Breakfast & Brunch Archives - Little Spice Jar

Chai Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Marzia — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 10:30:00 +0000

The perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee! These spiced chai pumpkin cheesecake muffins are tender and loaded with warm chai spices. No dry crumbs here, just tender, delicious pumpkin muffins all around!

New fall favorite muffin recipe right there!

And I’ve got pumpkin fever. As in, give me all the pumpkin spice, savory pumpkin (or any squash, really) recipes, and all the pie, cupcakes and muffins you can find. I’ll take it all.

These pumpkin cheesecake muffins happen to be the newest addition to the party. They’re ridiculously perfect served with a warm mug of joe. Not too sweet, topped with cheesecake batter and tender on the inside. If there’s anything I love more than cake or muffins, it’s those same things topped with cheesecake!

A few weeks ago I ran a poll on Instagram asking if you guys would like to see a cheddar jalapeno bread on the blog or if you’d rather see chai spiced pumpkin cookies. And though these are indeed not the cookies I talked about, the flavors are the same — just in muffin form. My favorite thing(s) about these spiced chai pumpkins cheesecake muffins? I can’t pick just one. They make your house smell all warm and fuzzy. They’re not overly sweet. They’re great with a warm mug of tea or coffee for breakfast or a midmorning snack.

What can I say?! I like sweet stuff for breakfast sometimes!

Muffins in the fall are my favorite things to bake. Don’t get me wrong, I make plenty of casseroles too, but muffins like these healthy carrot cake ones not only make your house smell like fall but also allow you to pack in veggies or squashes into something compact and easy enough to grab and go for breakfast.

Today’s pumpkin cheesecake muffins have two main parts: the chai spiced pumpkin muffins and the cheesecake batter topping.

What is chai spice?

Chai spice is a blend of warm spices used in making masala chai. Usually, when you’re making chai tea/lattes, you use them in the whole form, but for today’s recipe, we’re using the ground version to flavor our pumpkin cheesecake muffins.

What do I need to make the pumpkin cream cheese muffins?

All-purpose flour: is the base of this recipe.
Baking soda: is the leavening agent we use in this recipe.
Salt: this one is pretty self explanatory.
Sugar: you’ll need both brown sugar and granulated sugar.
Chai spices: You can use pumpkin pie spice for this recipe or you can make the custom blend that I use for my homemade chai spice. If you want this to be a true, chai-flavored pumpkin muffin, I suggest using my unique blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom. Allspice is one of those ingredients that is heavily used in pumpkin pie spice but not in chai spice. I also like to add nutmeg, but this is also not a spice that is typically used for pie spice.
Large eggs: add structure and stability to this recipe.
Pumpkin puree: gives the recipe moisture and makes the muffins tender and moist. Be sure to use homemade or canned pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. The filling contains sugar and spices and since we’ll be adding these in ourselves, the pie filling won’t be a suitable substitute for good ol’ puree!
Oil: adds moisture to the recipe and is the main source of fat.
Pure vanilla extract: adds the most delicious scent and flavor. We’ll use this in both the filling and the muffin base.
Softened cream cheese: we’ll use the cream cheese to create the filling or the topping/
Powdered sugar: sweetens the create cheese mixture.
Lemon juice: adds a bit of tang and makes the cream cheese mixture taste like cheesecake!

How to make pumpkin cheesecake muffins:

Do the prep work. Start by preheating the oven. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray of add paper liners to the muffin tin. Set this aside for now.
Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground spices and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set this aside for now.
Whisk the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients. This is the sugar, eggs, pumpkin purée, oil, and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Make the cheesecake batter. Add the cream cheese to the bowl of stand mixer or use a bowl annd ann electric mixer and whip it together to loosen it up. Then add the powdered sugar, vanilla and the lemon juice and mix until just combined.
Load the muffin tins. Scoop the pumpkin batter into the lined tin. If you want to use the cream cheese filling in the center, add a tablespoon to each of the muffins once they are halfway filled and then add more pumpkin muffin batter on top to fill the liners about two-thirds of the way full. More ways to use the cheesecake filling below!
Bake the muffins. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the muffins rise and are golden brown on top. Insert a toothpick in the center to see if they muffins are cooked all the way through. Allow the muffins to cool for a bit. I like to serve them at room temperature with a warm mug of coffee!

Ways to use the sweet cream cheese filling:

Okay. So you’ve got a few different options.

You can add a dollop of the cheesecake batter on top of the muffins as I did. I find this more visually appealing, and I love that the cheesecake batter is front and center.
You can use a piping bag to insert the cheesecake filling into the center.
You can add a dollop to the top the way I did and then swirl it around to give it a more marble effect.
You can fill it inside AND marble it on top.

There’s so much you can do with the filling. And what I love the most about it is that this recipe is super forgiving, all of these methods work!

FAQs about this recipe

Can you freeze spiced chai pumpkin cheesecake muffins?

YASS! You can bake these muffins off, allow them to cool to room temperature and then pop them into zip top bags and freeze them for up to 3 months. Just let them defrost in the refrigerator overnight, and they’ll be ready to enjoy just in time for breakfast!

How long will these last?

My experience with these muffins is that they hold up pretty well for 4-5 days. If it’s hot where you live, they may not hold up that long. Usually, I’ll bake a batch and send some to family or friends and keep a few for us. Or I’ll do option number two below.

What can I use in these pumpkin cheesecake muffins if I don’t like chai spice?

If you’re hesitant to try chai flavored muffins or don’t like chai spice, you can use pumpkin spice in these muffins as well. Swap the ground spices for a total of 1 tablespoon of prepared pumpkin spice.

So good I’ll be making these again before pumpkin season is up for sure!

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

Original recipe posted Oct. 2018, updated Sept 2023.

Yield: 14-16 muffins

Chai Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Muffin:

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons EACH: ground cinnamon AND vanilla extract
1 teaspoon EACH: baking soda AND ground ginger
½ teaspoon EACH: salt, ground cloves, AND ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 (15-ounce) pure pumpkin puree
½ cup oil (coconut, olive, vegetable, canola)

Cheesecake batter:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon EACH: vanilla extract AND lemon juice

Instructions

PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray two muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground spices, and salt; set aside.
WET INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, oil, and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix using a rubber spatula until *just combined*
CHEESECAKE BATTER: Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the cream for 30 seconds just to loosen it up, add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix until *just combined*
MUFFINS: Fill the muffin pans with the pumpkin batter about two-thirds full. Add a tablespoon worth of cheesecake filling to the center and you can press it in, leave it on top, or swirl it on top using a toothpick to make a design. You can also use the cheesecake batter and a filling rather than a topping, if you'd like, both methods work!
BAKE: Bake the muffins for 16-19 minutes or until the muffins have risen and are golden brown on top. Let cool for a few minutes before trying to remove from the pan. Serve warm or room temperature!

Homemade High Protein Bagels

Marzia — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 10:30:00 +0000

Learn how to make high protein bagels at home with just 5 ingredients! These bagels have a whopping 10 grams of protein per bagel and are made with greek yogurt and baking powder instead of yeast! So quick and easy to meal prep for breakfast throughout the week!

PROTEIN BAGELS.

Like, who am I?

I could eat a bagel every day of my life if it wasn’t for those pesky little things called carbs. So we went ahead and balanced the scales a little bit by upping the protein in these quick and easy bagels and if you were to serve them with say, scrambled egg whites and cream cheese, I bet you could get around 30 grams of protein in your breakfast without even breaking a sweat!

But how could I even possibly like a baking powder leavened bagel instead of one with sourdough or yeast? This year, I’ve embarked upon a sourdough journey. And sometimes [read: most times] that comes with a lot of struggles before you get to a point where you enjoy adding flour, salt and water to a bowl and watching it rise on its own.

Luckily, these high protein bagels require no previous cooking or baking skills. And before you freak out – don’t worry, there’s no whey protein powder or anything out of the ordinary in these bagels! If you can add all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and some greek yogurt to a bowl, you can make protein bagels at home in a flash!

Brush your bagels with a beaten egg white, this adds more protein and gives the bagels a little bit of glue so that you can sprinkle them with your toppings of choice – sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, dehydrated garlic, poppy seeds, dried onion, or anything else you please!

And yes, air fryer friends, you don’t even have to turn the oven on if you don’t want to!

