These fig almond muffins have fresh fig jam in the middle of a tender almond muffin. They taste like a fig newton in muffin form.

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Are you ready for some muffin lovin’? Because these almond muffins are tender, filled with fresh fig jam, and topped with crunchy sliced almonds.

I have heard the joke that muffins are just cupcakes without frosting, but sometimes I want something a bit less sweet in my life. I appreciated that the fig jam in the middle wasn’t sweetened at all, just contains the natural occurring sugars. Perfect for breakfast or a snack, as would be carrot date muffins.

Basically, imagine a fig newton, but in muffin form – that’s what these fig almond muffins taste like.

This recipe was a long time coming. I made these fig almond muffins over 2 months ago, but that was right before my cat Brady was officially diagnosed with large granular lymphoma. Unfortunately, their 2 month prognosis was spot on and he passed a little over a week ago.

It was like losing another family member in the carnage that has been the last 4 years. Not as painful as my mother of course, but I still struggle. While we lost 2 other pets in our household during that time, Brady was originally just mine. Adopted at just over a month old when I was 22 and his 16.5 years with me were not enough.

As such, my motivation to update my blog has been completely lacking. I have a few other recipes queued up eventually but in honor of my favorite cuddle muffin I decided to share a this recipe for fig almond muffins.

FIG ALMOND MUFFINS

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Yield: 1 dozen Prep Time: 25 MInutes Cooking Time: 35 Minutes 35 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 12 small figs, stemmed
• 1-1/2 cups almond meal/flour
• 1 all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Zest of 1 small lemon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 small egg
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1-1/4 cups milk
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 6 Tbsp sliced almonds

Directions

1. In a food processor, puree the figs until smooth and transfer to a small saucepan. Place over low to medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until puree gently boils, about 5-10 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper cups; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, honey, milk, and oil. Incorporate into flour mixture and blend on low with a hand mixer.
5. Pour batter into muffin pan halfway up. Add 1 Tbsp fig puree to center of each, cover with a small spoonful of batter, and sprinkle almonds on top.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Source: Adapted slightly from SELF Magazine.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cheesecake Muffins are a sweet edible memory. Fluffy lemon poppy seed muffins stuffed with cream cheese and covered in a crumble topping.

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When I think of lemon poppy seed muffins, those tiny bagged ones I used to sometimes have in my school lunches come to mind. They were deliciously sweet and tart morsels of childhood joy.

Fast forward to college and my next memory of lemon poppy seed is a sliced loaf with a cream cheese layer in the middle from one of the cafes on campus. Although I later discovered it was orange and lemon, the combination of lemon, poppy seed, and cream cheese stuck in my brain.

Since then, I have made several variations of the two memories: glazed lemon poppy seed cookies and also lemon poppy seed cheesecake thumbprints, lemon poppy seed madeleines perfect for serving with tea, glazed lemon poppy seed bread (like loaves of the mini muffins), and a slightly different Meyer lemon poppy seed pound cake,

Since I clearly can’t get enough, I finally combined the recipe for glazed lemon poppy seed bread with cream cheese. And to make it ever more special, I added a crumble topping. Which resulted in these fluffy lemon poppy seed muffins filled with sweet cream cheese finished with a sweet crumbly topping. They are like little bites of dreamy food memories.

Welcome to #BrunchWeek! This event has been around for over 7 years. It’s a fun way to share our love for all things brunch related to help celebrate Mother’s Day! We have 11 bloggers sharing over 30 recipes this year!! That’s 30 plus delicious recipes to help celebrate mothers, family, and friends. If you’re putting together a brunch, then you’ll appreciate all the variety this event offers! From cocktails to baked goods and even sandwiches, there’s something for everyone.

Here are today’s #BrunchWeek recipes:

• Caramel Simple Syrup from Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Chipotle Tacos de Papa from Magical Ingredients
• Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing from For the Love of Food
• Guava and Cream Cheese Pastelitos from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Hibiscus Lemonade from Art of Natural Living
• Key Lime Curd Mousse from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Orange Cream Scones from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Peanut butter, Bacon and Banana Stuffed Waffles from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Spreadable Whipped Cream Cheese (for bagels) from Palatable Pastime

LEMON POPPY SEED CHEESECAKE MUFFINS

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Yield: 1 dozen Prep Time: 35 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

FILLING

• 8 oz. cream cheese-room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

TOPPING

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

MUFFINS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup milk, room temperature
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cavity cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the dry topping ingredients. Add melted butter and mix with a fork until coarse crumbs form; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, blend together the filling ingredients until smooth; set aside.
4. In a second medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
5. In a large bowl mix oil and sugar for about 2 minutes at high speed. Add eggs and beat until just incorporated. Then mix in the milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon extract for 2 more minutes. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients, and then fold in the poppy seeds until evenly distributed.
6. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of muffin mixture in each cup. Drop 1 heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture in the center of each muffin. Cover cream cheese filling with muffin mixture, filling each cup about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
7. Generously top each muffin with streusel crumbs.
8. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the center has set.
9. Allow to cool 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Adapted from my Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Bread and OMG Chocolate Desserts.

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Have you heard about the Blue Poop Challenge Muffins? It’s a fun experiment designed to help you learn about your gut health while enjoying blue muffins.

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Nothing like a title with poop in it to draw in readers for a recipe, amiright? It’s only partly as gross as you think.

