Tag Archives: Brown Sugar

Yellow Squash Muffins

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Yellow Squash Muffins @ NancyCYellow squash in a muffin? I know that may sound a little strange, but believe me, these muffins are deliciously moist and sweetened just right with honey and brown sugar! I thought about trying yellow squash in muffins after using zucchini in quick breads and cake. So why not yellow squash in baked goods? I found a recipe that I tweaked a little at Taste of Home and wasn’t sure what to expect, but I love the way they turned out!

YELLOW SQUASH MUFFINS by NancyC, adapted from Taste of Home

Makes 11-12 muffins

  • 2 1/3 cups (about 1 lb.) sliced yellow squash, cut into 1/2″ slices-cut larger slices in half or quarters)
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup honey*
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar*
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line muffin pan with 12 paper liners; set aside

Fill a medium size saucepan with 1″ of water; add squash and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain water from pan and mash the squash. In same pan, blend in the butter, honey, brown sugar, and egg.

In large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the squash mixture to this flour mixture and stir just until moistened.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 375˚F for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, then remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: Instead of using honey and light brown sugar, you can substitute 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.

This recipe made 11 muffins for me. If you’re all out of yellow squash from your garden, you’ll have to keep this in mind to try next summer, or just buy some at the grocery store! What kinds of things do you like to make with yellow squash?

Also, Happy Fall to all of you! It’s hard to believe it is autumn already! I have some great apple recipes I’ll be sharing with you soon!

Linked to Fiesta Friday, Meal Plan Monday, Weekend Potluck.

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Pecan Chewies

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Pecan Chewies @ NancyCWhat’s thick, rich, chewy, and buttery with lots of pecan chunks baked in? Pecan Chewies, that’s what. I saw a recipe for these bars over at Southern Bite, and just had to try them. They look like blondies, but they’re much chewier…and so yummy! Continue reading →

Banana Oat Muffins with Maple Syrup Drizzle

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Ripe bananas once again–my bananas seem to ripen more quickly in the summer! I thought I’d try making some muffins this time. I had made some Blueberry Oat Banana Bread before, and thought it would be nice to add oats to these banana muffins. And instead of granulated sugar, I decided to try brown sugar. The Greek yogurt adds to the moistness and the cinnamon and nutmeg give the muffins a lightly spicy flavor. These aren’t super-sweet muffins, so the maple syrup drizzle adds the perfect amount of sweetness on top. And for any maple syrup overflow that drizzles onto your plate, you can dip your muffin in that as you’re eating it, which is a yummy thing to do!

These muffins also puff up really nicely when they bake. Yep, this is a great way to use those extra bananas! This recipe just makes 10 muffins, so you can double the recipe if you’d like to make a bigger batch!

BANANA OAT MUFFINS WITH MAPLE SYRUP DRIZZLE by NancyC

Makes 10 muffins

  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
  • 3 Tablespoons non-GMO canola oil (or light olive oil)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or banana extract
  • Pure Maple Syrup for drizzling over muffins (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per muffin)

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line a muffin pan with 10 paper liners; set aside.

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

In medium bowl, mix mashed bananas, oil, egg, Greek yogurt, and vanilla (or banana) extract, blending well.

Add banana mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake at 375˚F for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let muffins cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire rack or serve warm.

Right before serving these muffins, lightly drizzle some maple syrup on top (or you can use other flavored syrups).

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Since these muffins have oatmeal in them, they make a great quick breakfast if you need something fast and easy. I always seem to be in a rush in the mornings–how about you?

Linked to Fiesta Friday/The Novice Gardener, Inspire Me Monday/Create with Joy.

Arkansas Green Beans

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Arkansas Green Beans @ NancyC I made these yummy green beans the other day. Not sure why they’re called ARKANSAS Green Beans…maybe someone from Arkansas originally came up with the recipe. But wherever the recipe originated from, they sure are good! My friend Jane told me about Continue reading →

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars

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Moist, chunky pumpkin bars chock full of milk chocolate chips and chopped walnuts…who can resist that? This recipe is adapted from a cookie recipe I found over at FoodNetwork.com. I made the cookies and they tasted great, but they just didn’t have much visual appeal. So I thought I’d make them into bars instead, and I like them much better this way! Actually, these bars are more moist and chewy (like a brownie or slice of pumpkin bread) than they are crunchy like a cookie. I also added chopped walnuts and eliminated the cloves that the original recipe calls for. I recommend using Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips in this recipe because they’re a bigger size than other brands and they’re so smooth and creamy. Now if you don’t like milk chocolate, you can substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips instead, but it is really good with those Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips and worth paying a little extra for them!

CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN BARS by NancyCreative, adapted from FoodNetwork.com

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13″ baking pan or line with parchment paper (I haven’t used parchment paper much in the past, but I tried it with this recipe, and it worked really well! If you use it, let the parchment paper cover the bottom of the pan and go up the sides. It works so well, and there’s hardly any cleanup! I’m a new parchment paper fan!).

In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth. Add in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the egg/butter mixture in thirds. Stir in the chocolate chips and then the walnuts. Spoon the dough into the 9 x 13″ pan, spreading evenly in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes  about 20-24 bars, depending on how small or large you cut them. Enjoy, and try not to eat too many! 🙂

Linked to Sunday Showcase, Sundae Scoop, Potluck Sunday, Tasty Tuesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, Strut Your Stuff Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Foodie Friday, Favorite Things Friday, I’m Lovin’ It Friday, What’s Cookin’ in the Kitchen Friday, Favorite Things Saturday.