Ingredients for protein bagels:

All purpose flour: I have good news for you! Both all purpose and bread flour will work for this recipe. The higher the protein in the flour, the crisper these bagels will be. Most high protein bagel recipes call for self-rising or self-raising flour. This is something I rarely have in the pantry. So I went ahead and made the recipe with regular flour. If you have self-rising flour at home and want to use it, see the notes under the recipe card on what ingredients you’ll need got swap out!
Baking powder: this is the leavening agent in our recipe. We’ll add the baking powder and kosher salt to our dough and let it hang out for 5-10 minutes. This allows the baking powder to really be absorbed by the other ingredients and leaves us with one protein-packed bagel!
Kosher salt: pretty self explanatory here! Use sea salt or kosher salt. Keep in mind that if you are using everything bagel seasoning that contains a lot of sodium, you might want to cut the salt back to 3/4 teaspoon If you usually prefer things less salty!
Greek yogurt: I like using full fat greek yogurt for this recipe. My favorite is Fage 5%, but 2% or even 0% will work. I do suggest using a higher fat percentage if possible though, I find it gives the bagels a better taste. And yes, vegan Greek yogurt should work well in place of traditional greek yogurt!
Egg white: This is to egg wash the bagels with before we sprinkle them with our seasonings.
Seasoning of choice: I’m pretty picky when it comes to bagels! My seasoning of choice is always sesame seeds. You won’t see me straying anywhere from that, but you coiled use poppy seeds, dried onion flakes, garlic flakes, or everything bagel seasoning! I usually make sourdough bagels with Asiago cheese shredded right on top, and I can’t imagine that would be anything but delicious!!

How to my 5-ingredient protein bagel recipe at home:

Start by preheating the oven. Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside for now.
Combine the dry ingredients. In a bowl, mix together your flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. If you wanted to flavor the bagel dough, with say, cinnamon, this would be a good time to do so! Whisk the dry ingredients so they are thoroughly combined.
Add in the greek yogurt. Add the yogurt and using your hands or a silicone spatula, bring the dough together. It’s going to be very crumbly in the beginning but as you work the dough, it will come together – I promise! The prep time on these in under 15 minutes!
Divide and roll it out. Once the dough starts holding its shape, dump it out onto a clean work surface. If your dough is particular sticky, you might want to flour the surface a little bit To keep it from sticking. Divide it out into 6 equal pieces. Roll the dough into a thick rope, about 7-8 inches in length. Then connect the ends and gently roll the joining on the counter to fuse them together to create a “donut”. Place the bagel on the parchment-lined baking sheet And then repeat these steps with the remaining dough.
Brush the bagels and sprinkle them. You can do this directly on the baking sheet or transfer to a rimmed bowl or plate. Brush with a beaten egg white adn the sprinkle with your favorite seasonings.
Bake the bagels. Place the pan in the oven and let the bagels bake until they’re golden brown and fluffy. I like to remove them from the oven and let them cool to room temperature before I store them. The total time on these is around 40 minutes and the reward is half a dozen bagels!

FAQs about this recipe

How do you store the bagels?

Keep the bagels at room temperature for 1-2 days and consume or keep them in the fridge if you anticipate them to be around longer. For long term storage, pop them into a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

How to do you reheat frozen bagels?

If your toaster has a bagel setting, I’d use that! Slice the bagels down the center and then toast for 2-3 minutes.

Are high protein bagels healthy?

This really depends on your definition of ‘healthy.’ If you’re looking for a bagel recipe that’s higher in protein and contains only a handful of ingredients, this definitely meets the definition!

What are the macros on these bagels?

These bagels have around 200 calories, with 0-2grams of fat depending on the type of greek yogurt you use. They also have 35 grams of carbs and 10 over grams of protein.

What can I put on my bagels?

You can use peanut butter and banana, smashed avocado with a fried egg on top, butter and jam, or even scrambled egg whites with a scallion cream cheese! I also love my breakfast sandwiches for a more protein packed meal – just swap the English muffins for these bagels!

How do you make protein bagels in the air fryer?

Prepare the bagels as written. Preheat the air fryer at 300ºF for 5-7 minutes. Then 2-3 bagels into the air fryer basket without over crowding. Air Fry for 15-20 minutes or until the bagels are golden on top and puffed up.

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

Yield: Serves 6

Homemade High Protein Bagels

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

2¼ cups all purpose flour (or bread flour)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ cup greek yogurt
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning

Instructions

PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
MIX: In a bowl, whisk the dry ingredients until mixed. Then add the greek yogurt and mix together until a dough forms. You might want to use your hands to make this easier!
DIVIDE: Turn the dough out onto a clean surface. Divide it out into 6 equal pieces. If the dough is sticky dust with flour, I didn’t need to.
ROLL: out the dough into a thick rope, about 7-8 inches in length. Join the ends and gently press. Place your hand through the hole gently roll the joining part on the counter so that the ends fuse. Place the bagels on the prepared baking sheet and let sit for 5-10 minutes if possible. This allows the bagels to puff up more.
BRUSH AND SPRINKLE: On a clean plate, place one bagel, brush with the beaten egg white. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or bagel seasoning. Place the bagel on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining bagels.
BAKE: Place the pan in the oven and bake the bagels for 20-25 minutes or golden brown on top. Remove the bagels to a wire rack and let them rest for 10 minutes or until cooled so you can slice them. Toast if desired and spread with cream cheese. Store leftover bagels in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Notes

use self-rising/self-raising flour: you can also use self-rising flour if this is something you typically keep on hand. Replace the flour, baking powder, and most of the kosher salt with 2¼ cups self-rising flour. You’ll still need ¼ teaspoon of salt in addition to the flour!
seasonings: You can use an array of seasoning for these bagels. Dehydrated garlic or onion would work too. If you use an everything bagel seasoning with salt, you might want to cut the salt back to ¾ teaspoon to keep the bagels from being too salty.

Air fryer directions: Preheat the air fryer to 300ºF for at least 5 minutes. Then add the bagels and air fry them for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked through.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 206Total Fat: 2gCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 2gProtein: 10g

The nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is just an estimate. To get the most accurate information, please input the ingredients you've used into a nutrition calculator.

Savory Zucchini Muffins with Cheddar Cheese

Marzia — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 10:30:00 +0000

These savory zucchini muffins take in the ballpark of 30 minutes to make and are perfect to serve any time of the day! Loaded with fresh chives, cheddar cheese, garlic powder, and buttermilk. They’re a cross between a garlicky cheddar bay biscuit and a zucchini muffin and are phenomenal!

Quite possibly my favorite way to eat zucchini!

These savory zucchini muffins are a cross between a cheddar bay biscuit and a zucchini muffin and they are absolute perfection. I know zucchini and baking usually means sweets like my zucchini bread, but if you’ve never used zucchini to make a cheesy muffin, you’re in for a real treat.

@littlespicejar Savory Zucchini Muffins aka Red Lobster Biscuits Full recipe linked in my profile and on littlespicejar.com. #cheddarbaybiscuits #cheddarbaybiscuits #zucchinirecipes #zucchinirecipe #savory #savoryfood #bakingtiktok #muffins #cheeselover ♬ Chillest in the Room – L.Dre

I’ll be honest, I went back and forth on whether to call these muffins or biscuits. Because the texture on these is a cross between the two. They’re made in a muffin pan, so ultimately I called them savory muffins. I love warming them up in my air fryer for breakfast – the cheese gets all melty and the muffins crisp up around the edges while the centers are melty, garlicky, and warm. They are perfect to grab and go with my egg bites.

If you’re wondering what the perfect time of day is to serve these savory muffins – I’d say anytime! They’re great for breakfast with eggs and even better for dinner with some grilled chicken and salad or even a large bowl of soup. They work for a midday snack too with 10 grams of protein packed into each muffin.

Plus, the prep time on these is about 10 minutes so you can have them on the table in no time!

Ingredients for savory zucchini muffins:

All-purpose flour: This recipe uses both all-purpose flour and almond flour to make them a bit more protein-packed and lighter on carbohydrates.
Almond flour: Amps up the protein content of these zucchini muffins. Each muffin has a whopping 10 grams of protein!
Baking powder: this is the leavening agent we use in the batter to help the muffins rise in the tin.
Garlic Powder: Gives these muffins a cheddar bay-like flavor!
Kosher salt: is the sodium for the recipe. If you happen to use salted butter, you can drop the kosher salt to 1 teaspoon.
Sugar: we’ll use 1½ tsp of sugar in the muffin batter to balance the savory elements.
Eggs: Add structure and stability to baked goods. They also add more protein to the muffins.
Buttermilk: reacts with baking soda or baking powder and helps the muffins rise. If you don’t have buttermilk, use any dairy milk (or non-dairy) and add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the milk. Vinegar works too!
Butter: is the fat in the recipe.
Zucchini: we’ll shred the zucchini on a coarse grater. Don’t worry about squeezing the water out of the zucchini for this recipe. The little bit of moisture will help aid the muffin batter from being too dry along with the other wet ingredients.
Shredded cheese: I like to use a medium cheddar for this recipe. It’s the perfect cheese to use in cheddar bay biscuits and it works well with zucchini. Feel free to use mozzarella or any other meeting cheese that you like.
Chives: Chives add an oniony flavor to the savory zucchini muffins. I have tried the recipe without them and prefer to use them as they make the muffins so much more delicious!

