Breads & Rolls

Irish Cheddar, Bacon & Potato Muffins

Irish Cheddar, Bacon & Potato Muffins | Lemon & Mocha

Normally when I think of muffins my mind goes to sweet baked goods. Cinnamon-crumbed, definitely chocolatey, maybe even citrus-infused, but definitely not savory. Until March. Now I am fully on-board the savory muffin train, even if it’s just to make these Irish Cheddar, Bacon, and Potato Muffins over and over again. Yes, these muffins are that amazing.

Irish Cheddar, Bacon & Potato Muffins | Lemon & Mocha

The smell when they came out of the oven was so hypnotizing that Matt and I each ate one as soon as we could get the muffin paper liners off without burning ourselves (or at least until it was just minor pain). Then, the flavor was so outrageous that we were each forced to have a second one. It wasn’t our fault; we were hypnotized!

Irish Cheddar, Bacon & Potato Muffins | Lemon & Mocha

When I first saw the March muffins in the Food Network Magazine’s Muffin of the Month article, I thought they sounded heavy, but instead they are light and fluffy, while still being loaded with gooey cheese and bacon. Bacon doesn’t need a descriptor; everyone knows how bacony delicious bacon is.

Irish Cheddar, Bacon & Potato Muffins | Lemon & Mocha

In addition to the cooked bacon, there is a very small amount of bacon grease in the actual muffin batter so it helps bring that bacon flavor to every bite. I cooked a package of bacon on the griddle on a Sunday, which gave Matt and I some bacon for breakfast (a treat since we don’t cook bacon that often!), the three slices of bacon and one tablespoon of bacon grease I needed for this recipe, as well as cooked bacon for sandwiches and salads for lunches throughout the week.

Irish Cheddar, Bacon & Potato Muffins | Lemon & Mocha

Perfect as a grab and go breakfast, these Irish Cheddar, Bacon and Potato Muffins are even better after being warmed briefly in the microwave. Please do yourself a favor and make these muffins! Then do me a favor and bring them to my house so I can eat them with you! Enjoy!

Irish Cheddar, Bacon & Potato Muffins | Lemon & Mocha

Irish Cheddar, Bacon & Potato Muffins
 
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Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients
  • 1 large Yukon Gold potato (8 ounces)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1¼ cups buttermilk
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 slices bacon, cooked with 1 tablespoon bacon grease reserved
  • 4 ounces Irish cheddar cheese, diced
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh chives (about ½ a bunch)
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside.
  2. Cook the potato in the microwave. Poke the potato 5-6 times with a fork and wrap in a damp paper towel. Cook until the potato is just cooked through, about 4-5 minutes, being sure to turn it once during cooking. Let the potato cool. Once you can handle it carefully peel off the skin and grate the potato. Lightly season the grated potato with salt and pepper; toss to combine.
  3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, egg, and tablespoon of bacon drippings. Pour the mixture into the well of the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Carefully fold in the grated potato, bacon, cheese, and chives.
  5. Evenly divide the batter among the prepared paper liners. The batter should fill each to the top. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the top of the muffin is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to completely cool.
Notes
Every time a recipe calls for buttermilk, I use this trick instead: Put a tablespoon of lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add milk until the desired amount of buttermilk is reached (in this case 1¼ cups). Let sit 5 minutes. You can use whatever kind of milk you have in your fridge - I use nonfat milk. If the recipe calls for more than 1¼ cups buttermilk, you will need to use a little more lemon juice.
I used Kerrygold Dubliner cheese.
I had a hard time getting the paper liners off of these muffins. It was definitely worse when they were hot, so let them cool completely before eating. I plan to experiment during future baking of these muffins to see if I can adjust the recipe to get them to stick less or if it would be better to bake them directly in the pan with cooking spray. I will keep you all posted!
To fully savor these muffins, reheat them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds before eating.

Recipe from January/February 2018 issue of Food Network Magazine.