A couple weeks ago a friend asked if I had heard of the Blue Poop Challenge where you eat not just one blue muffin, but two and track when the dye comes out the other end in the form of, you guessed it, blue poop. It’s based on research examining gut health conducted by healthcare science company ZOE and researchers at King’s College London.

To be honest, I was immediately skeptical because ZOE asks you to sign up for their services upon completion of the muffin challenge. Anytime a healthcare company tries to sell you something is a huge red flag, especially when gut health research is still so very new.

What are the Blue Poop Challenge Muffins based on?

As mentioned above, the Blue Poop Challenge was derived from research done by a group of scientists who work with ZOE, published September 2021 in Gut. In this study, they used several different methods to track gut transit time of 863 healthy people. They concluded that not only is transit time a better measure of your gut microbiome that frequency and appearance, but that blue dye is a cheaper and easier option for measuring gut transit time that previously used methods.

By tracking their participants blue poo transit time and sequencing stool samples, they observed a correlation of the gut microbiome composition to transit time groups. Meaning, if you have a longer transit time, you tend to have a different gut microbiome composition than a shorter transit time.

Can Blue Poop Challenge Muffins really predict gut health?

It is important to point our that they are not making specific claims about health in this study, just correlations. After all, gut transit time it only one factor contributing to your over all “gut health”. However, a previous study by the same team published January 2021 in Nature Medicine did show a strong link between overall health, the foods you eat, transit time, and the presence of certain gut microbes. In other words, the faster the blue dye moves through your body, the more likely you are to have a healthy gut microbiome. But there isn’t enough scientific data yet to determine exactly what transit time is optimal for health.

Another short-fall of the Blue Poop Challenge? Eating two muffins one day only gives you a transit time for that particular day. Tomorrow may be different based on your diet, sleep, exercise, etc. So if you try the Blue Poop Challenge muffins, don’t stress about your results because there’s not enough data to say what it truly means – it’s more of a fun experiment.

The one intriguing thing about their program is that it effectively is crowdsourcing science which in beneficial in many ways, including getting a bigger picture of what is going on, which is what we need for their field to develop a bigger picture.

How long should the blue poop challenge take?

For the participants in their Nature Medicine study, gut transit time ranged from less than 12 hours to several days, but averaged around 29 hours.

Since I am completely enthralled by gut health and enjoy a fun little experiment, I set out to bake blue muffins for my coworkers, first ensuring that I had enough of the right blue food coloring.

Without divulging too much information, all 6 participants in my mini Blue Poop Muffin Challenge were around the average found in the published study.

What information does the Blue Poop Challenge provide?

After calculating our transit time on the ZOE website and answering some questions about our eating habits it paired us with one of the participants in their study whom had similar transit time and eating habits. By no way it is diagnostic but it goes on to tell you the good microbes that were common in your “gut twin”.

This is where the red flags come in because if you want to actually learn what microbes are in your microbiome you have to enroll in their program which will tell you what to eat based off the results. Since, as I mentioned above, there isn’t enough data I am not advocating for anyone to sign up. Maybe if you have bowel issues already and have not had success remedying it other ways, talk to your doctor about it.

BLUE POOP CHELLENGE MUFFINS

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Yield: 6 servings Prep Time: 25 Minutes Cooking Time: 25 Minutes 25 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour*
• 1 Tbsp (15g) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (120g) buttermilk
• 1 Tbsp lime zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Wilton Royal blue food coloring
• 1/2 cup (100g) vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• Coarse sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-count muffin pan with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl mix the buttermilk, lime zest, vanilla extract, and blue food coloring. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the oil and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until just incorporated. Alternate adding in the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, mixing just until combined. Gently fold in the fresh blueberries trying not to break them as you stir.
5. Fill your muffin pans about 3/4 of the way full and smooth the top as best as possible.
6. Top each muffin with coarse sugar.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the muffin a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Notes

*Can be made gluten-free by substituting with a 1-to-1 gluten-free all purpose flour.

Source: Adapted from my Blueberry-Lime Streusel Muffins and Zoe.

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These blueberry cardamom ricotta muffins are secretly also made with whole wheat flour and honey for a muffin that’s just a bit more nutritious and not too sweet.

This content contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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These silly delicious muffins have been on my list of things to make since a foodie friend posted a photo of his version back in peak 2020 quarantine-baking. I’m not entirely sure why I waited so long (maybe it’s the existence of recipes for sourdough-, dark chocolate-, lime-, blackberry-blueberry muffins already on the blog) but after a serious blueberry haul from our garden it was time.

Even better that it fits right in with #FarmersMarketWeek ! While I already admitted to using blueberries from my garden, you obviously could get them from your local market if you aren’t lucky enough to have your own blueberry bushes.

Despite living in an urban area with a tiny backyard, it packs a punch with how much produce we are able to grow ourselves in a confined space. But since I don’t have a large yard, I can’t grow everything. I therefore love that I am also walking distance from the Farmers Market to grab whatever I can’t/don’t grow myself.

Welcome to Farmers Market Week! This is the week we celebrate all things found at the Farmers Market. There are over fifteen bloggers sharing over 50 recipes this week. From drinks and desserts to entrees and sides, there’s something for everyone this week.