Instructions for savory zucchini muffins:

Start with the prep. You’ll want to start by preheating the oven to 375ºF. Then we’ll grab your muffin pan and give it a good spray with cooking spray. I like to use avocado oil, but any kind will work. I suggest avoiding using muffin liners for this recipe. The muffins don’t rise as well and they end up sticking to the liners. For best results, bake the cheddar zucchini muffins directly in the muffin cups.
Mix the dry ingredients together. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, garlic powder, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Feel free to use a little pepper if you want the muffins to have a kick to them, I didn’t. Give everything a stir. Then in a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. You’ll also want to grate the zucchini on a coarse grater.
Fold in the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them until they’re halfway combined. Fold in the cheese, chives, and shredded zucchini. Don’t over-mix the batter otherwise, you run the risk of having dry muffins.
Bake the muffins. Divide the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake the muffins until they’re golden and cooked through. Test with a toothpick to make sure you don’t end up with wet batter on the toothpick. Carefully remove the muffin pan with a towel or pot holder and allow the muffins to cool for several minutes before removing them from the pan.

FAQs about this recipe

How do you grate the whole zucchini?

I use this coarse grater and leave the zucchini peel on. You can peel the zucchini if you’d like.

Can I use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose?

I haven’t tested the recipe with whole wheat, but I do think in this case it should be fine to use.

Can I swap all-purpose flour for a gluten-free baking mix?

I haven’t tested the recipe with a gluten-free mix, but as long as you use something that is a 1:1 substitute for AP flour, I think it will work.

How many calories are in each muffin?

They’re in the ballpark of 180 calories. This will vary greatly based on the type of cheese you used so I do suggest calculating this in a nutrition calculator for the most accurate numbers.

If you like this zucchini recipe, you might also like:

Yield: Makes 12 muffins

Savory Zucchini Muffins with Cheddar Cheese

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 24 minutes

Total Time 34 minutes

These savory zucchini muffins take in the ballpark of 30 minutes to make and are perfect to serve any time of the day! Loaded with fresh chives, cheddar cheese, garlic powder, and buttermilk. They're a cross between a garlicky cheddar bay biscuit and a zucchini muffin and are phenomenal!

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoon sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1¼ cups buttermilk (see notes for sub)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1¾ cup zucchini, grated with skin (do not squeeze)
1¾ cup shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, etc.)
1-2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

Instructions

PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray a standard nonstick muffin pan generously with cooking spray and brush it well so that all the sides are evenly coated with oil. See notes about muffin liners.
MIX: In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and sugar together. In a 4-cup measuring cup mix together the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Whisk the wet ingredients then add them to the dry ingredients and stir until halfway combined.
FOLD: Then add the grated zucchini and shredded cheese and chives. Fold until the ingredients are *JUST* combined. Overmixing will produce dry muffins.
BAKE: Divide the batter out into the muffin pans. Bake for 24-30 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center doesn’t have any wet batter. Allow to cool for several minutes before removing from pan. Gently use an offset spatula to loosen any stuck on muffins.

Notes

No Buttermilk? Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to a 2-cup measuring up. Then fill it up to the 1¼ cup line with milk and let it sit for 5 minutes before using it in the recipe.
Muffin liners: I suggest avoiding muffin liners for this recipe. Because of the amount of cheddar cheese, I found that the muffins stuck to the liners and were difficult to peel away. Parchment paper tulips might have better results, but this is something I haven’t tested myself.

Mini Fruit Tarts with Vanilla Pastry Cream

Marzia — Mon, 08 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Easy Mini Fruit Tarts filled with an easy homemade from-scratch vanilla pastry cream! Top fruit tarts with strawberries, kiwi, mandarin slices, or anything else you please! These mini fruit tarts are the perfect bite-sized dessert for a bridal shower, baby shower, Mother’s Day, or afternoon tea!

Mini Fruit Tarts are my jam!

You know how sometimes you have a favorite dessert that just has a choke hold on you and no matter what you do you can’t stop thinking about it?

Well, that’s what the La Madeline Fruit Tart was for me.

Creamy and delicious vanilla pastry cream speckled with vanilla bean paste. Sweet and tart topped with fresh berries, kiwi slices, mandarin oranges, and slivers of red grapes. The shortcrust pastry was always buttery and lightly sweetened. And the whole thing together was a harmonious bite of buttery pastry, smooth vanilla creme patisserie, and tart fresh fruit segments.

Today I’m showing you my quick and easy mini fruit tarts where I’ve gone ahead and used mini store-bought tart shells instead of making the shortbread crust from scratch. This cuts down on the prep work for this recipe quite a bit. It also makes homemade mini-tarts a lot more accessible for those of us that aren’t big on baking! But you could certainly use your own recipe to make the crust as well. You could also make sugar cookie cups made from store-bought sugar cookie dough and just press it into your muffin pan and bake. I do find that this makes the fruit tarts significantly sweeter than using shortcrust pastry tart shells or mini pie crusts, so I usually prefer to stick with the other options.

I’m also skipping the kiwi, oranges, and grapes and going all in with the berry medley – bring on the blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries! Fruit tartlets are festive enough for the 4th of July and yet easy and pretty enough to serve at a Mother’s Day brunch or a shower!

Ingredients for Mini Fruit Tarts

Mini Pie or Tart Shells: You can use store-bought prepared tart shells that don’t require any preparation or you can use mini pie shells that just require baking. You can also make homemade shortcrust pastry tart crusts from your favorite recipe and fill them with my pastry cream recipe and top them with fresh fruit.
Assorted Fruits or Berries: this time around, I made this recipe with just fresh berries. You can also use your favorite cubed fruit instead. Mangoes, kiwi pieces, red grapes cut in half, mandarin slices, and so many other things would work beautifully on these.
Apricot Preserves: I thin out apricot jam and use it as a glaze on the tarts. It not only gives the fruit tarts a beautiful sheen, but it also adds just a hint of sweetness to tart fruits.
Granulated Sugar: This is the sweetener for the pastry cream.
Egg Yolks: Are used for the creme patisserie. The fat in the yolks adds richness and thickens the vanilla pastry cream. Egg yolks are a very common ingredient in pastry cream for many tart recipes.
Cornstarch: Helps thinking the creme patisserie (or vanilla pastry cream.) A lot of recipes call for flour instead of cornstarch, but I find that cornstarch not only makes the pastry cream gluten-free it also gives it a silkier texture than flour.
Milk: We’ll simmer the milk with the heavy cream to create the custard for the mini fruit tarts. I usually prefer to use 2% milk here because the heavy cream, it gives the pastry cream the right ratio of cream.
Heavy Cream: Goes in with the milk. Heavy cream is labeled as ‘heavy whipping cream’ in some countries. Essentially you want a cream that has at least 36% fat content.
Salad Butter: I like to use salted butter that we’ll add to the pastry cream right at the end. If you don’t have salted butter on hand, just add a pinch of kosher salt when you’re stirring in the butter.
Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract: I like to use vanilla bean paste for this recipe because the pastry cream then has speckles of vanilla bean running through it. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste on hand, feel free to use vanilla extract. The only difference is you’ll want to up the amount of extract you use and add it in at the end so that it doesn’t evaporate when you’re cooking the creme patisserie.

How to make mini fruit tarts that are perfect to entertain with:

Whisk together the base. To start with, you want to make sure your tart shells are prepared. I usually buy store-bought ones that just need to be baked. I preheat the oven and bake them off while I’m making the cream patisserie so that they can cool off and be ready to fill once the pastry cream is cooled. Combine the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl until the mixture is creamy, pale and yellow in color. Add the cornstarch and whisk it together until combined. I like to use a hand mixer for this step because it cuts down on the elbow grease quite a bit. But you could also do this with a whisk if you prefer.
Bring the milk to a simmer. Add the milk and cream to a medium saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. You don’t want the mixture to boil because the fat will separate. Instead, you want to just keep an eye on the rim of the saucepan to see when tiny bubbles start to form. When the mixture has tiny bubbles forming, remove it from the heat source. While the stand mixer (or hand mixer) is running, slowly pour the cream into the yolk mixture. The key is to continue whisking so that the egg yolks don’t curdle. Pouring the warm cream slowly into the egg mixture is known as tempering the eggs.
Cook the creme patisserie. Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and cook this over medium-low heat. Whisk or stir the mixture constantly to keep things from sticking to the bottom. Add the vanilla paste and continue to cook the pastry cream until it thickens. Once it’s thick, transfer the pastry cream to a fine mesh strainer and strain it into a heat-proof bowl. Then add the butter and stir to combine. If you’re using vanilla extract, this would be the time it add it in. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the surface of the vanilla pastry cream. You want to make sure that there aren’t any air bubbles between the cream and the plastic. This helps ensure that the filling doesn’t develop a layer of skin on top. Then place the filling in the fridge and allow it to cool completely.
Make fruit tarts. Whisk the pastry cream with a hand mixer until it’s smooth. You want it to be airy and light and this helps with that! Fill each tart shell with about 2 tablespoons of pastry cream. I like to use a piping bag to make it neat and clean. Then top with fresh berries or cubed fruit. Melt the apricot preserves in the microwave with a splash of water. You want it to be a glaze-like texture. Whisk with a fork to thin out the glaze. Then brush the fruit lightly with this. Allow the fruit tarts to cool for at least 1 hour before serving. This allows the glaze to set up beautifully and also gives the pastry cream a chance to set as well.

