Thursday, May 3, 2012

Streusel-topped ginger banana muffins


My boyfriend taught me the other day that there are 14 stages of ripeness to a banana. And after I bought $35 worth of groceries for a juice fast and then stopped it after one day, I was definitely looking for a way to get ride of some Stage 13 bananas. And yeah ok I know bananas don't make good juice, but I thought it'd be good to have a few around. So I searched the internet for banana recipes, and I found this one within the search. These muffins are SO moist and flavorful, I can't get over it. It's my new favorite banana recipe, because it is really airy and light while still being moist and decadent. Myyyy fave. 

For the muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup fine ground corn meal
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 heaping teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup plain, whole-milk yogurt
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup candied ginger, minced
3 ripe bananas, lightly mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the streusel:

3/8 cup all-purpose flour
3/8 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt


Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Set aside 12 cupcake molds.

To prepare the streusel, cream the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar and cream for a few minutes longer. Then add the flour and salt. Finally, check the mixture with your finger tips to make sure it is well-combined and moist. Set the topping aside while you prepare the batter.

In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt, sugar, and spices. In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed. Then add the eggs, yogurt, candied ginger, and vanilla. Fold in the mashed banana. Finally, fold in the flour mixture gradually. Pour the batter into the cupcake molds. Top with the prepared streusel, adding about 1/8-1/4” of the topping.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 30 minutes and serve.

Recipe from Babble

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Cracker jack popcorn


Mmmm popcorn.

Don't worry, I am a little slower than usual on the recipes but I'm totes still here.

For the popcorn:

1 3.5-oz package microwave popcorn (yield about 10 cups. It's best if it's not a strong, buttery flavor)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
6 tbsp butter
2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
A candy thermometer

Preheat your oven to 250ºF, and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Spray the sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Pop the microwave popcorn and pour it into a large greased bowl. You're going to be doing lots of stirring, and adding other ingredients, so the bigger the bowl, the better!

Next, let's make some caramel! Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and water in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Insert a candy thermometer.

Continue to cook the candy, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 250ºF on the candy thermometer. This will probably take 3-6 minutes depending on your stove and the size of your pot.Watch the caramel carefully so it doesn't overcook.
As soon as the temperature reaches 250 degrees, pull the pan from the heat. Add the vanilla extract and the baking soda, and whisk until everything is well-combined.

After a moment or two of whisking, the baking soda will start to react and the caramel will foam up, and turn a lighter, opaque color with lots of bubbles. When you see this, it's ready to be poured on the popcorn. This is what you've been waiting for! Carpe diem!

Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir with a heatproof spatula until all of the kernels are coated.

Spread the popcorn out on the prepared pan. Use the biggest sheet tray you have, so that it is in a single, even layer. If it is layered too thick, it won't cook evenly and you'll have patches of caramel popcorn that are burned, while other sections are underdone. If you need to, use two sheet trays to get the popcorn in a single layer.

Bake the caramel popcorn in the 250 degree oven for about an hour. Stir it after every 15 minutes, so that the edges don't brown too quickly. You will notice that as it cooks, the caramel re-melts and becomes liquid again, so when you stir it, you're redistributing it and making sure that every kernel is covered with caramel. As it continues to cook it will become a darker golden brown, the caramel will get thicker, and it will be very, very fragrant. Yum!

After an hour, take the popcorn from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for half an hour. Gently break up any large clumps of popcorn with your hands, and once it's completely cool, your caramel popcorn is ready to be enjoyed!

Recipe adapted from Oh Nuts