Lemon Muffins with a Strawberry Drizzle

I am currently sitting at my kitchen counter on a comfortable bar stool waiting for the stove to preheat so that I can get my new recipe baking. With all the waiting, I asked myself, “Why not just write down the recipe right now…before you f-o-r-g-e-t….before it feels overwhelming.”

Well, okay.

Here I am then, writing to you while leaned back on my stool with a foot up on the other one, and enjoying the fresh smells of lemons and strawberries.

A friend of mine is in need of some quick items for breakfast for around the house, so I am hoping her family will enjoy these healthy lemon muffins with strawberry sauce drizzled on them. Makes me think of pink lemonade. 🙂 I love pink lemonade!

Now that they are fresh out of the oven, I just had to try one. Couldn’t give my friend a whole bunch of muffins that taste bad now could I? Whew….my new recipe passed the taste test. Not my favorite of my muffin creations (you know I have made many), but very good indeed!

• Servings: 12-14 Muffins
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*Created by Lori at Creating Beauty in the Kitchen

Ingredients for Muffin:

• 2 3/4 cups of almond flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 fresh lemons worth of zest
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• 2/3 cup honey

Ingredients for Sauce:

• Strawberries
• Water
• Honey

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Zest your lemons
• Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Then combine all of them together, mixing well.
• Line a muffin pan with papers, or grease it well.
• Pour the batter into each slot, 2/3 of the way full.
• Make the strawberry sauce by combining strawberries, water, and honey in a food processor. When it is smooth, put it into a pan and heat the sauce up on the stove top.
• Pour a spoonful of the sauce over each muffin.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.

And for those of you who have missed my “blooper” behind the scene posts, here is a little insight into today’s cooking experiment:

• I cut my knuckle while zesting….not once….not twice….but three times.
• I stabbed my hand really hard with a toothpick (it is still aching.)
• And I still make a mess my friends, as evidenced by the picture below. 🙂

What kind of beauty are you creating today?

Raspberry Almond Honey Muffins

Picture me singing to the tune of “These are a few of my favorite things.” Ready? Ok, here goes…..

“These are a few of my favorite muffins”:

• Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins with Chocolate Cinnamon Sauce
• Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins with Chocolate Orange Sauce
• Almond Blueberry Muffins with a Blueberry Almond Sauce
• Almond Honey Muffins

You all know I love creating fun, new muffin recipes. Well this one has been added to my list of favorites! I love fruit in my muffins…this one was no exception!

• Servings: 12 Muffins
• Print

*Created by Lori at Creating Beauty in the Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups almond flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp pure almond extract
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• Fresh Raspberries (Use frozen if needed…you will just need to add a little extra cooking time.)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Then combine all of them together, mixing well. Add in the raspberries.
• Line a muffin pan with papers, or grease it well.
• Pour the batter into each slot, halfway full.
• Make a little hole in each one and pour a little bit of honey into it.
• Now pour more batter to cover the honey, leaving the batter 2/3 of the way to the top.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts and Coconut Shavings

Almond Joys have been my favorite candy bar for so long now that I can’t remember when that even started. But do you know what I would probably love even better? A “Walnut Joy!” 🙂 Chocolate + Coconut + Walnuts!? Yum! This very combination was the inspiration for these cookies.

I was a little hesitant…..coconut flakes in a chocolate chip cookie? Never heard of such a thing! Would it even taste anything like I imagined it would?!

Well, yes my friends, it did! I absolutely loved these! And I am hoping you….my Fiesta Friday friends….will love them too! 🙂

• Servings: 24 Cookies
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*Created by Lori at creatingbeautyinthekitchen.wordpress.com

Ingredients:

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey
• Chopped walnuts (as much or as little as you would like)
• Shredded, dry coconut (as much or as little as you would like)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine all the wet ingredients in one bowl, and the dry in another. When both are mixed well, combine them together.
• Add in the walnuts and chocolate chips, making sure they are spread throughout.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Try to make each cookie the same size so that they all cook evenly.
• When putting the dough on the baking sheet, smooch it down a bit, rather than leaving a ball….it cooks better that way.
• Cook for 7-10 min depending on how you like them.