FAQs about fruit tarts

How do you keep mini fruit tarts from getting soggy?

When you cool the creme patisserie before piping it into the fruit tart shells, you eliminate the chance of the fruit tarts becoming soggy.

What is the best filling for tart?

Vanilla pastry cream of creme patisserie is the best filling for a fruit tart.

What is the clear jelly on fruit tarts?

It’s typically apricot preserves that have been thinned out with a little water. It adds a nice glisten to the fruit on top and gives them a bit more flavor.

Can I make the pastry cream in advance?

Yes, the filling can be made up to 48 hours ahead of filling the tart molds. Just make sure to cover the surface so that the pastry cream doesn’t form a skin. You’ll also want to make sure to whisk the pastry cream with a hand mixer to make sure it’s smooth before filling the tart shells.

If you like this dessert recipe, you might also like:

Yield: ~12-16 filled tarts

Mini Fruit Tarts with Vanilla Pastry Cream

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Pastry Cream:

½ cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks, cold
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup 2% milk
1 cup heavy cream (36% fat)
2 tablespoons salted butter, cold
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (double if extract)

Tarts:

13-15 mini tart shells (see notes)
~2 cups assorted fresh berries (or diced fruit)
2 tablespoons apricot preserves

Instructions

WHISK: In a heatproof bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of your stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the egg yolks and sugar until creamy and pale yellow; approximately 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined.
SIMMER: Heat the milk and cream in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until tiny bubbles start forming around the rim of the saucepan. Do not let the cream boil. Remove from heat. Gradually pour the hot cream in a steady stream into the egg mixture while the mixer runs until completely incorporated and smooth.
COOK: Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and then heat over medium-low heat whisking constantly. Add the vanilla paste (don’t add extract yet.) Allow the pastry cream to cook until it thickens; about 4-5 minutes. Once thickened, remove from heat. Strain the pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Then stir in the butter and add vanilla extract (if using.) Press a sheet of plastic wrap over the surface of the pastry cream and make sure there aren’t any air bubbles between the cream and the plastic. This will keep the patisserie cream from developing a skin. Bring to room temperature and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before piping. The filling can be made up to 48 hours in advance.
TARTS: Whisk the pastry cream with a hand mixer until smooth and airy. Pipe into prepared tart shells. Top with fresh berries as desired. Melt the apricot preserves in the microwave with a teaspoon of water for 15-30 seconds and brush the fruit with this using a pastry brush. I like to refrigerate the fruit tarts for 1 hour before serving, but this is optional.

Notes

Tart shells: Use your favorite shortcrust pastry recipe, store-bought shells, or even cookie cups made out of sugar cookie dough. My grocery store sells ~2-inch pie shells that I blind baked and used for this. Use pie weights or beans if you feel the crust may rise during baking.
Fruit toppings: I like to use a berry medley for this typically. But sometimes I'll do chunks of kiwi, mango, or even grapes. Feel free to use any fruit that you like here.

How to Make Egg Bites (in the Oven!)

Marzia — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 10:30:00 +0000

If you’re a fan of the ever-popular Starbucks egg bites, you are going to love learning how to make egg bites at home. These little bites are loaded with your topping of choice – peppers and spinach, bacon and cheese, or mushrooms with asiago! They’re tasty, loaded with protein, and a convenient on-the-go breakfast option!

Sous vide egg bites – made in the oven – with no special sous vide equipment!

Egg bites. You’ve heard of them, right? They’re mini portable frittatas that you can eat on the go. And for a while, they were the magic bubble eggs from Starbucks that cost an arm and a leg. Egg bites are a delicious and healthy breakfast option that are easy to make at home and great for meal prep. And when you make them at home, you don’t end up spending $5 for two little egg bites.

If you didn’t know you can make your own egg bites at home without using sous vide equipment, now you do! Sous vide is a technique that involves cooking food in a temperature-controlled water bath, resulting in tender and flavorful dishes. We’re going to use that method with regular muffin tins from your kitchen and make them in the oven – and no, don’t worry, you don’t need a fancy silicone mold or an instant pot for this!

By cooking the blended egg mixture in a water bath, you can ensure that they are cooked evenly and remain tender and moist. Plus, they are fully customizable, so you can add sauteed veggies, ham, lots of cheese, or anything else you like. Typically made using the sous vide technique (basically, they’re cooked in a water bath.)

In addition to being tasty, homemade egg bites are the perfect make-ahead breakfast option. You can prepare them in advance and store them in the fridge or freezer for later. To reheat them, simply microwave them for 60 seconds. I serve them up with my favorite hot sauce and a slice of bread on the side.

Ingredients for copycat Starbucks egg bites recipe:

Eggs: You’ll want to use large eggs for this recipe. No need to separate the eggs from the egg whites, we’ll add them directly to the blender and blend them.
Cottage Cheese: Use full-fat or low-fat cottage cheese for this recipe. I prefer to use low-fat cottage cheese because it curbs the fat content in the egg bites but still keeps the protein constant!
Half and Half: Or use whole milk. This just helps thin out the egg mixture a little.
Cornstarch: It binds the proteins together and absorbs the excess moisture from the veggies. Cornstarch also helps keep the custard in the egg bites from curdling and ensures you end up with a silky smooth texture!
Kosher salt: You’ll want to play around with the amount of kosher salt depending on the mix-ins you add. If you’re using ham or bacon, you’ll want to use less salt to ensure your egg bites aren’t too salty.
Cheese: There are tons you might want to use. Asiago works really well with mushrooms, cheddar is great with bacon or sauteed mushrooms and peppers, and smoked gruyere is a great option that would work with all sorts of mix-ins. Monterey Jack cheese would be great to add with pickled jalapeños or turkey bacon.
Additional Mix-ins: You could use sausage and green onions, turkey bacon, roasted broccoli, saute mushrooms, and sauteed spinach with finely minced red bell peppers work well too. You could even use fire-roasted bell peppers that are minced and drained. I plan on trying these with minced jalapeno peppers next!

How to make egg bites at home:

Do the prep work. Start by heating your skillet. While your skillet is heating up, add water to the kettle and bring it to a boil. You can do this on the stove or using an electric kettle. Position two racks in the oven. You want one on the lowest run and one in the center of the oven. Then preheat the oven to 300ºF. Grab a 12-cup muffin pan and spray it with cooking spray.
Saute the mix-ins. When the skillet is warm, add a drizzle of oil and cook the mix-ins. I like to cook each ingredient separately to make sure you’re cooking out a lot of the moisture. Season with a pinch of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder as desired. Remove them to a bowl when done. Allow the add-ins to cool completely before you add about a tablespoon of mixed add-ins to each muffin tin.
Blend it all up. In a blender, combine the eggs, cottage cheese, half and half, cornstarch, salt, and cheese. Blend the mixture until it’s completely smooth.
Create a steam bath. Place an 8×8 or 9×13 baking dish in the lowest rack of the oven. Pour the boiling water into the dish so that it comes at least halfway up the dish. This is going to help create steam in the oven and cook the eggs gently.
Bake the egg bites. Then divide the egg mixture in each tin over the add-ins. You want to fill them just past 3/4 full so that there is a little space at the top. Bake them for 20-25 minutes or until you notice the eggs pulling away from the muffin tins. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
Remove and serve. Run a small offset spatula along the edge of the egg bites. And gently lift them out of the egg molds. I like to allow the egg bites to cool on a wire trivet for a bit and then store them in the refrigerator or enjoy them immediately!

Tips for the best egg bites

Saute the veggies.

Sauteeing the mix-in veggies will reduce the amount of moisture in the final product. This ensures that the egg bites aren’t watery. Ingredients like mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers, and spinach all need to be sauteed in a pan and cooled before being added to the egg bites.

