Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

Anything with cinnamon and sugar is my kryptonite. Well, one of them at least... 

Hungry yet?

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk

For the coating:

• 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. Combine oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While muffins are baking, melt butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
5. Shake muffins out of the muffin tin while the muffins are still hot.
6. Dunk the tops of the muffins in the melted butter and then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.

Scookies

So I made THESE the other day, but with a few changes of my own.

- I added about a extra 1/2 cup oats and 1/2 cup flour  = made them more cake-y, and more like scones. Hence the name "scookies" (coined by my beloved fiance, whom these were for in the first place).
- I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon of pure almond extract. Heavenly.
- Didn't use nuts cause I didn't have any...
- Used 1/2 the suggested amount of sugars, and added 1/3 cup pure maple syrup. Two full cups of sugar is just way too much sweetness in my opinion.
- And using margarine for cookies is like using milk for motor oil. Don't do it. Ever.

Aaand like usual I forgot to take pictures, so you're going to just have to take my word for it.

Enjoy!

Original Recipe:

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked regular oats
• 2 cups (12 ounces) white chocolate morsels
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preparation

• Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
• Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in oats, morsels, and pecans. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Apple Pie (ie FALL IS HERE)

Today has a high of 61 degrees. This is definitely a reason to celebrate, so I did what any good American would do. I baked an apple pie.

I haven't baked in a while (getting engaged and starting to plan a wedding definitely takes up any extra time one might have [I'm definitely not complaining though!]), so I thought a pie would be a perfect celebration of baking and of this upcoming Fall season.

I used the concepts explained HERE; I figured if the Pioneer Woman uses external tutorials, who am I to plead independence and try to do it on my own? So yes. Go there and read what she has to say; she's got great tips and pointers about pie-making, and several good concepts that can apply to every pie you will ever make again.

Some notes on my particular pie:
- I used granny smith apples since they give a nice tart flavor, and I don't like things too sweet.
- I mixed the cut apples with a fistful of sugar, a couple dashes of cinnamon, pinch of cloves, two dashes of nutmeg, 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and two tablespoons of flour.
- I used all butter in my crust.
- At first, 1/4 cup of water in the dough recipe didn't seem like enough to me. I had to squish it all together and knead it with my hands for about a minute before it stuck together. THEN, when I rolled it out, the dough turned out really sticky for me; so I added a couple tablespoons of flour on the parchment paper then. Like she says in her post, I don't recommend using too much in the rolling out process; but mine so wet it was falling apart. So don't feel tempted to add more water in the beginning... it'll all come together eventually.
- I just realized that these pictures shows the ugliest part of my crust. Lame. I promise it's better looking on the other side...
- Don't forget to put a cookie sheet or tray under your pie when you bake it if you don't want to be cleaning the bottom of your oven the next day!