As always, a big thank you to Angie at the Novice Gardener! Fun to have Julianna at Foodie on Board and Hilda at Along the Grapevine co-hosting the party this week! Thanks ladies! And if you don’t know what this party is that probably means you should join us! 🙂 All are welcome…not just foodies! Click on the icon below. 

You can also find me here on Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram.

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chips and a Cinnamon Topping

It was a really busy week….filled with both some very difficult things and some very wonderful things. Things which kept me out of the kitchen and away from the craft room.

But in the midst of what happened to be a very good day today, though full from 7:30 am until 9:00 pm tonight, I found an hour to bake something for Fiesta Friday! I literally had just enough time to get these muffins done before I needed to walk out the door again. This girl just couldn’t miss out on the party!

When my friend and I walked in the door tonight, I loved the smell that greeted our noses. It smelled like Fall. It smelled like cinnamon. It smelled like sweet potatoes.

I had no idea how this recipe was going to work out…as usual, I was making it up as I went along. 🙂 Let’s just say this: my sweet potato-hating-hubby really, really liked them. My friend really liked them. And I really liked them!

Will you like them too?! I sure hope so, because I am bringing plenty to the party! 🙂

• Servings: 14 Muffins
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*Created by Lori at creatingbeautyinthekitchen.wordpress.com

Ingredients for Muffin:

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Ingredients for Topping:

• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Cook 1 Medium sized sweet potato. You can just do this in the microwave for 5-7 minutes. Take out the insides, mashing them well.
• Mix all the dry ingredients for the muffin batter in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Then combine all of them together, mixing well.
• Line a muffin pan with papers, or grease it well.
• Pour the batter into each slot, 3/4 of the way full.
• Combine the honey, grapeseed oil, and cinnamon for the topping.
• When this is made, pour some over each muffin.
• Bake for 20- 25 minutes.

Angie at The Novice Gardener has made Fridays all the more fun for all of us! Thank you for that Angie! And to your co-hosts for the week…thank you as well! You are appreciated!

Please come join the party! Click on the badge below! 

You can also find me here on Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram.

Almond Shortcake Mini Tarts- Guest Post for Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Don’t these almond shortcake mini tarts with vanilla almond cream cheese and fresh blackberries look delicious?!

To get the recipe and see more pics, head on over to Jhuls’ site The Not So Creative Cook where I have had the honor of doing a guest post for her.

Most of you know this lovely lady…she is fun. She reaches out to others. She makes us laugh. And she really is creative! 🙂

But if you don’t yet know her, please check out her blog! She is a blessing to all of us who know her!

You can also find me here on Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram.

Vanilla Muffins with a Dark Chocolate Filling

I feel like saying, “Just call me the muffin queen.” Because yes, I am bringing muffins again to the party! 😉 But don’t worry, I’ve created a new recipe that I hope you will love!

I love muffins. Muffins are fun. Muffins are versatile. You can eat them for breakfast. You can eat them for snack. You can eat them for dessert. Kids love them. Adults love them. They can be savory. They can be sweet.

When we invited a couple over for dessert, I knew right away that I would be creating a new muffin recipe. I had thoughts of what I might do running through my head all week. Then the day arrived.

It was a long day, and I made the mistake of putting my head down for “5 minutes.” Oops. I woke up an hour before they were supposed to get here. My new muffin recipe that had been percolating in my mind now had to be created at warp speed and half asleep. 😀

Imagine my hearts content when the wife stopped our conversation to say to her hubby, “I need another muffin.” And he came back with another for himself as well.

They didn’t know at the time that my muffins were: low-glycemic, no refined sugar, dairy-free, & gluten free. I love that you can have a healthy muffin that tastes so yummy that people are convinced it is full of refined sugar, etc.!

So here I come Fiesta Friday party goers with my bad-for-you tasting good-for-you muffins! 😉

• Servings: 12 muffins
• Print

*Created by Lori at creatingbeautyinthekitchen.wordpress.com

Ingredients for Muffin:

• 3 cups almond flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Ingredients for Chocolate Filling:

• Cocoa
• Honey
• Grapeseed oil
• Pure vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Mix all the dry ingredients for the muffin batter in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Then combine all of them together, mixing well.
• Line a muffin pan with papers, or grease it well.
• Pour the batter into each slot, halfway full.
• Combine the cocoa, honey, grapeseed oil, and vanilla. I did this more by taste, which is why I don’t give the specifics on how much of each. It depends on how sweet you want it, etc. And note that you don’t need to make tons, just a little bowl full.
• When this is made, pour some into each muffin..
• Now pour more batter to cover the chocolate, leaving the batter 2/3 of the way to the top.
• Bake for 20- 25 minutes.