Shred the cheese yourself, if possible.

Store-bought pre-shredded cheeses are often coated in starches, which can produce egg bites that aren’t as silky smooth. For the best results, I suggest grating the cheese yourself. This is easy to do in a food processor with a shredder attachment or with a coarse hand grater.

Play with the seasonings.

You can swap the salt for garlic salt or add a dash of garlic powder with the other blender ingredients. You could also use a pinch of red pepper flakes if you want the egg bites to have a kick!

Don’t go crazy with the mix-ins.

Too many high-moisture ingredients will cause your egg bites to be topping-heavy. The balance for these egg bites is about a tablespoon of mix-ins surrounded by eggs. I suggest sticking to a maximum of ¾ cup of mix-ins. You want it to be a significantly higher ratio of egg mixture to add-ins.

Variations on Starbucks sous vide egg bites:

Roasted broccoli + cheddar cheese for a rip-off of broccoli and cheese soup
Sauteed mushrooms + asiago cheese
Sauteed spinach and peppers + cheddar cheese
Turkey bacon + cheddar or Monterey Jack
Sausage, sauteed peppers, green onions, + smoked gruyere cheese
Sauteed peppers and kalamata olives + feta cheese
Minced pickled jalapeños + Pepper Jack cheese

FAQs about this recipe:

Are egg bites healthy?

Yes! They are low-carb and protein-heavy! With around 5-10 grams of carbs based on the filling you use and around 230 calories. The cottage cheese kicks the protein content up to 17 grams of protein for 2 of these egg bites. Bonus, they’re also gluten-free!

How do you reheat prepared egg bites?

I like to reheat them on a plate for 30-60 seconds in the microwave. Keep in mind if you freeze the egg bites, they take slightly longer to reheat from frozen, about 60-180 seconds. You can also reheat them in a toaster oven for a few minutes.

How long are homemade egg bites good for?

Typically you want to use them within 4-5 days.

How do you store egg bites for a week?

You want to store the egg bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

Yield: 12 egg bites, serves 6

How to Make Egg Bites (In the Oven!)

Prep Time 13 minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

If you're a fan of the ever-popular Starbucks egg bites, you are going to love learning how to make egg bites at home. These little bites are loaded with your topping of choice – peppers and spinach, bacon and cheese, or mushrooms with asiago! They're tasty, loaded with protein, and a convenient on-the-go breakfast option!

Ingredients

8 large eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
3 tablespoons half and half (or whole milk)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup shredded cheese (asiago, cheddar, feta, Monterey Jack, Etc.)

Filling Ideas:

½ cup sautéed mushrooms
– OR –
½ cup lightly sautéed baby spinach
¼ cup sautéed minced red bell peppers
– OR –
5 strips cooked turkey bacon, cut into pieces

Instructions

PREP: Heat a large kettle filled with water to boil. Position two oven racks, one in the lowest rung and one in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Spray a nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray. Make sure to coat the pan generously so the egg bites don't stick.
SAUTE: In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of oil and cook the mushrooms, bacon, peppers, or spinach. Make sure to cook each ingredient separately and then combine it in a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder if desired.
BLEND: In a blender, add the eggs, cottage cheese, half and half, cornstarch, kosher salt, and cheese of choice. Blend until completely smooth.
STEAM: Place a 9x13 baking dish on the lower rack and fill it halfway full once the water is boiling.
BAKE: Divide your sautéed ingredients in each of the muffin tins. Then pour the egg mixture over them leaving a tiny bit of space at the top. Bake the egg bites for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set and start pulling away from the edges of the muffin tin. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before attempting to remove them from the pan.
REMOVE: Run a small offset spatula to help loosen the egg bites from the edges before lifting them out of the pan. Let them cool on a wire rack. Place in an airtight container if you're meal prepping this for later.

The Best Air Fryer Pita Chips

Marzia — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 14:25:00 +0000

It’s so easy to make Air Fryer Pita Chips! All you really need is 12 minutes and three easy ingredients. Top your homemade pita chips with your favorite toppings and serve with your choice of dip!

The absolute perfect dipping scoop to serve with a bowl of hummus!

These air fryer pita chips take in the ballpark of 10 minutes to make and require just three simple ingredients – pitas, olive oil, and some sea salt. Now, of course, you can make them with a tablespoon of za’atar, a sprinkling of rosemary, sesame seeds, use your favorite homemade or store-bought spice blends, or go the sweet route and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar when they’re warm from the air fryer.

Regardless of how you top them, the homemade version is far superior. Making pita chips is my favorite way to use up store-bought pita bread. When my pita bread is drying out from sitting on the counter after I’ve bought way too much for homemade gyros, kofta pita sandwiches, or arayes, I turn them into my cheater’s version of Manakish, on a Fattoush salad, or these air fryer pita chips. Usually, it’s the latter because the prep time on these is nonexistent.

You just have to make small pita wedges and drizzle them with oil and let them air fry until crispy! Snacks that take no time to make? YES PLEASE.

Ingredients for Homemade Pita Chips

Homemade or store-bought pita: If you’re wondering what kind of bread works best, the answer is most pita bread will work for this recipe. If you have Lebanese flatbread (the type in which you wrap your shawarma), you can use that. But you can also use thick pita pockets here. You can use whole wheat pitas too! All of these will work, but Lebanese pita bread will take 6-8 minutes to crisp up, while Greek pita will take closer to 10 minutes.
Olive oil: Use good quality olive oil here. Something you’d use for sauteeing would work well for this recipe—no need to spring for extra virgin olive oil.
Kosher salt: You’ll want to use a good sprinkle of salt on these. Feel free to get creative! I found some applewood smoked sea salt in the back of the cabinet, and I’m trying that next.
Seasonings of choice: Now, this is entirely optional! Because the fact of the matter is that I typically serve homemade or store-bought pita chips with a dip. A dip that usually is packed with flavor. So I don’t need to make these a particular flavor. More often than not, I sprinkle them with kosher salt and call it a day.

How to Make Air Fryer Pita Chips

Cut pita triangles. Start by placing 4-6 pocket pitas in front of you. Cut them into wedges with a sharp knife, or use a pizza cutter. I typically cut the pitas into 1½-inch pieces. You want the pieces to be about the same size to brown evenly.
Toss them and season them generously. You’ll want to add the pita wedges to a large bowl. Combine the oil and any seasonings you’d like to use in a small bowl. Drizzle this all over the pitas and stir to ensure all the pita chips are coated.
Get them golden and crispy. Preheat the air fryer. I like to line the air fryer basket with a parchment liner and then place the removable wire rack on top. This makes clean-up so much easier – especially if you used za’atar or a seasoning blend. Bake the pita chips in the oven. If you used four pitas, typically, you could be able to air fry them all at once. For six pitas, I prefer to air fry them in at least two batches so that you can get the pita chips in a single layer. Remember, thin Lebanese pitas will take less time to bake, while thicker pocket pitas, will take longer. Serve up these chips as an appetizer with your favorite dip!

Serving suggestions for homemade pita chips

FAQs about this recipe

How do you store homemade pita chips?

Once cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. If you find the chips are softening (if it’s humid where you live, you’re probably used to this) just refresh them at 250ºF in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes.

What other seasonings can I use?

I love using zaatar or serving these plain! You can also use lemon pepper seasoning, Italian seasoning, an umami blend, a dash of cayenne pepper, rosemary + thyme with sea salt, or just some garlic powder and cracked pepper. You could also use sesame seeds or sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar when they’re hot from the oven.

How would you make pita chips in the oven if you didn’t have an air fryer?

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the pitas to the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes flipping halfway through (leave them a little longer for thicker Greek pitas.)

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

Yield: Serves 4-6

The Best Air Fryer Pita Chips

Prep Time 2 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 17 minutes

It's so easy to make Air Fryer Pita Chips! All you really need is 12 minutes and three easy ingredients. Top your homemade pita chips with your favorite toppings and serve with your choice of dip!

Ingredients

4-6 pita pockets
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2-3 teaspoons zaatar seasoning, optional

Instructions

PITA TRIANGLES: Cut the pita pockets into 8-12 pieces depending on how big they are. You want to make about 1½-inch pieces.
TOSS: Add the oil, za’atar (or salt, pepper, garlic, powder, etc.) to the oil and stir to combine. Add the pita chips to a large bowl and drizzle the oil over the pita pieces. Toss the pita chips to ensure that they are coated well in the oil.
AIR FRY: Heat the air fryer to 325ºF for at least 5 minutes. Add the pita pieces to the air fryer. You can add up to 4 pitas at once, for 6 pitas, I suggest splitting the batch in two. Spray the tops with cooking spray if the pita looks dry, and cook for 4 minutes. Gently toss or flip and continue to cook for another 3-8 minutes or until the pita pieces are golden and crispy. Thicker pocket pitas will take longer, thin Lebanese pita will cook quicker. Serve pita chips with homemade hummus or crushed up in a fattoush salad!

