Cappuccino Muffins

Ok folks, here's the recipe for the yummy goodness. I'll post the link to the original, then tell you what I did to make it mine.

Via Cappuccino Muffins

This recipe uses Starbucks Via instant coffee. I used Folgers.

Now, I have a recipe for muffins that has baked its way into my heart. I swear by it. It's found in the Joy of Cooking book (A wedding gift from my grandmother that has been well appreciated.)

Here's that recipe. Try it. You'll never use another muffin recipe.

One tweak that I have made (and the book suggests) is using sour cream or yogurt in place of the milk. (If you do that, add another teaspoon of Baking Powder.)

There are several other variations to these muffins, such as lemon poppyseed, but I'll post about those another time.

SO! On to the real reason for this post, making cappuccino muffins!

Since I made mine with vanilla yogurt, I dissolved my coffee in the melted butter. Needed a little extra melting time, but it worked great. And smelled divine. Everything else followed the Joy recipe.

When it comes to chocolate chips, I don't skimp. Toll House all the way. And I discovered that they now have Dark Chocolate chips, which of course I used in this recipe! These chips are just a little bigger than "normal" choc. chips, which makes them all the more yummy.

I haven't tried the coffee frosting from the first recipe yet... Actually, the muffins didn't really last long enough to try it. Maybe next time.

These are on my list of "Try to make it gluten-free" treats. We'll see if they are as good without the gluten-y goodness.

Enjoy!

He likes food too...

Got lunch with my brother today... He was pretty happy about his food.

Or maybe just because it's Friday...

This is a case of Peace Tea. One of two cases that he bought. It's pretty much the greatest thing on earth. $0.99 a can.

And he got pretty excited about his Sams Chicken.

(Why is it called "Sams"? Who is Sam?)

These are what he was most excited about. They are like Junior Mints on steroids.

Cappuccino Muffins

Just a quick post to show you THIS:

This is a cappuccino muffin. It is a hybrid of two recipes. But I don't have them both with me. So you'll just have to wait.

In the meantime, DROOL.

Cheddar Soda Bread

The first recipe I'd like to share came from TastyKitchen.com. I was hungry at work one night and did the WORST thing possible.... I went recipe surfing. It made the rest of the evening almost unbearable.

And last night I was able to try this recipe at last!

Here's the recipe.

Sadly I did not photograph the making of this bread... the boys were starving and Jordan was cooking meatballs while I was mixing this up... not really conducive to photo-taking.

But it is GOOD. Definitely better fresh out of the oven or reheated. We had it with sketti and meatballs, but it would work with so many other meals. Will be making it again tomorrow night to feed to the crowd coming over for dinner.

Hopefully they will like it. If not, more for me!

I'd Rather Be Baking

I like food. I’ll be honest! But even more, I like making food. Cooking, baking, slow-cooking, whatever. Ask any of my friends, when I cook, usually they all benefit. Either people come over to eat, or I deliver to their doors. This has happened several times.

I grew up in a home where Dad cooked to de-stress and Mom baked the yummiest treats. Dad typically doesn’t use a recipe, Mom has tons of tried-and-true recipes. Now that I’m married, my husband loves to cook and comes from a family that cooks. (I think cooking is their love language!)

We like food.

Since I tend to tweet about my cooking and baking, I’ve had several people ask for recipes. Your requests have been heard!

I’m going to TRY to take pictures and write about all my cooking and baking adventures, as well as post the recipes I used. This will combine all my interests: food, photography, and writing! Making for a happy me!

Some things I will be experimenting with over the next few weeks are gluten-free baking and vegan cooking and baking. I’m sure these adventures will be very interesting!

And now, I’m off to battle a cook’s worst enemy…. Dirty dishes.