MONDAY MORNING RECIPE - BLUEBERRY MUFFIN FOR ONE

The original recipe came from food blog OneDishKitchen hosted by Joanie. The original recipe is here. I always recommend paying a visit as there are more things to see (I have added Joanie’s tips below this recipe). It is always interesting to read all the comments but most of all, see other delicious recipes she shares. 

Blueberry Muffin for One

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt 

2 tablespoons salted butter - melted

3 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons milk (any kind of milk can be used whether whole, low-fat or non-dairy like almond or soy)

1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat the over to 400 degrees. F. (200 degrees C).

In a small bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and milk, then whisk until smooth (it was nice not to have to get the electric mixer out).

Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Next, gently fold in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into a buttered 10-ounce ramekin and place it on a baking sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the top is golden and a skewer or tip of a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on a rack.

Enjoy warm with butter.

Joanie's notes:

Check your baking powder: expired baking powder can lead to a dense muffin, so make sure it is fresh.

Don't overmix: stir just until the flour is fully mixed in. A few lumps are fine but overmixing can make the muffin dense.

It was nice not having to use the electric mixer. 

Use a baking sheet: place the ramekin on a small baking sheet to catch any drips. It also makes it easier to remove from the oven.

Watch the bake time: the muffin is done when the top is golden and skewer comes out clean with a few crumbs.

Bake and enjoy while fresh: this muffin tastes best warm and straight from the oven

In case you would rather copy and paste, and if I can remember, I will add the website in full.

https://onedishkitchen.com/blueberry-muffin-recipe-for-one/

What did I think? Because of the cooler temperature today (8-19-25), I took the opportunity to bake this muffin. I have been wanting to try it for some time. It is for one person but there is more than enough to eat half, after cooling, and save the other half til later.

I had to bake it about five to 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for. Our oven runs on the colder side, and even though it was on 400 degrees F., it was cooked inside but pale on the top. I was looking for golden brown. I put the broiler on for two or three minutes, and that did the trick. 

I sprinkled a little on the top to make it look a little prettier. Next time I think I would brush melted butter on the top before putting it in the oven and see if that would help the browning process. Any ideas from any of you out there, and suggestions you may have, would be very welcome.

This is the ramekin dish I used. I coated the inside with just the right amount of melted butter before adding the batter. Once cooked and after loosening the sides all the way around with a small kitchen knife, the muffin slipped right out.

I used almond milk as I had just enough left in the bottom of the container. I was curious as I had never tried it in baking before and had run out of regular milk. I couldn’t tell the difference when I ate the muffin.

That’s about all I can think of but if you have any questions, please put them in the comment section and I'll do my best to answer.

Thanks for looking everyone, 

have a great week and Bon Appétit!

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - BANANA STRAWBERRY CAKE

This recipe was a great cake and we both gave it a ten out of ten.  I have been looking around for a few new recipes to make for company, also desserts. It came from Kitchen Divas hosted by Karen and Ken. You will find the original recipe here.

BANANA STRAWBERRY CAKE 

Servings: 12

Calories: approximately 443 calories per serving

1-1/2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed and ripe

1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 cups flour 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder  

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 butter at room temperature 

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

1-1/2 cups buttermilk 

1/2 to 3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cups buttermilk butter, room temperature 

1 package (8 ozs.) cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners sugar

Decorations:

1/4 to 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped 

6 to 10 large fresh strawberries, sliced or diced

Instructions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Prepare your 9 x 13 inch pan with grease and flour. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine mashed bananas, cinnamon and lemon juice and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on high speed until smooth and creamy, a few minutes. Scrape down the sides of your bowl if necessary.

Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until combined. Add dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk.

Once thoroughly combined gently add in your mashed bananas and strawberries with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. The batter will be thick and lumpy. This is okay.

Pour your batter into your prepared pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for about 5 or 10 minutes before dumping on to a rack to cool completely. 

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth using your mixer.