Notes

Storage: Once cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. If you find the chips are softening (if it's humid where you live, you're probably used to this) just refresh them at 250ºF in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes.
Other seasonings: I love using zaatar or serving these plain! You can also use lemon pepper seasoning, Italian seasoning, an umami blend, rosemary + thyme with sea salt, or just some garlic powder and cracked pepper. You could also use sesame seeds or sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar when they're hot from the oven.
Oven instructions: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the pitas to the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes flipping halfway through (leave them a little longer for thicker Greek pitas.)

Sweet Heat Southern Deviled Eggs

Marzia — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 10:30:00 +0000

This Southern Deviled Eggs recipe brings it! Loaded with sweetness from sweet pickle relish and just a tiny bit of heat from pickled jalapenos. Pipe the yolk mixture filling into the hard-boiled egg whites and watch these fly off the plate at Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas!

SWEET HEAT.

That’s the only way I know how to describe this southern deviled eggs recipe.

We’re starting off the way you do for all of your deviled eggs – by boiling the eggs. Now if you have a fool-proof egg boiling and peeling method for your that you’ve perfected over the years, use it. Once the eggs are done, we’ll make a whipped yolk mixture with mayo, a couple of seasonings, mustard, and sweet relish. Load it all into a piping bag, then pipe it into the white halves. Garnish with a little bit of this and that, and you’re ready to serve.

What ultimately takes this recipe over the top to all the classic deviled eggs you’ve had in the past is the combination of sweet pickle relish and the pickled jalapenos. I use a yellow mustard that comes packed with bits of jalapenos. It’s my absolute favorite mustard to use, and I always stock up on it to make egg salad sandwiches or regular turkey sandwiches.

I like a little bit of heat with my food and this

Ingredients for southern deviled eggs:

The ingredient list isn’t all that big. But we make sure to pick and choose the ones that pack the most prominent flavor punch!

Eggs: You’ll need eggs for this, obviously. I like to use large-size eggs so the cooking times provided work best for large eggs. Medium eggs will take slightly less time to cook and extra large or jumbo eggs with undoubtedly take a couple of additional minutes. Many people like to make hard-boiled eggs for deviled eggs in the instant pot. If you’ve perfected your method for pressure cooker eggs, go for it!
Mayonnaise: A couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise is a classic in deviled egg recipes. Not reinventing the wheel with this one! I do suggest using good-quality mayonnaise for this recipe. Something you usually prefer on your sandwiches would make a good option.
Seasonings: You’ll need a dash of garlic powder, kosher salt, and some cayenne pepper or paprika to sprinkle as garnish.
Mustard: I love using a squirt of jalapeño mustard to kick the spice level up on a classic deviled eggs filling. If you don’t have jalapeno mustard, just use yellow or dijon mustard and add some minced-up pickled jalapenos to the mixture.
Sweet Pickle Relish: I like to use sweet pickle relish to give these deviled eggs a sweet heat flavor. You can also use dill pickle relish if you prefer to skip the hint of sweetness.

Making Classic Southern Deviled Eggs

Start the prep work. Add the eggs to a medium saucepan and carefully add enough cold water to cover the eggs by an inch. Place the pot over the stove and cook on medium-high heat until boiling. Once the egg water is boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat, cover it with a lid, and let the eggs hang out for 12 minutes.
Toss them in an ice bath. Prepare the ice water bath when there are a couple of minutes remaining. I like to use more ice and less water. When the timer goes off, remove the eggs from the cold water with a slotted spoon and add them to the ice water bath. Let the eggs hang out for a few minutes before removing them. Peel the eggs under cold running water.
Scoop and make the filling. Halve the eggs lengthwise and scoop out the egg yolks. Add them to a bowl and mash them with a fork. Once mashed, add the mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, jalapeno mustard, and relish. Stir the ingredients together until you have a smooth egg filling. Taste and adjust with more salt or seasonings to your preference.
Load them up and serve ’em! Fill the egg yolk mixture into a piping bag or a freezer quart bag and snip off the top. Gently squeeze into the egg whites and dust with cayenne, fresh chives or parsley before serving. These little appetizers are going to disappear so fast!

Best Tips for Making Deviled Eggs

Use older eggs if possible!

You want the eggs that have been hanging around the refrigerator for at least a week. Those are much easier to peel than fresh eggs.

Play it safe; boil an extra egg or two!

Sometimes it’s challenging to get the shell off, and you end up taking a chunk out of the egg; I suggest boiling 1-2 additional eggs to play it safe.

No fuss peeling.

Whenever I make hard-boiled eggs, I opt to peel them under a steady stream of cold running water. This works incredibly well on those eggs that have a tricky membrane layer that sticks to the egg whites. The running water helps gently lift the membrane so you can get under it with your thumb, making it a breeze to peel!

You can easily double this recipe.

This makes six eggs, which is typically what you want for six servings. Need more? Double or triple the recipe as needed.

Storing deviled eggs.

Leftover deviled eggs can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container. Suggestions on how to use them up below!

Have leftover deviled eggs after a party?

Smash them up and load them between two slices of white sandwich bread with a little bit of extra mayo – this makes a killer egg salad sandwich! And throw some dill pickles on the side (or inside of the sandwich) while you’re at it!

If you like this recipe, you might also like these side dishes:

Yield: Serves 6

Sweet Heat Southern Deviled Eggs

Prep Time 13 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

6 large eggs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoon jalapeno mustard (see notes)
1 tablespoon sweet relish
1 teaspoon jalapeño brine (or pickle brine)
Chili powder, for dusting

Instructions

PREP: Add the eggs to a medium saucepan. Carefully add enough cold water to cover the eggs by an inch. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil. When boiling, remove from heat, cover with a lid, and let stand for 12 minutes.
ICE WATER BATH: Prepare an ice water bath when 2 minutes remain by adding lots of ice to a large bowl. When the timer goes off, immediately remove the eggs from the hot water and add them to the ice water bath for at least 5-10 minutes or until they’re cooled completely. Peel the eggs under cold running water.
SCOOP: Halve the eggs lengthwise and scoop out the yolks without disturbing the whites. Place the yolks in a bowl, and mash them with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, mustard, and relish, and gently fluff with a fork to combine. Taste and adjust with more salt or seasonings as desired.
LOAD AND SERVE: Fill the mixture into a piping bag or a freezer quart bag and snip off a tip. Carefully fill each egg white with the yolk mixture. Dust the tops with chili powder or paprika if you want to make it mild. Top with pickled jalapeños or chopped chives.

Notes

Jalapeño Mustard: I usually buy jalapeño mustard for this recipe, if you can’t find it, just minced up a few pickled jalapeno slices and use yellow mustard.

Super Moist and Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Marzia — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 11:30:00 +0000

These Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins are made with less sugar than your average muffin recipe and more tender than any you’ve ever had before! These are also loaded with tons of shredded carrots, coconut, and juicy raisins. So easy, healthy, and delicious!

HEALTHY carrot cake muffins!?

Muffins like these healthy carrot cake muffins have a special place in my heart. Especially for breakfast. Am I the only one that rolls out of bed and wants something desserty as part of my breakfast to wake up my tastebuds? My husband is completely the opposite. He won’t even think about anything sweet until he’s had his savory breakfast + coffee. And then he’ll proceed to ‘breakfast dessert’ as he calls it.

I absolutely love the smell of something warm and cinnamon-y wafting from the kitchen in the morning. The sweet scent of bread, muffins, or pancakes just puts a spring in my step. The way the heat radiates out of the muffin liners from a warm banana nut or carrot muffin just makes my whole day better.

The carrots are the star of the show but we also have a ton of supporting actors – enter raisins, crunchy walnuts, and shredded coconut to add lots of flavor and texture (!!!) One thing I love doing is sprinkling a handful of rolled oats on the bottom of my muffin pan before pouring in the batter and then topping them with another pinch of oats. This provides a nice added crunch to the muffin tops plus it makes them look so much prettier. And let’s face it, this is practically carrot cake in muffin form, minus the cream cheese frosting.

What I love most about these muffins is that you don’t have to use any special equipment to make them. Sometimes you just want to grab a whisk and do it the old-fashioned way while you’re standing there lost in thought or in my case, binge-listening to podcasts.

Is that a thing, binge listening?

