Dried Cherry, Almond & Poppy Seed Muffins

I knew I wanted to bake some muffins this morning, but I couldn't decide between Cherry Almond or Almond Poppy Seed.  So, what would any ingenious baker do?  Combine them both of course! These muffins are so moist and yummy, you can't eat just one.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons orange juice
3/4 cup dried tart cherries (about 4 ounces)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 7-ounce package almond paste, crumbled
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, hot
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 12 muffin cups. 

Bring juice to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add cherries; let stand until softened, about 10 minutes.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat almond paste and melted butter in large bowl until well blended (mixture will still have some small pieces of almond paste). Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in cherry mixture and orange peel. Add flour mixture and mix just until blended.

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until tester inserted into center of muffins comes out clean but slightly moist to touch, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Recipe adapted from epicurious.

Mini Pumpkin Upside Down Cakes Donned with Fruit & Nuts

Ingredients:

2 sweet apples (e.g., Gala), peeled, cored & diced
2 T butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C dried cranberries
3/4 C finely chopped toasted pecans
1/4 C finely chopped crystallized ginger
1-1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 C (12 Tbsp) butter
2 T water
1 C + 2 T canned 100% pumpkin (not pie filling)
3/4 C sugar
1/3 C vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1-1/2 C all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 12 large muffin cups with nonstick baking spray (with flour) or regular nonstick spray and dust each cup with flour. Set aside.
2. In a medium saute pan, melt butter and add apples & cinnamon.  Cook over medium heat until apples are tender, approximately 10-15 minutes. Add apples to each muffin cup.
3. In a small saucepan, cook brown sugar, butter and water over medium-high heat until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat.  Add cranberries, pecans and ginger.  Stir to combine.  Spoon mixture over apples. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs, whisking until well blended. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and cloves.  Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add pumpkin mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Using a large muffin scoop, add batter evenly into muffin cups, smoothing tops when necessary.

6. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 30-40 minutes. Let cool in cups for 5 minutes.

7. Invert mini cakes onto cookie sheets lined with waxed or parchment paper.  Best served warm.

A great fall delight!