Monday Farmers Market Recipes

Drink Recipes

• Peach Margaritas from Our Good Life
• Strawberry Basil Moscow Mule from Books n’ Cooks

Savory Recipes

• Asparagus Frittata with Cherry Tomatoes from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Bhaingan Bharta from Magical Ingredients
• Cheddar Tomato Tart from Jen Around the World
• Easy 2 Ingredient Lemon Salt from Family Around the Table
• Easy Cowboy Caviar Recipe from Blogghetti
• Greek Stuffed Tomatoes from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles) from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mexican Street Corn Elote Bowls from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Spinach Feta Quiche from Art of Natural Living

Sweet Recipes

• Blackberry Cornmeal Cobbler from Palatable Pastime
• Chocolate Zucchini Bread from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Peach Liège Waffles from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Peach Pecan Bars from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• White Chocolate Raspberry Scones from Red Cottage Chronicles

BLUEBERRY CARDAMOM RICOTTA MUFFINS

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Yield: 12 Servings Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1-3/4 cups white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup turbinado or coarse sugar, for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the olive oil, honey, and vanilla until homogenized. Add the eggs and mix until fully incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese and beat until creamy. Add the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt. Mix on low-speed until just combined, but mixed. Fold in the blueberries
3. Divide the batter into the prepared muffin tin liners and top with coarse sugar, if using. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Inspired by Daniel Moroyoqui, adapted from Half Baked Harvest.

Did you make this recipe? I want to see! Tag @THESPIFFYCOOKIE on Instagram and hashtag it #THESPIFFYCOOKIE

This post and recipe was created for #HalloweenTreatsWeek! Giveaway is sponsored but I did not personally receive any complimentary products. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you ever seen a moldy muffin full of broken glass in the trash that you just had to have? I give you the matcha zucchini muffin disguised for Halloween!

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Nothing like a moss cake or moldy muffin full of glass chards, amiright?

No?

What if I told you they were actually matcha zucchini muffins dressed up and ready for Halloween trick-or-treating? I promise they don’t taste like mold. And that “glass” on top is actually sugar!

I got the idea for these muffins from an old YouTube video that has stuck with me after all these years. Remember the “Shoes” video (another friends and I were thoroughly entertained by in college)? Well he also did one about muffins and it starts out alright until he introduces all kinds of weird flavors, including one with glass in it.

But as usual I couldn’t just stop there, I wanted to make them look moldy too. While the muffins themselves look pretty grossly green thanks to matcha and zucchini (with some white chocolate spores), I wanted to really get that fuzzy mold look. Here comes more matcha and powdered sugar dusted on top with my sugar dusting wand.

These might be the grossest looking things I’ve ever made, but thankfully when it comes to Halloween that’s a win! I’ve never been so proud of something so disgusting looking. Helps that they are indeed tasty breakfast muffins.

While you continue to work on your gag reflex, scroll to the bottom of this post to enter the #HalloweenTreatsWeek giveaway!

Take a look more spooky Halloween recipes from our #HalloweenTreatsWeek Bloggers today: 

Halloween Cookies & Bars:

• Boo Meringues from 4 Sons R Us
• Hocus Pocus Sugar Cookies from For the Love of Food

Halloween Brownies:

• Frosted Frankenstein Brownies from Big Bear’s Wife

Halloween Pies & Tarts:

• Spider Web Chocolate Tart from The Flour Handprint

Halloween Breakfast: 

• Moldy Bits of Glass Muffins (Matcha Muffins) from The Spiffy Cookie

Halloween Drinks:

• Layered Halloween Smoothie from Tastes of Homemade
• Halloween Mimosa from Fresh Coast Eats

Sweet Halloween Treats:

• Halloween Pretzel Treat from Devour Dinner
• Graveyard Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats from JZ Eats
• Caramel Apple Cheesecake Cups from Sweet ReciPEAS
• Monster Marshmallow Pops from Sweet Beginnings
• Wicked Witch Fudge from Take Two Tapas

Two years ago: Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Butter Thumbprints

Four years ago: Peanut Butter Ricotta Pierogies with Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Six years ago: No-Churn Pumpkin Cannoli Ice Cream

Seven years ago: Ghost Chili with Cornbread Topping and Chipotle Creama

MOLDY BITS OF GLASS MUFFINS (MATCHA ZUCCHINI)

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Yield: 1 dozen Cooking Time: 25 Minutes 25 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

MUFFINS

• 2 cups oats, old-fashioned or quick cooking
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 Tbsp matcha green tea powder, plus more for garnish
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar, for garnish

CANDY GLASS

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 + 2 Tbsp water
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• Candy thermometer

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 standard muffin-pan cups, or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, matcha, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat buttermilk, oil, and egg until well blended; stir in shredded zucchini. Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture and stir just until the flour mixture is moistened (the batter will be very thick). Stir in white chocolate chips, if using.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.
5. Meanwhile, line a baking pan with wax paper or a silicone baking mat.
6. in a medium saucepan add the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Insert the candy thermometer and bring to a boil. Stir constantly until the thermometer reaches 300 degrees.
7. Working quickly and carefully, immediately pour on the prepared baking pan, tilting to spread. Allow it to sit until hardened (about 30 minutes). Once hardened, break into pieces using a mallet.
8. To garnish the muffins, dust the tops with matcha powder, followed by powdered sugar. Then insert pieces of candy glass into the top*.

Notes

* Best served the same day as the candy glass and powdered topping will dissolve over time due to moisture from the muffin. Alternatively, you could assemble later.