Ingredients for homemade carrot cake muffins

Flour: You’ll need all-purpose flour for this recipe and you can replace some of it with whole wheat flour as well. I haven’t tested the recipe with all whole wheat but I do think the muffins may be too dense if you made them with all whole wheat.
Baking Soda: It may seem like a whole lot of baking soda! 2 Tsp!
Spices: You’ll need kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger to add warmth. You’ll also need two heaping teaspoons of cinnamon.
Oil: I love using melted coconut oil for these muffins because it enhances the shredded coconut flavor and makes the muffins much lighter than if you were to use butter. You can also use canola oil or vegetable oil if this is typically what you have on hand at home.
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is partially responsible for adding sweetness to the recipe as well as moisture.
Unsweetened Apple Sauce: Apple sauce provides a deeper flavor and cuts out some of the added sugar.
Greek yogurt: adds protein and reacts with the baking soda to help the muffins rise a bit. To make these dairy-free I suggest using coconut yogurt or something similar.
Eggs: Adds structure and stability to baked goods.
Vanilla: 2 teaspoons vanilla extract is the perfect amount of vanilla. It shines beautifully in the recipe.
Shredded carrots: You’ll need two whole cups of shredded carrots for this recipe. The carrots and moisture to the muffins and they’ll shrink into teeny tiny bits in the muffins so you won’t even know they’re there.
Add-ins: I use shredded sweetened coconut, raisins, and walnuts. These add, color, and texture to the muffins. They pair beautifully with the cinnamon and ginger in the recipe. The other ingredient that you won’t find in other carrot cake muffin recipes – oats! The rolled oats – not oat flour. I sprinkle them in the muffin tin and on top of the muffins to add a nutty taste and some texture.

How to make the best carrot cake muffins

Prep things. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. You’ll want to line a cupcake pan with paper liners or just spray it with cooking spray. I sprinkle the bottom of the liners or the muffin tins with half the oats. Save the other half for the topping!
Sift the dry ingredients. In a bowl sift the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
Mix the wet ingredients. Add the brown sugar and oil and mix them together with a whisk, a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer until they’re combined. Add the yogurt and apple sauce until they’re fully mixed. Don’t worry if the mixture is a bit gritty, it’ll all work out! Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each one is incorporated. Then stir in the vanilla.
Make batter. Manually stir or fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Taking care to make sure you work out all the flour pockets but don’t over-mix. Add your add-ins and then divide the batter into the prepared pans. Don’t forget to sprinkle the remaining oats over top and shaved coconut too if you’d like.
Bake the muffins. Until they’re golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out mostly clean. Moist crumbs are fine, you just don’t want wet batter! The serving size is a muffin, but don’t be surprised when you find yourself going back for more!

FAQs about this recipe

Can I use honey or maple syrup instead of brown sugar?

I know a lot of recipes call for honey or maple syrup. The truth is, I’ve never tested this recipe with a liquid sweetener to I’m unsure if that will work.

Can I swap the spices?

Some people like using ground cloves or a little grating of nutmeg, feel free to spruce these as you’d like!

How do you store the muffins?

I keep them in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. If it’s particularly warm where you live, I’d store them in the refrigerator and then reheat a muffin for a few seconds in the microwave or just bring it to room temperature on the counter before enjoying!

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Original recipe posted Jan 2014, updated March 2023.

Yield: ~16 muffins

Super Moist and Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups flour (I use 50% whole wheat and 50% AP)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon EACH salt and ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
⅔ cup melted coconut oil (see notes)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup greek yogurt
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups carrots, finely shredded
1/2 cup EACH shredded sweetened coconut, raisins, AND walnuts
1/4 cup oats, divided

Instructions

PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. If you want, you can line your cupcake pan with paper liners. Or spray the insides with cooking spray. Sprinkle half the oats on the liners, set aside.
DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour(s), baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, set aside.
WET INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl with a whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer, on medium speed, combine the brown sugar and oil. Beat in the yogurt and apple sauce until fully combined - about 1 minute. Mixture will be gritty and thin. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
BATTER: With a spatula, manually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and all flour pockets are gone - do not overmix. Fold in the finely shredded carrots, shredded coconut, raisins, and walnuts. The muffin mixture will be thick. Pour into prepared cupcake pans. Sprinkle the remaining oats on top and shaved coconut too if you'd like.
BAKE: Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Let cool for several minutes before devouring!

Notes

After making these muffins more than a dozen times after originally posting the recipe back in 2014, i've found that I prefer them with ⅔ cup of oil rather than the originally stated amount of '¾ cup'. However either amount will work.

How to Make Crostini

Marzia — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 11:30:00 +0000

Learn how to make crostini at home with this simple, 3-ingredient recipe! These crisp, golden little toasts are perfect to serve alongside your favorite party dips, appetizers, or on a cheeseboard!

Crispy, golden bread!

Today I want to show you how to make crostini – one of the easiest, 3-ingredient recipes that elevate any and everything you serve it with.

I mean, at this stage of life, most people can combine a few ingredients and make a dip, but when you say you made homemade crostini to pair with your dip, you automatically earn brownie points.

Crostini? You made crostini?

Honestly, it’s a lot fancier sounding than the amount of energy required to put it together. And if there’s anything we love, it’s a recipe that sounds fancy but requires minimum work! All you need to do is slice up a store-bought baguette or ciabatta baton and pop it on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with flakey sea salt. If you want to get really fancy, bust out a little smoked sea salt or rub with a cut clove of garlic when the crostini is hot out of the oven.

The prep time on these is minimal, but the results are amazing!

Instructions for How to make Crostini

Prep first. Start by preheating the oven and lining a large baking sheet with parchment paper. You can easily fit 18-22 slices on a large baking sheet, but if you’re making more, you’ll need multiple sheet pans.
Slice. It’s important to slice the baguette into even slices so that all of the bread toasts in roughly the same amount of time. Drizzle or brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. A pastry brush works best for this. Then, sprinkle with flaked sea salt. If you’re feeling fancy, smoked flakey salt is delicious for this.
Bake until golden. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet in a single layer. The cook time on these will vary based on how thick your slices are. I usually slice them about ½-inch in thickness, and they take about 8-11 minutes that way. But keep a close eye on them. If you sliced them slightly thinner, they may be done sooner. I estimate about 6-9 minutes. Feel free to rub them with a cut clove of garlic when they’re hot out of the oven for more garlicky goodness!

Best Tips for Homemade Crostini

Use olive oil, but not extra virgin. No need to splurge on EVOO. This recipe works best with regular olive oil as it has a higher smoke point than extra virgin olive oil.
Use good quality bread. You can use a variety of bread, but make sure it’s good quality. You can use a french baguette, a rustic Italian bread, or even an artisan ciabatta baton.
A serrated knife makes better slices. A bread knife is made for this job! It will easily slice through the bread in uniform slices. Apply even pressure when slicing so that the bread isn’t concave in the center. It’ll cook much faster in the middle and leave the edges pale, and you don’t want that!
Make even slices so that they all bake in the oven evenly. I like to do ½-inch thick. slices. It’s the perfect amount of bread for topping!
Cut the bread on the diagonal this gives you more surface area for toppings!
You don’t have to use stale bread. Crostini can be made with fresh or stale bread. For stale bread, you’ll need to bake the crostini for a minute or two less than fresh bread.
For the best flavor, rub with garlic. If you’re serving this with a savory dip or appetizer, rubbing a cut clove of garlic on the crostini right when it’s hot out of the oven gives it a delicious flavor! This is what I do when I’m making bruschetta, and it works for all sorts of dips too!

FAQs about this recipe:

Can you grill crostini?

Definitely! Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle (or brush) the sliced bread with olive oil on both sides. Place the bread on the grill and crisp the bread through, about 1-3 minutes or until the first side has grill marks. Flip and cook the other side. Immediately rub with the cut side of the garlic clove if desired.

How do I make my crostini not hard?

If you want the crostini to be crisp around the edges but still softer in the center, you can bake the crostini for roughly half the time and then broil it for 30-45 seconds under the broiler. Broiling helps brown it quickly and won’t dry out the center of the bread as much.

Is crostini and baguette the same?

Crostini is thinly sliced and toasted white bread. A baguette is often used to make crostini.

What is the difference between crostini and bruschetta?

Bruschetta is wide cuts of sourdough or rustic Italian bread that is grilled or baked. Crostini is usually smaller pieces of bread, and most often, it’s white bread or french-style bread.

How do you store leftovers?

Keep the crostini in an airtight container at room temperature. Use within two days!

