spring Archives - Page 2 of 2

Mondays should totally begin with muffins. We all need a muffin or two to get through the day and some more to celebrate getting through the day. I hope you all agree with me here.

When I posted Sunshine Smoothie last week, I promised I’ll return with some cake to celebrate the 100th blog-post. So drum-rolls please! I’ve returned today with equally sunshiny, happy-happy orange muffins!

These muffins are perfect to woe away your Monday blues. Eat them any time of the day. With your morning-coffee, evening-tea or as a night-time dessert accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. It’s a real treat and your summer-stricken soul will totally thank me. You’re welcome 🙂

Moist and fluffy, these muffins are a total winner. The orange flavor shines through because I’ve used orange zest, freshly squeezed juice and just a touch of orange extract. Look at their color! Addition of yogurt makes them soft and tender. Once out from the oven and still warm, we brush the tops with honey. Warm muffins ensure that honey seeps in. This is optional but totally heavenly. And genius. So do it!

Orange Muffins

Makes: 12 muffins | Prep time: 10 minutes | Bake time: 15 minutes approximately | Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Zest from 2 oranges
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup oil
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 Orange slices, seeded and cut into quarters
2 Tbsp honey, to brush the muffin tops (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven at 180ºC / 350ºF. Line 12-counts muffin pan with paper liners.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, place the measured white granulated sugar. Grate orange zest in the bowl and using your fingers, rub it against the sugar. Whisk in oil and eggs one by one until completely incorporated. Whisk in vanilla and orange extract.
Gently whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients in three halves alternating with yogurt and orange juice, ending with dry ingredients. Mix until *just* combined. Do not over-mix the batter.
Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin liners. Fill each liner till 3/4th mark and no more. Top each muffin with a quarter of the orange slice. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. While muffins are still warm from the oven, brush the tops with a layer of honey. The muffins stay fresh for about 3 days stored in an airtight container.

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A melt in your mouth lemon cookies.. Ooh, how I love thee. I craved them one afternoon so bad that I had to bake them PRONTO! I LOVE lemon even more than chocolate. Please don’t hate me! If there is a choice between chocolate and fruit, I most certainly always choose the latter (umm..yess.. mostly!). Chocolate vs lemon tart? Absolutely lemon tart! Chocolate donuts or strawberry filled donuts? Undoubtedly strawberry! Are we still friends? Okay, great! 🙂

These cookies were SOOO GOOD that I might have tried eating 4 in a go. Don’t try to picture that! I found this fantastic recipe on White On Rice Couple blog and they looked so gorgeous that I had to make them. I slightly reduced the quantity of butter and sugar mentioned in the recipe to suit our taste and they were perfect for us.

This recipe does not use any lemon extract and if you are worried about the lemon quotient then worry not, my friends. They are plenty lemony. I was blown away by the flavor and texture would be an understatement! If you love lemon cookies and love snickerdoodles like I do, you will find yourself stuffing yourself silly with these lovely cookies. Soft interior with slightly crisp exterior achieved by rolling the dough in confectioners sugar before baking. Delicate and bright! What’s not to love?!

Can you tell I’m obsessed? Yeah, this recipe will be definitely made again & again & again.
Enjoy!

Lemon Crinkle Melts

Recipe slightly adapted from White On Rice Couple

Yields: Around 24 cookies or more depending on size

Prep time: 10 minutes | Chill time: 30 minutes | Bake time: 9-11 minutes | Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg (make it eggfree & use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a couple cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda for at least 20 seconds. Set aside.
In a bowl of your mixer, add lemon zest, brown sugar, white sugar and mix together with hand. Add butter to the bowl and beat butter and zesty sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract, egg and lemon juice until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again to make sure everything is incorporated.
Stir in the flour mixture until just combined, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to get all of the flour. Cover the bowl with cling film and let the dough chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Sift the confectioners sugar onto a large plate. Form the dough into 1 inch sized balls. Roll the balls in the confectioners sugar then place 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies just begin to turn light golden and the tops of the cookies look matte (no longer shiny or wet looking). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: To make these cookies vegan, replace butter with vegan margarine.

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Tag: spring