Did you make this recipe? I want to see!
Tag @THESPIFFYCOOKIE on Instagram and hashtag it #THESPIFFYCOOKIE

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Season is here and it is time for 2020’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event! #HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife  & its a creepy and haunting week-long event is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats, recipes and some frightfully fun giveaways.

“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ‘tis near Halloween.”

For the 3rd annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 30 hauntingly talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week! Follow the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media.

Plus, don’t forget that we have some great giveaways for you this week thanks to our amazing sponsor and bloggers this year!

Prize #1 from Dixie Crystals

OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowl Set

Prize #2 from Angie at BigBearsWife 

Ninja OP301 Foodi 9-in-1 Pressure, Slow Cooker, Air Fryer and More, with 6.5 Quart Capacity and 45 Recipe Book, and a High Gloss Finish

Prize #3 from Nicole Taggart’s Origami Owl Jewelry Bar

Origami Owl Locket and Halloween Charms

Prize #4 from Kathy at Lemon Blossoms 

6 Quart Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker

Prize #5 from Terri at Our Good Life

Young Living’s Thieves Mints ($50 Value)

Pop a Thieves Mint into your mouth for cinnamint-fresh breath after meals. Made with naturally derived ingredients and free of artificial sweeteners, dyes, and preservatives, Thieves Mints are a choice you can feel good about. Created with Young Living’s Thieves essential oil blend, these mints deliver minty coolness with a hint of warm, sugar-free sweetness. Thieves Mints come in a conveniently sized container that is great to take on the go!!

Prize #6 from Julie  at Back To My Southern Roots

1 Copy of  – The Peanuts Family Cookbook: Delicious Dishes for Kids to Make with Their Favorite Grown-Ups

Prize #7 from Peabody of Sweet ReciPEAS

1 Copy of her new cookbook “Holy Sweet! 60 Indulgent Recipes for Bigger, Better Desserts”

Prize #8 from Megan of Strawberry Blondie Kitchen

1 Copy of her cookbook, “Incredible One-Pot Cooking: Easy, Delicious Recipes for Exciting Meals Without the Mess”

Prize #9 from Nicole of For the Love of Food Blog

1 Copy of “Friends: The Official Cookbook”

Prize #10 from Michaela from An Affair from the Heart, Jennifer from Take Two Tapas and Michele from West Via Midwest

ONE (1) $75 Amazon gift card

Prize #11 from Shanaka from It’s Shanaka

ONE (1) $25 Amazon gift card

Prize #12 from Ashley from Cheese Curd In Paradise

1 Copy of her cookbook, ” The Serial Killer Cookbook: True Crime Trivia and Disturbingly Delicious Last Meals from Death Row’s Most Infamous Killers and Murderers”

Prize #13 from Amy from House of Nash Eats

ONE (1) $100 Amazon gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsors to winners, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from October 5th – October 10th at 11:59PM EST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 14 prizes and therefore we will have a total of 14 winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #HalloweenTreatsWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing brand sponsors: Dixie Crystals that provided a prize pack for our giveaways and also sent some samples and products to the #HalloweenTreatsWeek bloggers to use in their recipes. We would also love to give a huge thanks to our Halloween Treats Week bloggers because a lot of them also donated prizes for the giveaways, including:  Angie of BigBearsWife ,  Nicole of Nicole Taggart’s Origami Owl Jewelry Bar, Kathy of Lemon Blossoms,  Terri of Our Good Life,  Julie of Back To My Southern Roots,  Peabody of Sweet ReciPEAS, Megan of Strawberry Blondie Kitchen, Nicole of For the Love of Food Blog, Michaela of An Affair from the Heart, Jennifer of Take Two Tapas , Michele of West Via Midwest, Shanaka of It’s Shanaka, Ashley of Cheese Curd In Paradise, and Amy from House of Nash Eats!

Who says you can’t have cornbread for dessert? These unsuspectingly gluten-free muffins are flecked with poblano peppers for just a little heat, then topped with a creamy goat cheese frosting, crumbled bacon, and fresh green onion.

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This content contains affiliate links, from which I earn a small commission, and I received free product from RylieCakes, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Today is #NationalCupcakeLoversDay so naturally I made savory muffins…? I had plans to make a sweet cupcake but I ran out of time. These muffins have a savory frosting on top so they are basically cupcakes, right? Go with it.

These “savory cupcakes” are actually made with a gluten-free baking mix I recently have been playing with called RylieCakes (a woman-owned business made in the USA and uses biodegradable packaging). At first I thought they were just mixes to bake what each bag was named, such as the Cake Mix pictured below, but turns out there’s an entire cookbook of gluten-free recipes using these mixes to make a variety of things.

The only caveat is that these mixes are not for the purpose of substituting one-to-one in your recipes to make them gluten-free (or at least I haven’t yet tried). That is unless your recipe calls for boxed cake/cookie/biscuit/pancake mix. But you don’t need the cookbook to be able to know how to use these mixes, there are also several recipes on their website.

However I was sent the cookbook along with three mixes to try out so I chose to make these gluten-free cornbread muffins which are from the cookbook. The original recipe was for mini muffins and used jalapeno peppers, but I wanted normal sized muffins to go with the BBQ pulled pork Bob smoked, and had poblano peppers on hand already.

I shared some of these muffins with my friend who has celiac and said she’s never had such a non-grainy cornbreaed before! And I would have to agree, if you weren’t told these were gluten-free you would never know it.