Gradually add icing sugar and beat on low to medium speed until combined.

Once icing is well blended, spread all over your completely cooled cake. 

Decorate top of iced cake with nuts and strawberries if you would like to.

Kitchen Divas note:

You will need a 13 x 9 inch CAKE pan to make this recipe. An old, regular 13 x 9 inch pan will not be deep enough. Newer 13 x 9 inch pans are all made to be at least 2-1/4 inches deep. Make sure yours is before you start, to prevent the possibility of your cake overflowing over the sides of your pan.

Freezes beautifully but don’t add the strawberry decoration until completely thawed. Add them right before serving.

This was a 10 out of 10 and we both thought it was delicious.

I have never cooked a cake at a lower temperature than 350 degrees F. but it turned out perfect at 325 and was perfectly cooked. The tip of my knife came out clean, no uncooked batter.

It was also a very moist cake.

I didn’t want any strawberries left so I probably added an extra cup.

A few changes: I had no brown sugar (I thought I had but couldn’t find it anywhere).  I replaced it with regular sugar, so 2 cups of white sugar instead of one cup. A one time thing as have now added brown sugar to the shopping list. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference.

I measured out 1-1/4 teaspoons of baking powder instead of just 1. I didn’t think it would make a difference. It didn’t but I am a little compulsive over exact measurements. 

Gregg thought this would be too rich for him with the icing. I left that off and if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t miss it.  

I also left off the decorations. Probably would add both for company.

A light dusting of confection sugar would look pretty, but there again, not necessary as this cake stood well on its own.

The Kitchen Divas said this is the cake you can freeze, so that is what I did with the rest of it. 

Husband was very happy as it’s been a very long time since I baked a cake.  I only bake them for special occasions, and I extended his birthday week!  

A small portion goes a long way!

I always recommend checking these websites out. So many good recipes on there, and they always give great tips for each one. There is a video showing the steps.

Their address is below.

https://kitchendivas.com/banana-strawberry-cake/

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - EASY AIR FRYER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I was happy to find this recipe for cookies done in the Air Fryer. I am always looking for ways to use it. In the summer I stay away from the oven. This would be very nice to use when you fancy a sweet treat but don’t want the kind of heat the oven puts out when baking. This recipe came from Preppy Kitchen hosted by John Kannell. I found him on YouTube here, but I was happy to find he had a food blog, link on its name. The original recipe on that blog is here. It is always nice to follow along with the video, but I was happy that he also had it all written down on a website. There are more tips on John's website.

Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies - makes a dozen cookies - approximately 269 calories per cookie.

Air fryer with 6-quart basket

½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)

½ cup light brown sugar (110g)

¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)

1 large egg at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (180g)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Using an electric hand mixer, beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through, until well combined.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

Add the flour, then sprinkle the baking soda and salt evenly over top. Mix on low speed until no dry bits of flour remain, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand with a spatula.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (about 2½ tablespoons each) and roll into balls.

Preheat the air fryer to 300°F if your model requires it.

Line the basket of an air fryer with parchment paper (cut to fit the basket if you don’t have an air fryer liner). Working in batches, place 4 pieces of dough in the basket, equally spaced.

Air fry for 14 minutes at 300°F. Remove the basket from the air fryer and let the cookies cool for 4 minutes on the parchment paper, before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Continue cooking the rest of the dough balls.

John's notes:

Chilling and freezing instructions: If you don’t want to bake the whole batch of cookies immediately, you can cover and refrigerate the cookie dough balls for up to 72 hours. Alternatively, freeze them on a cookie sheet until solid, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Air fry from frozen.

To enhance the flavor: Sprinkle the cookies with flaky sea salt once they are finished baking.

This was an experiment as I have never cooked cookies in an air fryer before. I was happy they turned out as well as they did. 

I preheated the air fryer first, and used a parchment liner.

We thought they were excellent but they are very rich. I made enough for two each but found one each was enough. I froze the rest of the dough in single scoops to use whenever we felt like a cookie.