Thanks Angie….you always brighten Fridays in the blogosphere! Sylvia, and Andrea – excited you are co-hosting this week! Thanks!

Come join the party!

You can also find me here on Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram.

Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins with Chocolate Cinnamon Sauce- Take 2

Cinnamon + Dark chocolate!? Love it!!

A lot of you probably haven’t seen my original recipe for these muffins, but I experimented the other day and switched it up a bit. I truly love both recipes! I do like the extra cinnamon though in this new one! 🙂

A friend of mine introduced me to grapeseed oil a while back, but I haven’t experimented with it much until recently. There has been a lot of research done suggesting that this oil has a lot of health benefits.

So, I incorporated it into this recipe, along with using agave instead of honey. I typically prefer honey over agave, but I loved the agave in this.

Both recipes are delicious and oh so moist! You choose! 😉

• Servings: about 16 muffins
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*Created by Lori at Creatingbeautyinthekitchen.wordpress.com

Ingredients for Muffins:

• 2 3/4 cup almond flour
• 2/3 cup agave
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 eggs

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 3 tbsp agave

Directions:

• Combine all the dry ingredients in one mixing bowl, and the wet in another. Then  combine them together, making sure it is well mixed.
• Put liners in 1-2 muffin trays, or you can grease them. I find liners to work best.
• Pour each muffin spot 2/3 of the way full.
• Making your sauce is simple- just add all the ingredients together and stir well.
• Pour a little sauce over each muffin.
• Add a few extra chocolate chips on top if you would like.

Have you tried using grapeseed oil?

Vanilla Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffins with a Cherry Sauce

I have always loved the combination of fruit and chocolate. When I was a child and was given a box of chocolates, I would take a bite of each one and set it back if it wasn’t filled with the taste of orange or raspberry or cherry. Looking back, I am sure hoping those boxes of chocolate were mine alone or else someone got a fun surprise when they opened the box and saw that they all had a bite out of them. Reminds me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears….except it would go something like this, “Someone’s been eating my chocolates!” 😉

From the mouth of my mom when she tasted these: mmmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmmm. That does a girl’s heart good when someone moans their delight the entire time they are eating! 🙂

She said, “All’s I can say is WOW!! That was the most scrumptious breakfast I’ve ever had!”

When I asked her if she would ever guess that these are gluten free or don’t have refined sugar in them, she said, “It never would have crossed my mind.”

The final words from my mom, “I am saving the rest for lunch!” 🙂

How could I not bring something my mom loved so much to Fiesta Friday?! Of course I had to make an extra batch for you all, because mom won’t let me give away the rest of hers! 😉

• Servings: 12 muffins
• Print

*Created by Lori @ Creating Beauty in the Kitchen 

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups almond flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey + 1/4 for the sauce
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 10 fresh red cherries + 11 for the sauce
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Wash and chop up the cherries.
• Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Combine the two, mixing well.
• Add in the cherries and chocolate chips.
• Use liners or grease a muffin pan.
• Pour the batter 3/4 of the way full in each slot.
• To make sauce, blend the 11 cherries with 1/4 cup honey (I ended up with extra sauce).
• Pour sauce over the top of each muffin.
• Cook for 25 minutes.

Happy Fiesta Friday Friends! Can you believe it is already Angie’s 30th?!! Wow! Speaking of the lovely Angie, I hope you know how grateful we are for you! And to your co-hosts….the party wouldn’t be the same without you!

Come join the fun…all are welcome…foodies, crafters, photographers, writers, etc……just click on the icon below.

Mixed Berry Semifreddo

*Please Note: This was a pre-scheduled post, as my hubby and I are enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation for a couple of weeks. Please do stop by and comment…just know that I won’t be able to reply for a while. I appreciate you all!*

Semifreddo? Have you ever heard of it? I hadn’t until I saw THIS version of it from one of my fellow foodie bloggers, Julia at Swirls and Spice.  I knew as soon as I saw it that I just had to make this wonderful sweet treat myself! You know how I love my sweets! Eating low-glycemic & using no refined sugars doesn’t stop this girl! It just gives me a challenge…a challenge I am always happy to embark on! 🙂

So to my fellow party goers at Fiesta Friday, I am bringing this smooth, creamy, icy, and fresh mixed berry semifreddo.

