Brown Butter Berry Cheesecake Muffins.

There's cake for breakfast and there's cheesecake for breakfast. This is that. 

Well. Actually it's both.

Remember when I made banana monkey bread muffins? Tiny, banana bread biscuit balls, rolled in cinnamon and sugar, and drizzled with vanilla icing? Well, those were the last muffins I made... and that was in September.

Of 2012.

Like last year.

Muffins, I need to be honest. I'm just not that into you. The thing is, when I want a muffin, I want one... not twelve... and definitely not twenty-five minutes from now. It's a weakness that shows itself only when I'm waiting in line at Starbucks, being forced to stare at a shiny, bright glass case of bite-sized vanilla bean scones (obsessed and in love) and literally over-the-top blueberry muffins. At no other time of the day, week, or year do muffins ever cross my mind. Ever. Like Taylor Swift never ever.

But let's be honest: they're basically just unfancy, unfrosted cupcakes... and I think we all know how I feel about cake for breakfast. So I've bought a new muffin pan and I'm getting into this thing. 

These muffins have a few extra steps to them than baking just regular blueberry muffins. There's three layers that need to be made first before you can get down to the muffin-baking business: (1) the muffin base, (2) a creamy berry cheesecake topping, and (3) a buttery cinnamon-brown sugar streusel. I know. It sounds like way too much work for blueberry muffins... but really, it's just three bowls, three spoons, and a few minutes. Brown butter, sugar, and cinnamon are creamed together, cream cheese, sugar, and berries are whisked together, and a streusel is quickly crumbled together with a fork or fingertips.

After that, it's just a scoop and bake situation. Easy.

And it all starts with these cakey-soft muffin bottoms, full of brown butter, sugar, and cinnamon.

See those brown specks? Those are full of straight love. Love, brown butter, and cinnamon.

With regular blueberry muffins, the fresh berries are folded directly into the muffin batter for optimum berry dispersal. Here, the berries are folded into a creamy cheesecake layer that's scooped right on top of the muffin base. When they bake up, they'll be bursting with pink, sweet raspberries and bright purple blueberries.

And the streusel. Just cold butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour cut together until crumbly and sprinkled heaped over the top of the cheesecake and berries. No big deal. Totally just another day.

Everyone knows the muffin tops are the very best part. The secret to the these tall, gorgerous, brimming-with-cheesecake muffin tops? Fill the liners right to the very top. Most muffin and cupcake recipes call for filling the cups 1/2 to 2/3 of the way full, depending on how tall they'll rise when baking, to prevent them from overflowing over the sides. 

But for these, just get in there! Layer that cheesecake and crumble right to the very top for a pillowy, perfectly berry-studded look.

More cheesecake, more berries, more bursting color. Muffin math. It's real.

My favorite are the muffins bursting with fat, pink raspberries. It's a February thing.

At least until July... then it'll be a red, white, and blue thing.

Speaking of which, one of my new year's baking resolutions this year was to bake with more color. Between these bright breakfast cakes and these sprinkled-loaded cookies... 2013 success! And we're still only 49 days into this thing. 

Brown Butter Berry Cheesecake Muffins

Printable Recipe

Muffins
1/3 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cheesecake Topping
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Streusel
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.

To make the muffins, first brown the butter by melting in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until golden brown (more information on how to brown butter here). Pour into a medium mixing bowl and cream together with sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in milk. 

Combine flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a small bowl and slowly add to butter mixture until just combined. Fill muffin cups one-third full.

To make the cheesecake topping, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and egg until smooth. Gently fold in the fresh raspberries and blueberries. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls on top of the muffin.

To make the streusel, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in cold butter using a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes 18 muffins. 

Source: Barely adapted from Chef-in-Training.

What to (Last Minute) Bake This Valentine's Day...

Just a few pink, be-sprinkled, and baked-with-love recipes that I will frantically be baking after work tonight that are perfect for sharing with someone who you love. It's not all chocolate, champagne, and heart-shaped things! 

Dark chocolate raspberry banana bread- Sweet banana bread studded with dark chocolate chunks and fat, pink raspberries. Starting Valentines Day right!