I divided the dough in half as we both have different tastes in ingredients. I added chopped pecans and mixed them in for both of us. I divided the dough and in one half I added chocolate chips, in the other I added chopped dates to suit each other's taste. Just a handful, you can see by looking how much you would need, probably about half to a cup for each depending on how much you like or will fit the recipe. If I had raisins I would have used those.

These are the chocolate chips I used.

I didn’t have any unsalted butter and used regular. I will put unsalted on the shopping list for next time.

All this being said, you can always use your oven if you don’t have an air fryer.

You can copy and paste the full addresses below if you prefer.

Website: https://preppykitchen.com/air-fryer-cookies/

YouTube: https://youtu.be/G36OLNSiOFY?si=RcHc6OLGtioyIca8

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - SOFT APPLE COOKIES

I was very happy with these cookies, different to any cookie we have tried before.  Not too sweet and more like a miniature cake than a cookie. I found the recipe on a YouTuber’s video called Cooking Lyrics, and you can watch if you click here.

Soft Apple Cookies:

2 eggs at room temperature 

100g or 1/2 cup (or 3.5 ozs. sugar)

Pinch of salt

100g (or 3.5 ozs.) butter, softened 

320 to 340g plain flour (or 2-1/4 cup to 2-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, or 11 ozs.)

14g (or 3 teaspoons) baking powder

2 apples (I used Granny Smith)

Icing/confectioner sugar for dusting cookies after baking

Preheat oven to 180 deg C (Or 350 to 365 deg F (my oven is on the cool side so I used 365 deg F - I will leave it to you to be the judge on the heat you use - temperatures are a guide-line).

Add 2 eggs to a mixing bowl, also a pinch of salt and all the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat until sugar is dissolved and mixture looks light.

Add the softened butter until thoroughly mixed.

In a separate bowl thoroughly mix the baking powder into the flour.

Add half the flour mixture and mix into the eggs until combined. Add the remaining flour, this time folding in with a spatula until combined.

Peel and core the 2 apples. Cut into small dice and fold into the batter. 

Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

Using a spoon, scoop up your apple mixture and put onto the baking tray in mounds, leaving a 2-inch space between them.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.  It’s always hit and miss for that first batch. They looked light on the top but were brown on the bottom. I took them out of the oven and they were done. The second batch I left them in a couple of extra minutes, and they browned more. Here again I will let you be the judge. The timing is only a guide.

Carefully transfer to a cooling rack until you can try one.

Using a small strainer, sprinkle icing sugar on top of all the cookies before serving. 

It goes great with a cup of coffee or tea.  

I recommend watching the video first, just to get a clearer idea of the steps in the recipe, or if I wasn’t clear enough when writing out these instructions.

Changes made: I didn’t have any plain/all-purpose flour. I used self-rising and left out the baking powder.

I also had no icing/confectioner’s sugar, so before baking I sprinkled on regular sugar and they were great. I made two batches. The second batch I left the sugar off and they still tasted very yummy. (Added note: see Donna’s comment about making confectioner’s sugar. Such a great idea, thank you Donna!)

The batter seemed a bit stiff so I used a few drops of milk until I got the consistency I wanted. 

A commenter at the video site said they used half regular sugar and half brown sugar, and that they tasted like a caramel apple. I might give it a try next time.

Everyone’s taste is different but we gave these cookies a 10 out of 10. Different to any cookie we have had before, and tasted like miniature cakes with delicious bits of cooked apple inside. As mentioned before, not too overly sweet so you can add a little more sugar for your own taste.

One of these makes a lovely snack. I also ate one for breakfast along with a container of lemon-flavored Greek Yogurt. It was a delicious combination.

It looks like this is good to freeze. I didn't want to leave a whole batch out. I froze them after baking the day before, took one out and microwaved it for 30 seconds. It was as delicious as if it were fresh out of the oven.  That’s when I had it for breakfast with the lemon yogurt. 