What to serve with crostini

Top crostini with homemade dips:

Baked Goat Cheese Dip
Herb Garlic Baked Brie
Extra Smooth Hummus
Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip
Jammy Hot Onion Dip
Tomato Fresh Basil Bruschetta (drizzle with balsamic glaze!)
Philly Cheesesteak Dip
Hot Chipotle Shrimp Corn Dip
Smoked Salmon Goat Chees Bruschetta

Other serving ideas:

As cheese toasts with tomato basil soup
As a vehicle to scoop up a festive salad
Wildflower honey or hot honey
Strawberry preserves (or others)
Olive Tapenade
Hot Honey Cheese Balls
Sliced fruit
Seafood salad (or shrimp salad)
Roasted vegetables in whipped yogurt sauce
With whipped ricotta and pistachio
Herbed cream cheese
With marinated mozzarella and tomato salad

Yield: 18-22 pieces

How to Make Crostini

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Learn how to make crostini at home with this simple, 3-ingredient recipe! These crisp, golden little toasts are perfect to serve alongside your favorite party dips, appetizers, or on a cheeseboard!

Ingredients

baguette (french-style or ciabatta)
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, for brushing
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
1-2 clove garlic, optional

Instructions

PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
SLICE: Slice the baguette on the diagonal (this gives it more surface area for toppings!) just shy of ½-inch thick slices. You can also slice them thinner but they will bake quicker (see notes.) Drizzle or brush both sides of the bread slices with olive, and sprinkle with sea salt.
BAKE: Arrange the slices on the parchment paper in a single layer and bake for 8-11 minutes or until crispy and golden. Store leftover crostini in an airtight container for a couple of days.

Notes

Storage: Keep leftover crostini in an airtight container at room temperature. Use within two days!
Slices: You can slice the bread thinner than suggested if you’d like. But make sure to keep a close eye on the crostini as it will cook in closer to 6-9 minutes.

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake

Marzia — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 11:30:00 +0000

Leftover Cranberry Coffee Cake is the perfect thing to bake when you’ve got cranberry sauce to use up! Jumbo lumps of almond streusel, a ribbon of sweet cranberry swirl in the center, and a moist, delicious cake all around!

Day after Thanksgiving or Christmas breakfast. Check.

Asking for a friend: calories don’t count on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, right?

This warm and cozy orange cinnamon cranberry sauce coffee cake is the perfect thing to serve for breakfast the next day. When you’re done setting aside a little bit of the cranberry sauce for your moist-maker sandwich, use the rest to make homemade cranberry coffee cake.

It has crunchy almonds on top and a sprinkle of orange zest that pairs beautifully with the cranberry sauce in the center, and can we just say that those jumbo lumps of streusel topping will knock your socks off?

Your whole house is about to smell warm and cozy and Christmasy. A warm cup of coffee or even a London fog latte to go alongside this cake is truly all you need!

Ingredients for leftover cranberry sauce coffee cake:

Unsalted Butter: We’ll use the butter in both the streusel topping and the coffee cake. You’ll want to melt the butter for the streusel topping so that it’s super easy to combine. The other stick of butter should be at room temperature so that it’s soft enough to beat for the coffee cake.
All-Purpose Flour: I typically use unbleached flour for all my baked goods.
Kosher Salt: the sodium helps enhance the flavor of the sugar and all the other ingredients in the recipe. We’ll use it in both the crumb topping as well as the coffee cake itself.
Eggs: are used to add flavor, texture, and structure in the form of protein to the coffee cake. Remember, a coffee cake is a bit more dense than a traditional cake so that’s why we’re using an extra egg in the batter.
Leavening agents: You’ll need both baking powder and baking soda for this recipe. These ingredients will react with the sour cream and milk that we’re using and cause the coffee cake to rise.
Sugar: You’ll need both brown sugar and granulated sugar for this recipe. Granulated sugar will go into the cake batter and a 50:50 ratio of brown and granulated sugar will go into the streusel we’ll sprinkle on top of our coffee cake.
Sour cream: adds a beautiful little tang to the cake. In the past, I’ve also used plain yogurt or greek yogurt in place of sour cream and it usually works pretty well. I do suggest using a good full-fat or higher-fat yogurt. None of the 0% stuff, please!
Milk: helps thin out the batter just a tad bit.
Extracts: You’ll need both vanilla extract and almond extract for this cake. Don’t worry if you’re not an almond extract fan! We aren’t using a ton in this recipe. If you’re worried, you can omit the almond extract and just up the vanilla by another 1/2 teaspoon. This is my favorite almond extract; it smells so good!
Leftover cranberry sauce: whether you make cranberry sauce from scratch or you buy it in a can, you can make this recipe. You’ll need 1 cup of cranberry sauce for this cake. Keep in mind that cranberry sauce is different from cranberry jelly. Be sure to use a sauce that has some whole berries for added texture. Bonus: did you know that cranberries are a powerhouse of nutrition? They’re a good source of vitamin C, vitamin E, and fiber.

Instructions on how to make cranberry sour cream coffee cake:

Make the crumb topping. Add the almonds, salt, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon to a bowl and whisk it together using a fork. A fork works best because you can rake it and create crumbs once you add the melted butter. It forms really large crumbs, don’t worry; once it cools down, you can break up the crumbs as needed.
Prep work. Start by preheating the oven. You’ll also want to spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. I typically line the springform pan with parchment but that’s optional. Set this aside for now.
Combine the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt to a small bowl. Mix this together and set it aside until you’re ready to add it to the whipped butter mixture.
Make the batter. Whip the softened butter in a bowl until airy. Then add the granulated sugar and the orange zest. Mix together until the sugar and butter combine. Then add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until the first is mixed in before adding the next. Flavor the cake with almond extract and vanilla extract. Then we’ll add the dry ingredients alternating it in batches with the sour cream and the milk. Start with ⅓ of the dry ingredients, run the mixer, then add the sour cream, dry ingredients, milk, and finally, the remaining dry ingredients. I like to stir the batter by hand with a rubber spatula towards the end so that you don’t end up over-mixing it.
Bake a cake. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared springform pan. Drop the cranberry sauce in dollops over the cake batter. And finally, spread the remaining cake batter over the cranberry sauce. Sprinkle the prepared crumb topping over the cake and bake it in the oven until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Crumbs are fine; you just don’t want wet batter on the skewer. Cool the springform pan on a wire rack.

FAQs about this cranberry coffee cake recipe

Can you add icing or glaze to this coffee cake?

You can definitely drizzle it at the end if you’d like. Combine ½ cup of powdered sugar with a few teaspoons of milk. Start with 1 teaspoon and add more as needed. You don’t want the confectioners’ sugar to become too liquidy, so go easy here and add just what you need. The thinner the glaze, the more it’ll run off the coffee cake!

How do you make fancy cranberry sauce?

Check here for a homemade cranberry sauce! You can add in vanilla, fresh herbs, and tons of other ingredients to make it fancy. There are directions for both a saucepan stove top version and one that you can toss in the slow cooker!

How long does homemade cranberry sauce last?

Leftover cranberry sauce can easily be kept in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. So you can plan on making this cake a whole week after Thanksgiving if you’d like!

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Yield: Serves 10

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Leftover Cranberry Coffee Cake is the perfect thing to bake when you've got leftover cranberry sauce to use up! Jumbo lumps of almond streusel, a ribbon of sweet cranberry swirl in the center, and a moist, delicious cake all around!bdesser

Ingredients

Crumb topping:

½ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup toasted slivered almonds
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
⅓ cup EACH: light brown sugar AND granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Cranberry Cake:

2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon EACH: baking soda AND kosher salt
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
3 large eggs, room temp
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
⅓ cup sour cream
¼ cup milk
1 cup leftover cranberry sauce (or store-bought)

Instructions

CRUMB: In a medium bowl, combine the almonds, salt, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Combine with a fork. Use the fork to stir while you pour in the melted butter, breaking up any large crumbs. Place the bowl in the fridge while you make the batter.
PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray; set aside.
DRY: In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, soda, and kosher salt.
BATTER: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add sugar and orange zest and continue to beat for another 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time waiting until each is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla and almond extract; mix to combine. Stop the mixer; scrape down the sides. With the mixer on low, add the following ingredients, ⅓ of the dry ingredients, then the sour cream, another ⅓ of dry ingredients, then the milk, and finally the remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix. The batter with be quite thick and that’s okay.
BAKE: Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Drop the cranberry sauce in dollops and then spread it out. Top with the remaining cake batter. Use an offset spatula sprayed with cooking spray to help spread it easily. Top with prepared crumb topping. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly clean. Loosely tent the cake with foil if the top starts browning too much at any point. Crumbs are fine, just no wet batter! Let cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the springform pan.

Notes

Storage: Store any leftover coffee cake in an airtight container to keep it from drying out. Coffee cake naturally has a more denser texture than other cakes so it's best when consumed in 1-3 days.

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