soaked first.
What you need:
  • 1 & 1/2 cups All-bran Buds cereal
  • 1 & 1/4 cups buttermilk (or add a tablespoon of vinegar to regular milk to make your own)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 cup carrot, grated
  • 1 cup apple, unpeeled and grated
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 – 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
  • 1 & 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

What you do:

  1. Soak the Bran Buds and raisins in milk for 5 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a dozen muffin tins with paper liners.
  3. Add the egg, oil and vanilla to the Bran Buds and stir it in. Add the grated carrots and apples and stir them in too. At the last minute stir in the nuts.
  4. Using a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir the cereal mixture into the dry ingredients only until it is combined.
  5. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins; it makes quite large muffins.
  6. Bake immediately for 20-25 minutes. At 20 minutes insert a toothpick into the muffin; if it comes out clean, the muffin is done. If not bake for a few more minutes and test again.
  7. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then allow to cool on a rack. You can eat them before they are cooled, but allow them to cool completely before freezing.