And that goat cheese frosting on top with crumbled bacon and fresh green onion? Oh my. Take one bite and try to tell me you wouldn’t eat this for dessert ;-). But if you are not convinced, I joined a group of other bloggers sharing cupcakes to celebrate today which are listed below!

Cupcakes for Cupcake Lovers Day!

Hosted by Valentina | The Baking Fairy

Vegan German Chocolate Cupcakes by The Baking Fairy
Bailey’s Red Velvet Cupcakes by Our Crafty Mom
Buttermilk Cupcakes with Strawberry Whipped Cream by One Sweet Appetite
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes by Daily Dish Recipes
Coffee Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Easy Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes by The Urben Life
Fiori Di Sicilia + Elderflower Cupcakes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Gingerbread Cupcakes by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Maple Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Date Icing by UpBeet Kitchen
Mickey Mouse Sprinkles Cupcakes by For The Love of Food
Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes by Join Us, Pull Up A Chair
Poblano Cornbread Muffins with Goat Cheese Frosting by The Spiffy Cookie
Sourdough Strawberry Cupcakes by Our Good Life
Vanilla Bean Buttercream Cupcakes by Red Cottage Chronicles

One year ago: Strawberry Basil Cupcakes with Chocolate Balsamic Frosting

Two years ago: DIY Marbled Clay Ring Dish

Four years ago: Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

Six years ago: Eggplant Parmesan with Parsley Orzo

Seven years ago: Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Granola Bars

GLUTEN-FREE POBLANO CORNBREAD MUFFINS WITH GOAT CHEESE FROSTING

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Yield: 1 dozen Cooking Time: 20 Minutes 20 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

MUFFINS

• 6.25 oz. Rylie Cakes Cake Mix
• 4.75 oz. corn flour*
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 oz. butter, room temperature
• 1.75 oz. brown sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 8 oz. buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 small poblano pepper, seeded and finely diced

FROSTING

• 8 oz. goat cheese, room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 oz. whole milk
• 2 tsp black pepper

TOPPING

• 6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 fresh green onions, finely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Coat a 12-cavity muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bow, whisk together Cake Mix, corn flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. Add egg and egg yolk one at a time, beating for 30 seconds on medium-low speed after adding each.
5. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low until just combined. Slowly pour in buttermilk and continue to beat on low until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and chopped poblano and beat until thoroughly combined.
6. Divide batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
7. Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together goat cheese and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy.
8. Adjust mixer to low and slowly stream in milk. Add pepper and beat to combine.
9. Once mini muffins have completely cooled to room temperature, top with frosting using a piping bag or a scoop. Garnish with bacon bits and fresh green onions.

Notes

You can finely grind up cornmeal in a food processor to make cornflour if you cannot find any at your store. Just don't use masa harina! They may look similar but they are completely different products. Generally, cornflour is just finely ground corn. Masa harina, is ground corn treated with alkali.

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Source: Adapted from Lick The Bowl: RylieCakes Essential Guide to Gluten Free Baking by Tara Rylie.

If you can make homemade rolls, you can handle English muffins. They are much easier than you’d expect and taste far better than anything at the store.

Jump to recipe

We are now a household of one income, and unfortunately it’s not Bob’s because he made more than I do. But I guess we are lucky to still have the one. Side note, I realize the date says April 1, but I swear this is no joke. It wouldn’t be a very funny one anyway given the times.

But I digress, let’s get back to my week-long celebration of all things sourdough, most importantly because today is actually National Sourdough Bread Day!

Homemade English muffins are one of my favorite bread products to make. While they have similar steps to make the initial balls of dough, the pan cooking is what really sets them apart and gives them the characteristics that distinguish them as English muffins.

Yes, if you have ever wondered how these muffins get those browned tops and bottoms, it’s because you are basically cooking giant puffy pancakes on a griddle. Which now makes me want to try these drizzled with maple syrup.

And as far as your sourdough starter goes, these are great because you can use fed or discard to make them, but obviously you will need more time if you use unfed. But you can also let it rise in your fridge overnight too. Bread is an art, but it’s also forgiving!

This recipe makes 2 dozen, but can easily be divided in half. But I think you should still make the whole batch because even if you are a household of two like us, these freeze very well and your future self will thank you.

I know we are loving all the stock piles we have in the freezer as we now attempt to decrease our spending while also generally avoiding going in public any more than necessary. It’s a good thing we are always stocked to survive a few weeks at a time!

Four years ago: Holy Crap Cookies (Chocolate Meringues)

Five years ago: Greek Yogurt-Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Six years ago: Blueberry Blue Velvet Cake

Seven years ago: Rainbow Guacamole Deviled Eggs

Nine years ago: Baked Funfetti Doughnuts

SOURDOUGH ENGLISH MUFFINS

Print

Yield: 2 dozen

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sourdough starter (fed or discard)
• 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups warm water (110°F-115°F)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast*
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp citric acid, optional (enhances sour flavor)
• Cornmeal, for dusting