"I Want to Marry You" cookies- A one-pot, one-spoon chocolate chip cookie situation stuffed full of cinnamon, oats, white chocolate chips, semisweet chocolate chips... and the promise of spontaneous declarations of love.  

Mini chocolate chip cookie sandwiches- Because... pink frosting! Roll the sides of these bite-size chocolate chip cookie sandwiches in some pink and red heart sprinkles and you're in.

Pink-glazed old-fashioned cake doughnuts- Crispy, cakey doughnuts covered in pink vanilla icing and sprinkles. That's love.

Brown butter snickerdoodles- A classic recipe with an extra-special twist. These taste like no other snickerdoodle! Someone in your life deserves brown butter. Be that girlfriend.

Cookie pizzas- Because who wants a giant chocolate chip cookie? Said no boyfriend or husband ever. 

Cake batter chocolate chip cookies- What better way to say I love you than festive chocolate chip cookies full of irresistable cake batter flavor and pink and red sprinkles? I can't think of one.

Buttery, soft chocolate chip M&M cookie for one- one giant cookie, a handful of pink, red, and white M&Ms, and... done.

Old-fashioned candy "milkshakes"- I made these last-minute last February 14th and they couldn't have been easier. Ice cream glass, M&Ms, adhesive glue dots (found at Michael's craftstores), pink and white taffy, a cute heart-shaped straw, and ten minutes. People will still be talking about you in July.  

The Baked brownie- The only brownie I could ever love. Chewy, rich, crackly-topped, and absolutely decadent.

Chocolate waffles- The chocolate waffles that led to a legendary kiss.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope it's full of pink sugar, sprinkles, and love! 

White Chocolate Cranberry Banana Streusel Bread.

This is what happens when... 

You want to bake something wintry and festive. 

Something that doesn't require a cookie scoop. 

Something cranberry and white chocolate... but in loaf form. 

It's what happens when you say, "What should I bake today?" and your boyfriend always, always answers with, "... remember that banana bread?" 

I do. I do and I love you.

It's what happens when you know you're about to go into the world to Christmas shop and the only way to get through it requires cake for breakfast.

Basically... this is what happens when you put Christmas in your banana bread.

Strip this banana bread down and it still ranks right up there with just-sugared buttons & bowknots and raspberry almond thumbprints. You know: things that come out of my oven that I absolutely cannot resist... because it's basically banana cake! Thick, dense, and... with a good crumb? Perfectly soft and cakey? Come on. Please don't make me say moist.

Quick! Whisk in some Christmas. 

It's kind of like baking pie... only not.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. A handful of white chocolate. Fat, juicy cranberries bursting with a tangy-tart-sweetness.

Tangy-tart-sweetness is totally a thing.

And, at the last minute, a buttery cinnamon-brown sugar streusel. Because Merry Christmas to me!

And to you! Because this is the type of quick bread you make for someone you love. I was hesitant at first about skipping cookies to bake banana bread baking cranberries into banana bread. Would it be too much? Too tangy? Too sweet, with the crunchy brown sugar topping and melted chunks of white chocolate?

Bake it and believe! One slice and it was over. This just became a new Christmas/everyday/right now tradition.

... and I don't know what you're doing Christmas Eve, but I am officially that girl leaving Santa slices of banana bread and milk. If there was ever a way to do Christmas right... this would be that.

White Chocolate Cranberry Banana Streusel Bread 

Printable Recipe

Bread 
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large bananas)
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup fresh cranberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Streusel
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

To make streusel, combine all ingredients in a bowl and cut together using a fork or pastry blender.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon), beat the sugar and softened butter until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and vanilla extract and beat until well-combined. 

Stir in the flour mixture until just moist. Do not over-mix! Gently fold in the white chocolate chips and the cranberries tossed in flour.

Pour evenly into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with streusel, then bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.* Cool 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack, then remove to wire rack and allow to cool completely.

*If the edges start to brown before the center is fully baked, carefully place folded strips of foil around the edges of the pan to keep from burning. Occasionally I'll have to place a sheet of foil over the top as well during the last 15 minutes of baking to keep the top from over-browning/burning.

Source: Adapted from my dark chocolate raspberry banana bread, originally from Recipe Boy.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread.

