Quick Breads-Muffins-Scones

There is nothing like a warm muffin right out of the oven. Seriously. It’s almost too hot to handle but I do it anyway – and I hope I’m not the only one. As soon as it isn’t lava flow hot, I grab one off the cooling rack and take a big bite.

If I happen to have the will power to let these muffins cool a bit, I usually cut them in half and add a small bit of butter. Butter melting on a hot muffin is mesmerizing. It slowly creeps into all those delicious nooks and crannies; pooling and moistening the muffin. If you’re feeling adventurous – which you should be with muffins, of course – spread on some whipped cream cheese… oh my heaven, it’s gloriously good.

Now that I hopefully have you salivating, this recipe should definitely be the next one you make. I can’t tell you where it came from or who gave it to who, but my family has been making this for years and I absolutely love it.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
adapted from a Love and Confection family recipe
yield 14 muffins
Click here for the printable version!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffin Ingredients:
 – 2 large Eggs
 – 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
 – 1 cup Granulated Sugar
 – 1 & 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
 – 1/2 teaspoon Salt
 – 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
 – 1 & 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
 – 1 tablespoon ground Cinnamon
 – 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
 – 1 cup Zucchini, grated and drained
 – 3/4 cups Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffin Directions:
1. Heat oven to 325°F and line muffin tins with baking cups.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the Eggs for 1 minute.
3. Add in the Vegetable Oil and Granulated Sugar. Beat until well combined.
4. Add in Flour, Salt, Baking Soda, Baking Powder and Cinnamon. Beat on low until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to insure everything is mixed together well.
5. Add in the Vanilla Extract and grated Zucchini. Mix briefly, just to combine. By hand, stir in the Chocolate Chips.
6. With a 1/4 cup scoop, evenly distribute the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown, the top springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
7. Cool on a wire rack. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or once room temperature, frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!

 I never used to like zucchinis. I’m not sure why, but the green vegetable and I did not get along. A few years back, I was feeling adventurous and tried a piece of my Mom’s Zucchini Bread. Where have you been all my life? Right under my nose, of course!

Also, I just added a feature to Love and Confections with a link to the printable recipe – yay! Enjoy!

Do you have one of those recipes that instantly makes you think of someone in particular? This pound cake is that recipe for me. I have loved it since the first time Aunt B made it for me. I always look forward to when she offers to bring dessert, because I hope it is this pound cake.

It is a moist, sweet and dense pound cake – perfect with a scoop of ice cream, fresh berries, or by itself. This is a very large recipe, making three loaves. These cakes freeze well, so just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, label and you have an instant dessert right out of the freezer.

Aunt B’s Pound Cake
a Love and Confection Family recipe

Pound Cake Ingredients:
 – 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, room temperature
 – 3 cups Granulated Sugar
 – 7 Eggs, room temperature
 – 1 cup Sour Cream
 – 3 cups All Purpose Flour
 – 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
 – 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
 – 1 teaspoon Salt

Pound Cake Directions:
 – Heat oven to 300F. Grease and flour 3 loaf pans.
 – In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the Butter and Sugar together for 10 minutes, until light and fluffy.
 – While on a low speed, add in the Eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides as needed.
 – Add in the Sour Cream and mix to combine.
 – Sift together the Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder and Salt. Add into the egg mixture gradually.
 – Divide mix evenly between 3 loaf pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!

 I don’t know about you, but I L-O-V-E carrot cake. There is something about eating it that just feels right. I love it as a celebration cake – sheet cake, layer cake, loaf, muffins. I can’t think of a way that I don’t like carrot cake – especially when it is topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting.

Sometimes I put nuts in my carrot cake. I usually use walnuts, but decided to make a nut-free recipe today. These muffins are great warm, right out of the oven with some butter. I sometimes cut mine in half, put it in the toaster oven, then top it with some whipped cream cheese!

Carrot Cake Muffins
adapted from a culinary school recipe

Carrot Cake Muffin Ingredients:
 – 15 ounces All Purpose flour
 – 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
 – 2.5 teaspoons Baking Soda
 – 2 teaspoons Salt
 – 1 tablespoon ground Cinnamon
 – 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, room temperature
 – 8 ounces Granulated Sugar
 – 8 ounces Brown Sugar
 – 4 large Eggs
 – 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
 – 1 pound Carrots, peeled and grated
 – 5 ounces chopped Walnuts (optional)

Carrot Cake Muffin Directions:
 – Heat oven to 325F. Line cupcake tins with wrappers or coat using baking spray.
 – Sift together Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt and Cinnamon and set aside. If using walnuts, add them into the flour mixture now, so they get coated and won’t sink to the bottom of the batter once mixed in.
 – Cream Butter, Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer.
 – Add Eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition
 – Add Carrots and mix until incorporated.
 – Slowly add the flour mixture into the batter and mix well.
 – Portion into baking cups using a scoop to have uniform muffins.
 – Bake for 25-30 minutes or until done when a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.

Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!

Disclaimer: I received some packages of carrots from Gimmway Farms for #Brunchweek. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

A lot of people associate strawberry shortcake as angel food cake topped with strawberries, but if you are from the south you know different. This is a true strawberry shortcake. The biscuit is buttery and crumbly and best eaten as soon as it cools off. If you want to give yourself a workout – like I did – hand whip your heavy cream – it’s a lot quieter than turning on the stand mixer, especially when Baby Grace is taking a nap.

I was actually out of milk, so I substituted heavy cream. Next time I will probably try the milk, just to see how it turns out. I recommend a disher or ice cream scoop, so they are uniform in size – I got 8 from this recipe at about 2.75 ounces per shortcake.

Strawberry Shortcake
adapted from Bisquick

Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients:
 – 1 pint Strawberries, hulled and diced
 – 2 & 1/3 cups Bisquick mix
 – 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
 – 3 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
 – 3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
 – 1/2 cup Heavy Cream, kept well chilled
 – 2 teaspoons Powdered Sugar

Strawberry Shortcake Directions:
 – Heat oven to 425F. Prepare strawberries and set aside.
 – In a medium bowl, combine the Bisquick mix, Heavy Cream, Sugar and Butter until it is combined and a soft, sticky dough is formed.
 – Using an ice cream scoop or disher, drop dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down slightly so it flattens a bit.
 – Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown, depending on your oven. Let the shortcakes cool while you prepare the whipped cream.
 – Either by hand or using a stand mixer, whip the Heavy Cream and Powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
 – Slice the shortcakes, fill with whipped cream and strawberries. Enjoy!

Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!

This isn’t an average banana bread. This banana bread contains the most delicious filling possible – Nutella!

Nutella® (pronounced “new-tell-uh”) is a spread made from roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa. It was created by a pastry maker, Pietro Ferraro, who founded the Ferraro Company in Italy. Nutella has no artificial colors or preservatives, is kosher, and gluten-free (does not contain any ingredients derived from gluten containing cereals: wheat, barley, rye, oats or triticale.) More information can be found at the Nutella website.

The banana bread recipe I used, is from a cookbook that is almost as old as I am. In 1988, my great-aunt, Anne, was the editor-in-chief volunteer for the A Taste of South Florida cookbook, in which the proceeds benefited the American Cancer Society. The forward says it best…

From the golden skyline of the Palm Beaches…the balmy breezes of Broward County… the magic of Miami… the tropical temptations and harvests of fresh produce of the Homestead/South Dade areas… through the dazzling Florida Keys where playful porpoises are on parade… this is the panorama of South Florida. Our cooking heritage has included the most intriguing combinations of traditions and the cosmopolitan. Our South Florida past with the scent of Spanish senoritas in mantillas… a trace of the Caribs… and spice from the Seminoles… make our cooking distinctive and different. The abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and game… the unusual flavor combinations… blending the old and the new… makes our South Florida cooking colorful and exciting.

This cookbook belonged to Booboop. I’m not sure our family has used any other banana bread recipe, since both she and my Mom each received this book, . The cover is fading, the pages are thumbed through and stained. The paper clip she used to bookmark the recipe is still in its place, after all these years. Her handwriting is in the margins, making notations about this recipe.

I was fortunate enough to inherit her copy of the book. The work my great-aunt put toward the cookbook, gathering and creating recipes to help the American Cancer Society, makes it even more special.

adapted from A Taste of South Florida

Nutella Banana Bread Ingredients:
– 1/2 cup Shortening
– 1 & 1/4 cups Brown Sugar
– 2 Eggs
– 2 cups Flour
– 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
– 1/4 cup Buttermilk or Sour Milk*
– 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
– 3 extra ripe Bananas, mashed
– 1/3 cup Nutella

*to make Sour Milk, add 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice to regular milk, stir, and let sit for a few minutes

Nutella Banana Bread Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour (or whichever method you prefer) 1 loaf pan or 4 individual-size loaf pans
2. Sift together Flour, and Baking Soda and set aside
3. Cream Shortening and Brown Sugar.
4. Add Eggs, one at a time, making sure it is fully incorporated before the next one is added. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed properly.
5. Add sifted Flour to the mixture.
6. Add in Sour Milk, Bananas, and the Vanilla Extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed properly.
7. Pour half of the batter into your loaf pan. Spoon the Nutella over the batter. You can leave the Nutella in the center, or with a knife, swirl the Nutella into the batter. My Nutella pretty much sank to the center, so I would recommend swirling it in… live and learn.
8. Pour the remaining batter into the loaf pan.
9. Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean (remembering that you have Nutella in the center)

Enjoy!

Until next time,
LOVE & CONFECTIONS!