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the cornmeal. Knead for 8-10 minutes to form a smooth and elastic dough. If sticky add more flour.
2. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1-1.5 hour. (For more sour flavor, cover and immediately place in the fridge without rising first.)
3. Gently deflate the dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and divide the dough into 24 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball, then flatten each ball into a 3" round.
4. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment and dust with cornmeal. Transfer the balls of dough to the sheet pan, spacing them about 3 inches apart, sprinkle with cornmeal, and cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap or a towel. Proof at room temperature for 45-60 minutes, or until the pieces nearly double in size. (If dough was refrigerated overnight, about 2 hours.)
5. Heat an ungreased skillet or flat griddle to medium (350 degrees if you have a thermometer setting). Also, preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
6. Carefully transfer the rounds to the skillet or griddle and cook for 8-10 minutes on each side, or until the bottom of the dough cannot cook any longer without burning. The bottoms should be a rich golden brown (they will brown quickly but will not burn for awhile, so resist the temptation to turn them prematurely).
7. Transfer to a sheet pan and place the pan in the oven (don’t wait for the still uncooked pieces) and bake for 5-8 minutes. Meanwhile, return to the uncooked pieces and cook them, then bake them, as you did the first round.
8. Transfer the baked muffins to a cooling rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing or serving.

Notes

*Don't have yeast? Use equal parts baking soda and lemon.

Source: Adapted slightly from King Arthur Flour and my English Muffins.

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At what point does a breakfast pastry become a dessert? I think claiming things like doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, muffins, coffee cakes, etc as breakfast food is already a stretch (not that I am complaining but let’s be honest with ourselves). But now I put a load of peanut butter and chocolate into this coffee cake and I’m fairly certain this is more dessert than breakfast. But who says I won’t still eat a slice for breakfast anyway? I am an adult and I do what I want…within reason because I cannot afford to buy a new wardrobe to fit that lifestyle.

My peach-basil coffee cake was such a huge hit that when it came to conjuring up ideas for #Choctoberfest it quickly came to mind as one to adapt for the occasion. I added peanut butter and obviously chocolate chips to the base, removed oats from the topping and added cocoa powder and peanuts but also divided said topping in half to make a nice swirl in the middle, and then added peanut butter to the icing to drizzle on top.

I realize for the chocoholics out there you may have preferred the reverse scenario, with a chocolate base and a peanut butter swirl. I actually originally thought to do that because today I am also celebrating #PBchocSat a day early because Ohio State plays tonight at Northwestern and a chocolate cake with a peanut butter middle would have resembled the appearance of a buckeye. But since my taste preferences lean towards more peanut butter in a ratio with chocolate this is what you have to settle for. As if this coffee cake is anything close to settling.

And since I felt like this coffee cake was worthy of dessert status I went ahead and served my slice with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Because I had some leftover from making white hot chocolate. Heck this would be great paired with said hot chocolate, don’t you think?

Tomorrow is your last change to enter the #Choctoberfest giveaway! Which means after you scroll through the list of recipes shared today at the bottom of this post you need to go enter if you haven’t already.

Five years ago: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Six years ago: Horror Show Pistachio Zombie Cupcakes

Seven years ago: Review: Baking for Friends

Eight years ago: Homemade Potato Knishes by Overtime Cook

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COFFEE CAKE

Makes 1 cake

Ingredients:

FILLING/TOPPING

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Imperial Sugar light brown sugar

1/4 cup Imperial Sugar granulated pure cane sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

COFFEE CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature”

1/2 cup Imperial Sugar light brown sugar

1/2 cup Imperial Sugar granulated pure cane sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 eggs, room temperature

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

GLAZE

Heaping 1/4 cup Imperial Sugar powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch spring-form pan with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. In a small bowl add all the filling/topping ingredients except the peanuts and cut in sugar until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl mix the buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Blend in peanut butter. Add the eggs and beat until just incorporated. Alternate adding in the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, mixing just until combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
6. Pour half the batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with half of the filling/topping and pour remaining batter evenly on top. Add peanuts to remaining topping and sprinkle on top, pressing lightly to make it stick.
7. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
8. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and peanut butter until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake. Allow glaze to harden and serve.

Source: Adapted from my Peach-Basil Coffee Cake.

You can’t think “school” without peanut butter and jelly, so send your kids back to school with one of these PB&J muffins.

I don’t have kids do the concept of going back to school is only in my memory. I do still see the impacts of whether school is in session however as we have students in our lab. But college students aren’t really the same kind of “going back to school” that phrase usually implies.

Either way, it’s a trend that is starting to creep up in people’s minds and as such the blogging community it following suit by hosting BackToSchoolTreats week!

To me the most iconic school item is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I learned at a young age that the perfect way to make said sandwich was to put peanut butter on both slices of bread with the jelly in between to ensure the bread wouldn’t get soggy from prolonged contact with the grape jam.

I remember coming home requesting my dad to make them as such and not only did he agree to do so, he thought it was a great idea! Clearly a problem solver from a young age. So to kick off the week, I made peanut butter muffins with strawberry jam in the middle.