Sometimes you have days where you have to make your own happy.

This is that.

This banana bread was baked on a lazy August morning, with bright, slanted, summer light, creamy raspberry coffee, and my comfiest pajamas.  

It was baked with a fistful of determination and chocolate... determination that for 50-60 minutes I was going to put all the stresses of work, life, and laundry on hold. Just put it all on hold, bake banana bread, drink coffee, and watch as much Pretty Little Liars as possible. 

And chocolate... because this is straight-up cake for breakfast. Cake that genuinely smells like Christmas... if Christmas smelled like bananas, berries, and home. It's a quickbread thing. Banana bread, raisin bread, zucchini bread, lemon bread... they will always, always remind of lazy afternoons at the pool, best friends, summer vacation, and coming home to Mom pulling a fresh-baked loaf out of the oven. It's right up there with grilled cheese, pancakes, and apple pies. You know. Stuff only a mom can make.

Banana bread, right out of the oven, brimming with fresh raspberries and melty chunks of dark chocolate. Would it be weird to eat this with a spoon?

Okay fine. I'll slice it.

Speaking of determination and sugar, this is summer bucket baking times two! Making banana bread meets baking with berries.

Andddd I had kettlecorn for dinner the other night. Summer bucket success!

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

Printable Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large bananas)
1/3 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup halved raspberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a larger bowl with a wooden spoon), beat the sugar and softened butter until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and vanilla extract and beat until well-combined. 

Stir in the flour mixture just until moist. Do not overmix! Gently fold in the chocolate chunks and halved raspberries tossed in flour.

Pour evenly into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with a handful of dark chocolate chips and halved raspberries. 

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.* Cool 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

*Note: If the edges start to brown before the center is fully baked, carefully place folded strips of foil around the edges of the pan to keep from burning. I had to place a sheet of foil over the top as well during the last 15 minutes of baking to keep the top from over-browning/burning. 

Source: Recipe Boy.

Cinnamon-Peach Doughnuts with Maple Icing.

I seriously cannot concentrate on writing this post.   

One, I'm watching Smash. Today was one of those rare half-days of work and I know I should be taking advantage of this quiet house and warm spring day to do something super productive, like sleep or laundry or packing to go home for Easter or baking something with coconut.  

Instead, I'm on the couch, staring at these doughnuts, and singing Rihanna at embarrassing decibels... when I would really rather be out having a girls' night out slash sing-off in the middle of Times Square, like so. 

Okay. I paused it. 

I also can't concentrate because, two, let's get real: this post is about doughnuts. Doughnuts! Fried dough full of cinnamon and fresh of peaches, all dunked in maple icing or rolled in cinnamon-sugar. Or both. What?

I ate so many of these. 

And I just thought of swapping out the peaches for strawberries, then topping these with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and even more berries. It'd be like a mini strawberry funnel cake shamelessly eaten for breakfast and that's an idea I can totally get behind.

Aaaaand I can't concentrate because Titanic is in theaters again and I will never not love Titanic. I was nine (nine!) when it was originally released and that movie single-handedly inspired at least five sleepover parties, one birthday party, and all expectations for future relationships. I won't even lie to you. 

So basically I'm all the over place today. I want to sing and dance and eat fried dough. I want my laundry to be done, I want to nap, I want to put coconut in everything. I want to be in New York. I want to be in a movie theater. And I'll be honest: I wanna microwave a Peep. I don't even know. 

P.S. These don't have a super sweet peachy flavors so feel free to add a few tablespoons of peach juice to get a stronger flavor. 

P.P.S. Maple icing. Seriously.

Cinnamon-Peach Doughnuts with Maple Icing

Printable Recipe

Doughnuts

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1-2 tablespoons peach juice, optional 

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 large peach, pitted and diced

Vegetable oil for frying

Icing

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon maple extract

1 tablespoon milk

Cinnamon-Sugar 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

Line a baking sheet or work surface with a thick layer of paper towels. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, peach juice (if using), eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and slightly cooled melted butter, until combined. Pour into the flour mixture, add the diced peaches, and fold together with a spatula, until just combined and no clumps of flour remain.

Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour. Sprinkle flour over dough and roll out until 1/2-inch thick. Using a round dough cutter (I used a 2 1/2-inch), cut out doughnuts and doughnut holes.

*Note: Because of the chunks of peaches, this dough might be more difficult to roll out and cut doughnuts from then a plain cake doughnut recipe. If the dough starts sticking to rolling pin or counter, sprinkle with more flour. Don't worry if the shapes aren't perfect or bits of peaches jut out. They'll turn dark when fried (you can see that in the photos above), but that's from frying, not burning.

Place a candy thermometer in a medium saucepan and pour oil in about 2 inches deep. Heat oil over medium-high heat to 365°F.  

When oil reaches temperature, carefully place three doughnuts into the oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes, or until they turn golden brown, then turn and fry for another 1-2 minutes (doughnut holes only need about a minute in the oil). Be sure to keep an eye on the temperature, making small adjustments to the heat as needed to maintain the temperature. Adjust cooking time accordingly.

When done and golden brown on each side, remove from oil, allow excess oil to drip off, and place on paper tools to cool. If not icing, immediately toss in a small bowl of cinnamon-sugar. Be careful not to burn your fingers!

To make the glaze: When cooled completely, make the maple glaze by whisking together all three ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth. Dunk doughnuts face-down in the glaze and place back on paper towels to set.

These doughnuts are best the day that they're made.

Makes about 16 doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Source: A Bakergirl original. 

Heart-Shaped Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Rolls.

2012 has officially lost it's sparkle. 

We're heading into March, my least favorite month of the year. My birthday month is over. Valentine's Day is over. It's not winter, it's not spring. What is it?

It's just... March. 

January had resolutions and confetti. February had pink and sprinkles and cake. Summer is three months away. It's "too soon"  to start planning our anniversary presents (April is so not "too soon", by the way). And Christmas? Christmas is at least eleven years away.

Life as an adult requires that I must always have something fun and potentially sparkly to look forward to. Otherwise, honestly? I just cannot deal with laundry and gas prices and work. Monday morning? What are we doing Friday night? It's March? So... Disneyland this November? What are we doing for our five year anniversery? "We haven't even had our fourth!"

Whatever. 

You know what helps with awkward, uneventful, in-between months? 

Cinnamon rolls! 

Cinnamon rolls that are super easy, shaped like hearts, and full of cranberries, orange-zesty brown sugar, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. 

You see all those crispy, crackly brown sugar bits? This is why you use parchment paper. Otherwise you'll be scrubbing your baking sheets for days. Truth. 

So yeah. These are good...

- Burning-hot off the baking pan. 

- At midnight, cold, smuggled out of the kitchen like nobody's business. 

- Warm, with melted butter. 

- Dunked in drizzled with sugary-orange icing. 

- With both. 

- With breakfast. With lunch. With dinner. 

- Eaten all. by. your. self.

Can I just say it? I love brown sugar. 

Maybe there's hope for March after all.

Heart-Shaped Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Rolls 

Printable Recipe

2 cups Bisquick or buttermilk baking mix

2/3 cup milk

3 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

1 cup cranberries (I used dried, but fresh would work too) 

The zest from two oranges

The juice from one orange

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and zest from one orange; set aside. 

Juice one orange and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the Bisquick, milk, zest from the second orange, and a tablespoon of the fresh-squeezed orange juice with a wooden spoon, just until dough comes together. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 3-4 minutes. 

Roll dough into a large rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture and cranberries over the top. Drizzle a tablespoon of fresh orange juice over the top.

... I really like cranberries. Feel free to use less.

Carefully lift both ends of the dough and roll both towards the center, like a scroll. Cut in 1/2-inch slices. You may have to reform them a little bit or pinch the ends to make them look more heart-like. (If you don't want to make them heart-shaped, just roll the dough up jelly-roll style, cut into 12 cinnamon rolls, and bake on a baking sheet or in a greased muffin tin.)

Place on baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the biscuits comes out clean. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wax paper to cool completely.

*I didn't have the patience to stop eating these long enough to glaze them, but to make an orange glaze, mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 2-3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice. Drizzle over the top and get to eating! 

Source: Adapted from the cinnamon pinwheels recipe.