I did some research on this dessert, since I knew nothing about it,  and found these interesting facts:

• It means “half-cold” in Italian
• It is a partially frozen Italian dessert
• You often see it in cake form
• Once they have been frozen, you can flip them upside down and get them out of their container, and serve that way, which looks really neat.

One of my favorite things I came across was this statement made in a Canadian online newspaper. The person said that semifreddo is “simple elegance at its best, with the emphasis on simple.” Ah, I love that, and couldn’t agree more! Although if I showed you the mess in my kitchen you might not agree with the simple part. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I am questioning it myself. 🙂 Here, let me show you…

Ya, that didn’t feel so simple! 🙂 And would you believe that this was just a little bit of the mess? Of course you would! And if not, just ask Jhuls, Justine, or Patty! 🙂 I really, really try not to be a messy cook…honestly… but these things just sort of happen to me….over and over and over again. Seriously! Tonight alone, I spilled this yumminess all over, I stepped on some raspberries and smeared the juice all over the floor, I got egg yolk all over the counter, when I picked my phone up I realized it had been laying in honey (ugh!), several times I stirred the berry curd right over into the burner, my pan began to overflow and pour all over the stove as I scrambled to find a larger one, and I turned the hand mixer on in mid air! Yep, cream all over me and the kitchen…not for the first time, as you all know. 🙂

Yes, I might definitely disagree with the simple part. 🙂

*Created by Lori at Creating Beauty in the Kitchen from the inspiration of THIS recipe at Swirls and Spice.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups mixed berries (I used blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries)
• 1 1/2 cups honey + more for Homemade whipped cream
• 4 egg yolks
• Pure vanilla extract
• 1 can refrigerated coconut milk

Directions:

• Separate 4 egg yolks from their whites and put into a large food processor.
• Add the fruit and 1 1/2 cups honey and blend until pureed.
• Because there will be a lot of seeds in your puree, use a strainer with very tiny holes to get as much of them out as possible.
• In a large saucepan, cook the puree on about medium low, stirring often. I did this for about 15-17 minutes. It thickens as you go. I read that it is important that you don’t let it boil though, so watch out for that. Mine started too, and I think that changed it a bit.
• After the allotted time, take it off the stove and stir for a few more minutes, letting it continue to thicken.
• Let cool to room temperature.
• While cooling, make the homemade whipping cream. Combine the thick, refrigerated coconut milk with honey and some vanilla.
• When the puree has cooled to room temperature, gently fold it into your whipped cream.
• Put it in whatever container you would like (if you plan on flipping it over and want it to be a certain shape, the container you use is important.)
• Put a lid or plastic wrap on it and let freeze for at least 3 hours before serving.
• When ready to serve, turn container upside down and run hot water over it until the semifreddo seems ready to easily pop out of the container.
• Once you pop it out, serve with fresh berries.

I loved the way this turned out! So creamy and yummy! Hope the rest of you at FF enjoy it as well!

Grateful to all of you…I am continuing to learn so much from you all! Also thankful for Angie at The Novice Gardener and her co-hosts for this awesome weekly gathering! And thankful to my friend, Jhuls, who is linking me up to the party this week while I am away from the computer! ❤

Cinnamon Almond Chocolate Pudding Pops – FF Guest Post! :-D

I love Fiesta Friday! Who doesn’t?! But I love THIS Fiesta Friday even more because I am bringing these lovely pudding pops on behalf of the beloved Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook. So many of you know her, so you know exactly why I call her “beloved.” For those of you who have yet to meet this lovely lady, please go visit her…she is great!

By the way, think of the title of her blog in an ironic sort of way….definitely not literally, because Jhuls IS creative! 🙂 In addition to her creative cooking, she has such a kind heart and reaches out to newbies in the blogosphere. I love that about her!

So, go check out the recipe (and more pics) of these delicious “Cinnamon Almond Chocolate Pudding Pops” that Jhuls and I are bringing to the party! And I do mean delicious!!

Happy Fiesta Friday! And a big thank you, as always, to Angie @ The Novice Gardener and our co-hosts!