Check out these #BacktoSchoolTreats recipes from our Bloggers:

Back to School Breakfasts:
Baked Funfetti Doughnuts from Tara’s Multicultural Table
Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins from Comfortably Domestic
Breakfast Cookies from Home Sweet Homestead
Brioche Bread Pudding from Simply Healthyish
Chocolate Chip Maple Pecan Granola from Family Around the Table
Chocolate Malt Waffles from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Coconut Oatmeal Breakfast Bars from The Beard and The Baker
Homemade Honey Buns from The Domestic Kitchen
Nutella Waffles with Strawberry Syrup from The Redhead Baker
Oatmeal Pear Bars from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
PB&J Overnight Oats from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
Peaches and Maple Crunch Breakfast Jars from My Sweet Zepol
Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins from The Spiffy Cookie
Triple Berry Overnight French Toast from The Nifty Foodie

Back to School Snacks:
Lavender Rice Krispie Treats from Nik Snacks
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars from Simple and Savory

Back to School Desserts:
‘Ah! Sunflower’ Cupcakes from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Almond Joy Cupcakes from Daily Dish Recipes
Back-to-School Sundae from Our Good Life
Caramel Apple Back to School Cupcakes from Big Bear’s Wife
Caramel Apple Dip from The Mandatory Mooch
Chocolate Cupcakes with PB Fluff Buttercream from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Easy Chocolate No Bake Cookies from Jen Around the World
Chocolate Pudding & Caramel Parfait from Girl Abroad
Oatmeal Cream Pie Layer Cake from Love and Confections
Vanilla Bean Pudding Pops from Hardly A Goddess

Back to School Drinks:
Caramel Apple Iced Tea from For the Love of Food
Dairy-Free Apple Pie Smoothie from Frugal & Fit
Iced Apple Ginger Ale from Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
Iced Salted Caramel Latte from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Like any good themed recipe week, there’s also a giveaway! Scroll to the bottom of this post for more information about the sponsors of #BacktoSchoolTreats and how to win. Sponsored items used in this recipe: Dixie Crystals brown sugar, Taylor & Colledge vanilla bean paste, and Sweets & Treats cupcake liners.

Three years ago: Raspberry Moscow Mule Float

Four year ago: Super Veggie Sandwich

Five years ago: Blueberry White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

Six years ago: Potato, Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin

Eight years ago: Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY MUFFINS

Makes 12

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup Dixie Crystals brown sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp Taylor & Colledge vanilla bean paste

3/4 cup peanut butter chips

10 oz. jar favorite jam/jelly (I used strawberry)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips (batter will be thick).
4. Divide half of the batter into prepared muffin tin. Place a teaspoon of jam into the center of each. Top with remaining batter.
5. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the top of the muffin springs back when lightly pressed.
6. Cool on a wire rack.

Source: Adapted from Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins by Beantown Baker (Guest Post)
Summer is winding down, and we are celebrating with #BacktoSchoolTreats hosted by Terri from Love and Confections and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures. All week-long 30 bloggers will be sharing 100+ fantastic recipes for both parents and kids, with breakfasts, snacks, desserts, and drinks to get you back in the school routine. Thank you sponsors for providing the prize packages. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway below!

PRIZE #1 DIXIE CRYSTALS

Dixie Crystals is giving one winner a Keurig K-Select Single-Serve K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker.

Since 1917, Dixie Crystals® has been the South’s choice for high-quality sugar and sweeteners. For generations, Dixie Crystals has been at the heart of family traditions and celebrations. Our pure cane, non-GMO sugar products guarantee that treasured family recipes will turn out right every time. Bake with love and Dixie Crystals.

PRIZE#2 SWEETS & TREATS

This post and recipe was created for #SummerDessertWeek! I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are 100% mine.

Nothing says summer like a fresh juicy peach and this coffee cake made with peaches and basil is the perfect way to start a summer morning.

Every summer I patiently await for the arrival of what I determine to be the true meaning of summer – ripe juicy peaches. The Georgia Peach Truck made it’s way to Columbus recently and after inhaling quite a few as is, the very first thing I made was this coffee cake, which was also made with a handful of fresh basil from my garden. Speaking of, my poor basil plant was getting smothered by the prolific tomato plants that are now taller than I am, but thanks to Bob’s handiwork we now have polls and grids of wire providing support beyond what the 3-foot cages could provide. Prepare yourselves for plenty of tomato recipes to follow suit, but first let’s focus on the peaches and this coffee cake.

I could not remember the last time I made a proper coffee cake, so it seemed like the right time. But then I went down my usual rabbit hole of determining what the difference was, if any, between a coffee cake and a crumb cake/muffin? My first search rendered that a crumb cake is just coffee cake with a streusel/crumb topping, and coffee cake is pretty much anything eaten with coffee (which I don’t drink so maybe nothing is coffee cake for me), but doesn’t coffee cake have a crumb topping? Long story short there is a specific thing called a crumb cake in NY that is as much crumb as it is cake without any fruit or nuts involved, but coffee cakes come in many variations.  So I present to you a very delicious summer coffee cake filled with fresh peaches, basil, and a streusel topping! A friend told me it was so good I should be selling it. I’ll start taking orders whenever you are ready ;-).

Check out the amazing #SummerDessertWeek recipes from our bloggers today!

Ice Cream Recipes:

• Circus Animal Cookie Ice Cream from Fake Ginger
• No Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream from Nik Snacks
• Butterscotch Ice Cream from Pastry Chef Online
• Individual Mermaid Ice Cream Treats from Family Around the Table
• Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream Bon Bons from Cooking With Carlee

Pies of Summer:

• Creamy Peach Pie Delight from Who Needs A Cape?
• Key Lime Coconut Pie from Doughmesstic
• Frozen Strawberry Yogurt Pie from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Mini Fresh Strawberry Pies from Cheese Curds in Paradise
• Cherry Limeade Icebox Pie from Sweet Beginnings

Sweet Summertime Cakes and Cupcakes:

• Coconut Custard Almond Cake from The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine
• Strawberry Ice Cream Cake from The Beard and The Baker
• Fiesta Lime Cupcakes from My Baking Heart
• Nana’s Strawberry Shortcake Cake from Daily Dish Recipes
• Ice Cream Cone Drip Cake from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Summer Berries Pavlova Cake from Home Sweet Homestead
• Buttermilk Chocolate Cake from Back To My Southern Roots
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Charlotte A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Mermaid Layer Cake from Love and Confections
• Vanilla Icebox Cake from Books n’ Cooks
• Peach-Basil Coffee Cake from The Spiffy Cookie
• Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes from Cookaholic Wife
• The Perfect Vanilla Cupcake from Our Good Life

No Bake Treats:

• No Bake Lemon Chiffon Dessert from Miss in the Kitchen
• No Bake Berry Cheesecake from Desserts Required
• Pineapple Pretzel Fluff Salad from 4 Sons R Us
• Easy Raspberry Cream Cheese Dessert from Blogghetti
• No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake from Everyday Eileen
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad Dessert from Creative Southern Home

Baked Desserts:

• Sea Shell Beach Cakesicles from Big Bear’s Wife
• Mermaid Splash Cookies from The Domestic Kitchen
• Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake from A Blender Mom
• Cruise Ship Strawberry Crepes from Southern From Scratch
• Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake from Eat Move Make
• Caramel Sticky Pudding Cake from Shockingly Delicious
• Blackberry Roly Poly from Nancie’s Table
• Strawberry Monkey Bread from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Raspberry Custard Bars with Almond from My Sweet Zepol
• Caramel Corn Cheesecake from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Blackberry Cheesecake with Blackberry Compote from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Cookies:

• Easy Mini Fruit Pizzas from Jen Around the World
• Sunflower Cookies from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Orange Creamsicle Chip Cookies from Palatable Pastime
• Viennese Whirls from Kudos Kitchen by Renee

Puddings:

• Mason Jar Caramel Banana Pudding from For the Love of Food

And with every good week-long blogger recipe event comes an even better giveaway for our readers, so scroll to the bottom of this post for more information about the sponsors of #SummerDessertWeek and a chance to enter the giveaway! Sponsored items used in this recipe: Dixie Crystals sugar, light brown sugar, and powdered sugar, Adams Extract vanilla, and Anolon 9-inch spring form pan.

Three years ago: Boston Cream Pie Speculoos Cookie Cups

Five years ago: Homemade Strawberry Jam

Six years ago: Mexican Hot Dogs with Corn Salsa and Chipotle Cream

PEACH-BASIL COFFEE CAKE

Makes 1 cake

Ingredients:

STREUSEL

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup Dixie Crystals light brown sugar

1/4 cup Dixie Crystals pure cane sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp allspice

Pinch of salt

COFFEE CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp freshly minced basil (or 1 tsp dried)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 tsp Adams vanilla extract

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Dixie Crystals light brown sugar

1/2 cup Dixie Crystals pure cane sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1-1/2 cup chopped fresh peeled peaches (about 3 medium)

GLAZE

1/2 cup Dixie Crystals powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch spring-form pan with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. In a small bowl add all the streusel ingredients and cut in sugar until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, basil, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl mix the buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until just incorporated. Alternate adding in the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, mixing just until combined. Gently fold in the peaches until evenly distributed.
6. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with streusel, pressing lightly to make it stick.
7. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
8. In a small bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake. Allow glaze to harden and serve.

Source: Adapted from my Blueberry-Lime Streusel Muffins and A Kitchen Addiction.

PRIZE #1

Dixie Crystals is giving away one (1)Keurig® K-Select® Coffee Maker

PRIZE #2

Prize #2 — Adam’s Extract is giving away – 1 Gift Pack – including Adams Poundcake Kit, Adams Best, Adams Lemon Extract, Adams Natural Food Color, and Adams Cinnamon Sugar

PRIZE #3

Prize #3 —Wilton is giving away a Wilton Gift Pack – including – Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 13 x 9 -inch Oblong Pan, Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 8-inch Square Cake Pan, Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 8-inch Round Cake Pan, Peach Cobbler Candy Melts Candy, Blueberry Lemonade Candy Melts Candy, Orange Crème Candy Melts Candy, Key Lime Pie Decorating Icing Pouch with Tips, Orange Crème Decorating Icing Pouch with Tips, Pop Art Triangle and Solid Cupcake Liners, Geometric Print and Solid Green Cupcake Liners, Balloon Dog Icing Decorations, Assorted Brights and Pastels Sprinkles, Blue Sprinkles Tackle Box, Coral Sprinkles Tackle Box, DIY-Lish Mermaid Kit, DIY-Lish Candy Lollipop Kit and Disposable Decorating Bags with 1M Tips

PRIZE #4

Prize #4 — Sweets & Treats Boutique is giving away 1 (one) baking supply box including an assortment of sprinkles and cupcake liners as well as one of Love From The Oven’s recent cookbooks!

PRIZE #5

Prize #5 — Anolon is giving one (1) winner an Anolon Advanced Graphite 9″ Round Springform Pan & an Anolon Advanced Graphite 9″ Square Springform Pan

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsors to winners, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from July 7th – July 14th at 12AMEST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 5 (five) prizes and therefore we will have a total of 5 (five) winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #SummerDessertWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Adam’s Extract, Wilton, Sweets and Treats Shop and Anolon ! These wonderful sponsors provided the prize packs for our giveaways and also sent samples and products to the #SummerDessertWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.