Milk Chocolate Chunk Muffins
I love to bake and should have an organized system of recipes to make. I've tried Pinterest, Google Bookmarks, calendars, "starring" things in Google Reader, printing out recipes and putting them "in a special place" (read: perhaps in a box or folder on my desk that quickly gets covered up...) to try to get organized. I would like to have a calendar, shopping list and plan of action so I can prep the ingredients the night before. Right now, I roll out of bed and flip through some cookbooks or scraps of paper. This morning, I found milk chocolate chunk muffins from an old favorite, Donna Hay's Simple Essentials Chocolate cookbook and went into the kitchen for an early morning baking adventure.
Anyone have a good system of organization? If so, let me know! :)
Recipe:
Milk Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Adapted from Simple Essentials Chocolate by Donna Hay (on Amazon and in Libraries)
2 cups (300 g/10 1/2 oz) self-rising flour, sifted (I didn't have self-rising flour - not a common item for sale in Los Angeles - so I used 284 grams all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and a dash of salt)
1/2 (40 g / 1 1/2 oz) cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder (see note above)
1 cup (220 g/7 3/4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar (I did have superfine sugar from C&H)
2 eggs (room temp)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (160 ml/5 fl oz) vegetable oil (I ran out of vegetable oil so I used light olive oil)
1/2 cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) milk (I used low-fat milk)
1 cup chopped milk chocolate (I used Trader Joe's block of Milk Chocolate, about 6 ounces)
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with liners or spray with baking spray.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and sugar in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, vanilla, oil and milk.
4. Mix liquid ingredients into the flour mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Fold in the chocolate (reserve some to put on top)
6. Scoop into muffin tins. (Top with a few pieces of chocolate)
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (My muffins took much longer...don't know if it because I made several changes to the recipe, my oven or what.)
8. Makes 12 (I got 14 muffins).
Cidney is so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried a digital recipe programme? I had one on my old computer that was a free download and I loved it. You could simply add the ingredients/measurements/instructions and be done with it. OR you could also link the ingredients to those in the programme's database and it would calculate the nutritional info for you! I loved being able to search for recipes by ingredient, or holiday/event, or cuisine type. *sigh* It was awesome. Sadly, that computer won't turn on anymore, and I can't remember the name of the programme. :-(
Anyway, my point is that things like that are out there! You could also use an online service/site like AllRecipes.com to keep track of your recipes. I haven't input any of my own/found recipes there, but I love being able to search for and save recipes there to make later.
My 'hard copy' recipes are kept in a small box on a shelf in the kitchen, and frequently-made/favorite recipes are clipped to a wire shelf next to the stove. When I know I want to make something soon/the next/that day, I clip that recipe in front for easy access.
Oh-so-choco-choco!!
ReplyDeleteYou should really use pinterest, it's organized like a library!
ReplyDeleteFirst - the muffins look incredible. I might make these and add some peanut butter chips too. YUM
ReplyDeleteSecondly - Cidney is adorable!!
Old fashioned way,print it out or type them up, page protector and binders by type. Works for me and I don't lose little cards or things I tore out of the paper or magazine or off packages if I put them in a page protector. I use a large binder clip to hang them from a cabinet knob when cooking and magnet those I know I'm gonna use tomorrow. All my families favorite recipes go this way so Im not constantly looking up that really good chili recipe again. Hubby insisted. Lovely muffins, gorgeous dog.
ReplyDeleteI am somewhere between old fashioned and newfangled in my ways. I love Pinterest and the like for organization, but nothing so far has beat my Moleskin Recipe Journal. I have no idea how I lived without it for this long! It has *everything* and a section for all foods and drinks. It does the organizing for you, and looks so sleek! Plus, it has these nifty little stickers so that come in handy for note making.
ReplyDeleteI use Evernote to keep track of recipes. I can also take screen shots on my computer or iPad using Skitch and save them to Evernote; or I can take a photo using my cell phone and save to Evernote. Within Evernote you can organize into folders and use tags to find recipes by ingredients/events or whatever works for you. There is an app for it as well so you can take your recipes with you wherever you go.
ReplyDeleteI use Evernote, I tag everything out right away according to ingredients, plus tags like "To Try ASAP", "Yum" (as in already tried & loved), by holidays and several kid related tags for recipes I think will be good for parties or for them to take to school, etc. I used to print all my recipes out but that got to be piles of paper everywhere, this works much, much better!
ReplyDeletethose muffins look wonderful - I've heard so much about Donna Hay but never cooked her food - it's time I did!! Lovely lovely doggie!
ReplyDeleteMary x