Spicy Mandarin Orange Muffins

The recipe for these muffins is adapted from one in the cookbook, Seasoned with Sunshine.  In 1988, my son babysat their two young children and my daughter-in-law came to work in my office one day a week to make a little extra cash.  We had a one-hour commute each way and she never ate breakfast before she left, so I made these muffins to take along for a quick snack after we arrived.  They are extra-tasty and freeze well.  These also won a ribbon in the 1988 Hamilton County (Cincinnati) Fair.

• Servings: 12
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• 11 oz. can of mandarin oranges
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 tsp. salt
• 1/3 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup Canola oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg

Topping:

• 3 Tblsp.  butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Drain oranges well and spread out on paper towel while mixing batter.

Place flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, allspice and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk together.  Combine oil, milk and egg in a shaker or small bowl and mix well.  Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened.

Dough will be quite stiff at this point.  Add drained oranges and mix lightly.

Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake @ 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Immediately remove muffins from pans.  While hot, dip tops of muffins in melted butter, then in sugar mixed with cinnamon.

Yield:  12 small muffins – just the right size to have with a nice cup of coffee. 

Irish Apple Scone Cake

I first saw this recipe on Joy of Baking last summer and bookmarked it as a nice St. Patrick’s Day breakfast item.  The original recipe is here.  The only changes I made were to use thinly sliced apples and to omit an egg used to brush the top of the cake.  Please note that this is a quick bread, not a cake.  It is best when served warm from the oven.  Leftovers can be reheated in the oven.

APPLE SCONE CAKE

• Servings: Makes one 9-inch cake
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• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Filling:

• 1 lb. Granny Smith apples (about 3-1/2 cups of peeled, thinly sliced apples
• 3 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Topping:

• Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Butter a 9″ pie pan

From the 1/2 cup of milk, remove 1 Tblsp. for brushing cake.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Blend the butter into the flour mixture until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg, the remaining milk and the vanilla.  Add to the flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until the dough comes together.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead gently four or five times and then divide dough in half.  Pat one half of the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.

In a separate bowl, toss together the apple slices, sugar and cinnamon.  Spread the apples evenly over the bottom  of the dough in the pie pan.

Roll the remaining dough into a 9″ circle on a lightly floured surface and gently place the dough over the apples.  Seal the edges of the top and bottom crusts with your fingers.

Brush the top of the dough with the reserved 1 Tblsp. of milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Cut a slit in the center of the dough to allow the steam to escape.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes until pastry is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Place the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack to cool slightly.  Serve warm – clotted cream would be nice with this. 

When my daughter and I were in Ireland in 1995, we visited a Folk Farm where two ladies were demonstrating making a huge apple dish and now I wonder if it might have been a large version of the Apple Scone Cake.

Cranberry Cream Scones for Two

These buttery rich scones are from a Crabtree and Evelyn cookbook, first tried in 1991.  I was looking for a scone to enter in a contest at the Cincinnati Irish Feish and these sounded good, made with currants rather than cranberries.  The contest was judged by people from Ireland and I was thrilled to win a first place medal.

My daughter and I enjoy these for weekend breakfast as a special high calorie treat.

CRANBERRY CREAM SCONES

• Servings: 4
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• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 3 Tblsp. butter
• 3 Tblsp. dried cranberries
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 395 degrees F

In a medium  bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.   Cut in the butter and stir in the cranberries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and whipping cream.  Pour onto flour mixture and mix with a fork until dough forms a ball.  Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead lightly just enough to get the dough to form a 4-1/2″ flat circle.  Cut the circle into four wedges.

Place in ungreased pan and bake @ 395 degrees F for approximately 12 minutes.

Serve warm with butter and jam.  Makes 4 delicious scones. 

A Taste of Autumn – Cranberry Pecan Scones

Now that fresh cranberries are back in the markets, it’s time to make one of my family’s favorite breakfast quick breads.  Cranberry Pecan Scones are crisp, full of good tart cranberries and crunchy pecans.  They are not difficult to make but the preparation takes about 20 minutes plus 30 minutes baking time, so start an hour ahead of serving and have these delicious scones warm from the oven.

CRANBERRY PECAN SCONES

• Servings: 6
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• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine (1/2 stick)
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Cut in the butter/margarine.   Stir in cranberries and pecans.

In separate small bowl, mix the orange juice and beaten egg.  Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing until just moistened.

Dough will be quite sticky.  Use hands dampened with water to form dough into 6-1/2″ circle on buttered cookie sheet.  Cut into 6 wedges but do not separate the wedges.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes. 

Best when served warm from the oven.  Can be frozen and reheated.