Breads & Rolls, Breakfast, Recipes 0 Comments

Greek Yogurt Cornbread

Greek Yogurt Cornbread | Lemon & Mocha

Today I owe everyone a huge apology. It is with a heavy heart that I must humbly accept your forgiveness for keeping this outrageous cornbread recipe from you for so many months. Moist, cakey and ever-so slightly sweet, this cornbread is high on my list of favorite new recipes for 2014.

Greek Yogurt Cornbread | Lemon & Mocha

So long are the days of dry and crumbly cornbread! What makes this cornbread so special? Well for starters, it includes a mixture of cornmeal and all-purpose flour, which helps create its cake-like texture. Then an inclusion of plain greek yogurt makes this the most moist cornbread you’ve ever had.

Greek Yogurt Cornbread | Lemon & Mocha

Drizzle it with some honey. Eat it with some sloppy joes. Make cornbread pudding. Serve it up with some bacon and maple syrup. Slather it with butter.

Greek Yogurt Cornbread | Lemon & Mocha

Back in August when I made honey ice cream I almost mixed some of this cornbread right in to make honey cornbread ice cream. That may sound a little out there, but yes, that is how good this recipe is!

Greek Yogurt Cornbread | Lemon & Mocha

Did I mention that you just mix everything together with a spatula then throw the baking dish into the oven? Weeknight fresh baked cornbread, anyone?

Greek Yogurt Cornbread | Lemon & Mocha

Greek Yogurt Cornbread
 
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Yield: 16 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • ¾ cup cornmeal
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup plain greek yogurt
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8” by 8” pan and set aside.
  2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
  3. Mix together the eggs, butter and milk in a separate mixing bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture then stir until just combined. Fold in the greek yogurt and mix until just combined, being sure not to overmix.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly from the center. Serve warm.

Recipe from Give Me Lemons.

Breads & Rolls, Recipes 0 Comments

Pomegranate Molasses Coffee Cake Loaf

Coffee cake is one of the many foods that reminds me of my grandma. I love the soft cake, sweet ribbons of cinnamon sugar and the icing coated top of my grandma’s coffee cake. When she lived with me she would make them regularly, even storing big slices in the freezer so I could pull them out and microwave them for 30 seconds for an after school snack. Although I’m reminded of my grandma because she was the one to bake the coffee cakes, I’m more reminded of the morning ritual that would occur.

As the first two people awake every morning my grandma and I would get to share some alone time. It was different than the alone time we would spend in the car on the way home from field hockey practice and different than the alone time we would spend during our weekly mall trips. The business of the day had not yet begun; the house was quiet and the mood in the kitchen was serene. Now when I go down to visit my grandma we usually get a little alone time, but it’s not that the same as those early kitchen mornings we used to have. The minute I tasted this pomegranate molasses coffee cake loaf I knew my grandma would approve.

Baking this coffee cake loaf could not be easier, but even if it required expert skill and extreme brain power I would still implore you to bake it because it is just that amazing. The cake is moist and perfectly spiced. And the crumble, yes please. I love my grandma’s icing, but I must confess that this crumble takes the cake. Literally. I could eat a plate of just the crumble topping.

I will have to bring my grandma a loaf the next time I visit, but in the meantime I will enjoy it myself and squirrel away big slices in the freezer for midmorning snacks.

Pomegranate Molasses Coffee Cake Loaf
 
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Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
for the cake
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
for the crumble
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x5” loaf pan with parchment paper, lightly coat with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, oil, molasses and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
  4. Carefully stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the melted butter until just combined.
  5. In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Using a fork of pastry blender cut in the butter until well combined.
  6. Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan then top with half the crumble mixture. Pour in the rest of the batter then top with the rest of the crumble mixture. Bake for 55 minutes or until the top is golden.
  7. Remove the loaf from the oven then let cool in the pan for half an hour. Remove the loaf from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack for another hour.
Notes
*If you don't have buttermilk put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup then fill the rest of the way with milk. Let sit for 5 minutes before using in the recipe. Any milk from skim to whole will work.
*Although the cake won't cut as well while it's still warm it's worth to cut a messy slice just to taste this baby while it's warm!

Recipe from How Sweet It Is.

Breads & Rolls, Breakfast, Cakes, Dessert, Recipes 0 Comments

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