If you are not keen using the microwave, it thaws out pretty quickly, but you can always leave one to thaw the night before in the fridge and take it out to come to room temperature. Or pop it in a toaster oven to heat up a little.

This is the full address to the YouTube video.

https://youtu.be/dOR_i8waGU4?si=zCYsgaSBYvwVkGJd

  

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - JUMBO BLUEBERRY BANANA MUFFINS

For breakfast one morning I decided to make this recipe.  It comes from a food blog called "Tried and True Recipes", hosted by Kari.  My thanks to the food blog's host for sharing this delicious muffin.  I recommend visiting as she adds a lot more information than I have here, I always enjoy the photos and so many other great recipes to try.  

Jumbo Blueberry Banana Muffins - makes 12

3 ripe bananas 

2 large eggs room temperature

⅓ cup milk room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries

Topping (optional)

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon softened butter

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place muffin liners in the cups of a muffin pan or spray the pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

Mash the bananas and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add in the eggs, beating after each one. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract.

In a separate large bowl, blend together the flour, brown sugar, butter, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon using a pastry blender or the back of a fork.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Mix just until everything is combined. Don't over mix.

Using a spatula, gently fold in the blueberries.

Fill the lined jumbo muffin cups ¾ of the way full.

If making the topping mixture, put those ingredients in a small bowl, mix together until combined and sprinkle evenly over each muffin. 

Bake for 25 minutes. (If you have used regular muffin tins, bake for 15-18 minutes.) 

Let cool slightly before serving.

We enjoyed our muffin very much and served it with strawberries, as you can see in the photo.

I added a little more milk as my batter seemed too thick.

I also added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans to the batter.  Walnuts would be good also.

I didn't make the extra topping this time. It was excellent without.

I tested mine to see if they were done by pushing a wooden tooth pick in the top center.  I have also used the point of a sharp knife.  Mine came out with a little uncooked batter attached, so I put the muffin tray back in for another two to three minutes and that did the trick.  Oven temperatures vary so you might not have this problem.  Our oven runs on the cooler side.

When no longer hot, I wrapped the extra muffins in foil and put them in the freezer for another time.

You can copy and paste the following address if you prefer it to the link above.

https://jeanniestriedandtruerecipes.com/blueberry-banana-jumbo-muffins/

I feel like I have rushed this a bit tonight, so if you have any questions, please let me know in the comment section.  

Thanks for looking, have a great week and...

MONDAY RECIPE POST - CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD WITH A LIGHT ORANGE GLAZE

 

This recipe is from 'For the Love of Cooking' and its host is Pam.  Pam has a lot of recipes that I would like to try some time and my list is getting very long.  The link for this particular recipe is here.

Cranberry Orange Bread with a Light Orange Glaze

Yields 1 loaf
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 55-60 minutes


Ingredients:

Bread:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 large orange
2/3 cup orange juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1-1/4 cups fresh cranberries

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons orange juice, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a small loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.  

Stir in orange zest until well combined.

Make a well in the center and add the orange juice, eggs, melted butter and melted coconut oil.  

Stir from the center until the ingredients are blended.  

Be careful not to over mix.

Add the cranberries.

Stir until just blended.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes.  

Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar and orange juice together until you reach your desired glaze thickness.

Place some wax paper under the bread on the rack.

Pour the glaze evenly over the cooled bread.  Slice and serve plain or spread with butter.  

Served this for company and it was enjoyed by all.  It would also make a nice homemade gift wrapped in cellophane and pretty ribbons.  It's a real pretty bread.  Good with or without butter.    

The cranberries are tart but again we both enjoyed the sweet/tart combination.  

As I have heard about the goodness in coconut oil I was interested in trying it.  It looks a little like shortening but is a whole lot healthier.  It also gives the bread a lovely coconut flavor. There are two sites I went to, here, and here. 

The aroma is incredible!

Thank you Pam for a great recipe. 

