Ultimate Recipe Swap: Baked Goods

This week on Good Cheap Eats, we’ve been discussing leavening agents.

FishMama say what?

What?! Leavening agents, you know. Baking soda, baking powder, yeast. These, coupled with flour, are the building blocks of baked goods. And you need to have these in your pantry at all times. Because baking is fun! Baking is economical! Baking tastes good!

Need I say more?

The Easter holiday is quickly approaching and with it come lots of opportunities for baking. I know this is true because the grocery store ads are featuring great prices on flour. So, it must be true. The sales say so. And whether you’re making hot cross buns or a delicious carrot cake, baked goods can really make a family event special.

Remember my all-purpose, mix and match muffins?

Well, I tweaked them to coordinate with the arrival of spring, turning them into Carrot Muffins with Honey Sweetened Cream Cheese. These are a great addition to any holiday breakfast. Yummy

Carrot Muffins with Honey-Sweetened Cream Cheese Spread

3 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar, brown sugar, or sucanat
1/2 cup oil
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 °. Line muffin tin with papers or spray with nonstick cooking spray. In large mixing bowl, combine, flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, milk, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk to blend. Add wet ingredients to dry. Fold in carrots and walnuts gently until mostly moistened.

For 12 large muffins, fill muffin cups completely, even mounding past their tops. For 18 kid-size muffins, fill almost full. Bake 25 – 35 minutes, depending on how much you fill them.

In small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and honey. Whip until fluffy. Serve with muffins.

Hostess Gift ALERT: You can even make a muffin kit to give to family and friends, using the “dry team” from this recipe. Talk about a great thing to bring with you on Easter Sunday.

What kind of baked goods will you be mixing up in the coming weeks?

Here’s how to participate in Ultimate Recipe Swap:

1. Post your recipe on your blog. Please mention www.lifeasMOM.com in your post so that your readers know where all the other good recipes are hanging out. Then, come back here to add the link to your post to Mr. Linky below. (Find instructions for Mr. Linky here.)

OR

2. If you don’t have a blog, simply post your recipe or tell us about it in the comments section.

3. Above all, please stick to topic. Today is baked goods. So if your recipe doesn’t fit, it will be deleted. Thanks for understanding.

Have a story to go along with your recipe? We’d love to hear it!

Tagged as: Easter