MY NORMAL MONDAY RECIPE POST PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY THIS WEEK - EASY BANANA BREAD

We had over-ripe bananas in the fruit bowl so I decided to make this recipe today.  I found it at YouTube and the video host goes by the name of Baked Like A Pro.  You can find the link here.

Banana Bread

Ingredients are also provided in metric at the video site, if you live anywhere other than the States.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup melted butter, salted or unsalted

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts (mine were in halves and I just left them that way)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Pre-grease your loaf pan.

In a medium-sized bowl, mash your bananas thoroughly with a fork, or you can use a potato masher as was done in the video.  This recipe is very easy and is mixed by hand, not an electric mixer.

Add the melted butter, vanilla extract and beaten eggs.  Mix thoroughly after each addition. 

Next you will be mixing in the flour.  The batter will seem a bit thick at this point but it gets less so after adding all the ingredients.

The sugar goes in next and then the salt, baking powder and cinnamon.  Mix in after each addition.  

Lastly fold in the cup of walnuts, remembering to save a few halves for the top of the batter before putting into the oven.

Put the batter into your pre-greased loaf pan.  The one used in the video was 8 x 5 - 4 x 5 - 2 x 5.  Top with the walnut halves.

Put in the pre-heated 350 degree F. oven for 50 minutes.

Test to see if it is done by using a toothpick in the center.  If it comes out dry it should be done.  If batter is stuck to the toothpick then you need to put it in again until it is cooked all the way through.  Mine took longer than the recipe states.  

I had to put it back in the oven for 15 minutes longer (my oven runs on the cooler side, even though I preheated it to 355 deg. F. 

I thought it came out a bit too dark, but my dear other half liked it this way and he is very honest in his assessments.  He has had several slices since I cooked it and likes it cold with a pat of butter.  Next time I will try to adjust to get it to how I think it should be, maybe use two smaller pans.  It tasted great and that's the main thing.

I made this recipe before we came down with the virus.  Thank you to each of you who left get-well messages.  They were very comforting and much appreciated.  I will be slow on catching up with you all but hope to do that this coming week.

Thanks for visiting and I hope your day is a great one.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - BLUEBERRY COBBLER

Blueberry Cobbler

I found the recipe here at Circle B Kitchen.  It is actually called Blueberry Breakfast Cobbler at the website, but I served it after dinner.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
Zest from 1 large lemon (optional)
7/8 cup sugar 
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease a 9-inch square baking dish

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy.

Stir in the buttermilk.

Place the blueberries in a small bowl.

Place the 2 cups of flour in a medium bowl, and then remove 1/4 cup of the flour and add it to the blueberries in the small bowl. 

Toss together to coat the fruit.

Place the 2 cups of flour in the medium bowl, and then remove 1/4 cup of the flour and add it to the blueberries in the small bowl.  

Toss these together to coat the blueberries.  At this point you can also add an extra tablespoon of sugar along with the flour.

Add the baking powder and salt to the flour in the medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture.

Stir to combine.

The batter will be fairly stiff.

Spread 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan and then top that with the blueberries.

Using your fingers, place the rest of the batter on the top, doing your best to cover the blueberries but it's fine if you have any gaps. It doesn't have to be perfect.  I say this because mine had a lot of gaps and it didn't detract from the look or the taste.

Sprinkle the top of the batter with the raw sugar.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top begins to brown ever so slightly.  You don't want to get it very brown. 

Let cool for a little before serving.

And what did we think of this dish?  Very yummy!

There were a couple of changes made, but first of all I put mine in for 50 minutes and it came out darker than I would have liked but it still tasted great.  The next one I make I will pay more attention towards the end of cooking time and start looking at the 40 minute mark.

I didn't have enough blueberries so I used half blueberries and half strawberries.  I have mixed berries before and knew this would make a nice combination. 

I also did not have any buttermilk, so used my two-percent milk.

I didn't have any raw sugar and used regular. 

Thanks for looking and have a great week.