Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Raspberry, White Chocolate & Almond Muffins

January is a month that drags... well, for me anyway. I feel as though January has 60 days... no, make that 90! This year, we have seen an exceptionally snowy start. In fact, the last time I saw green, green grass was Christmas day... and, this evening, we had thunder-snow again... and, boy, was it loud. The poor dog nearly shot up her own backside (sorry, but that's the best way to describe it)...

Anyhoo, with all this dastardly weather, I feel compelled to bake and cook... It's an almost primitive instinct... not unlike the squirrels I see gathering whatever they can in the garden (usually all the bird food I placed outside moments earlier). I get great comfort from the knowledge that I have multiple options readily available when asked the age old question, 'I'm hungry, what is there to eat?'... and, even though I might fall down in a zillion and one other categories, I know that, at least in this one, I'm keeping pace!


When the wind is howling outside and the snow is whirling around the street light, I get the most comfort from this little old house and it's little old oven. And, even though by many people's standards, it's not all that much to look at, I am thankful that it is warm, welcoming, and full of good food to eat...


Speaking of which, I whipped up a batch of muffins this morning and once my chief taster (the hubby) tried one, he promptly told me to share the recipe with you guys...  They're super easy to put together, and as I'm on a total raspberry kick at the moment, they are just the ticket. If you give these a try, let me know what you think of them.

Hope you're all having a great week. Catch you on Friday for a Friday Flower.
Lx

Raspberry, Almond & White Chocolate Muffins


 Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds (I usually get slithered almonds and chop them in the blender for a course texture)
1 cup of raspberries
1 cup of white chocolate chips.
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), melted
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract

Method
Preheat the oven to 400F. Line 12 muffin pan cups with muffin cases.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl or jug, using a fork, beat the milk, melted butter, egg and almond extract until blended. Add to the flour mixture and stir until flour is just moistened. Stir in the raspberries and white chocolate chips, to the batter mixture.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center, comes out clean.... approximately 20-25 minutes.
Remove muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

21 comments:

  1. Ah, squeal! I'll have to give this one a try, Laura, as it's the peak of the Tasmanian raspberry season now. I'm curious - how do you have them in the peak of winter? Where are they from? J x

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  2. Hi Laura - I hear the weather you are having is horrendous! I read Yummy Mummy's blog and she was having a positive rant about not being able to go outside! Baking sounds ideal...how lovely. I like that feeling of being snowed in and having lots of provisions insides just in case! Lou x

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  3. Hi Laura,
    I live in 'snowcountry' and no snow here, just little bits of snowdrops, you poor thing! Hope that the bad weather will lay down quick. And you described you home so lovely. Just as a home should be. And to me January and February are taking forever to pass by....
    (oh, if you want, only for today I have a small give away).
    See you soon,
    Maureen x

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  4. Love this and the
    Blue Peter Special,
    as well! My daughter
    is a vegetarian and
    I don't believe that
    I saw meat in that
    dish? I will print
    both out ~ Probably use
    frozen berries for the
    muffins, as I like to
    use organic and I'm
    just not finding them
    in the markets,now...
    Yes, it's truly hunker
    down mode, but by
    Tuesday, it will February!
    xx Suzanne

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  5. Oh hilarious - I made White Chocolate and Blackberry Muffins this morning. I'll have to add almonds next time!

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  6. Oh, goodness...I have everything but the white chocolate! And that is definitely necessary! But it sounds like a cozy thing to do on this cold, snowy morning. I agree with you, if the cupboards are full, everyone is happy and I feel I have done my job!

    XO,
    Jane

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  7. Honey, you had me at raspberry in your post title! I wish I loved to cook like you do. You make such interesting and creative things. My creativity just does not extend to the kitchen. Not the stove anyway!
    Brenda

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  8. YUMMY! Hubby loves Raspberries, will have to give this one a go. I know the feeling, I love to Nest and feel like I'm making things better for my family, which now is just hubby and me, so does that make me just selfish, ha? Thanks so much for stopping by my place and being my first follower, I feel like I need to give you a prize or something, hm, that's an idea, I'll see what I can come up with for you! I'll be back in touch, it'll be a few days, the weekends coming...

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  9. Drooling here! Those muffins look oh so good! Wonder if I can make it without the egg (one of my guys has an egg allergy).
    xo Cathy

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  10. You are right...crummy weather just makes you want to bake and make things warm and cozy!! These muffins will do the trick...thankyou!!!!

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  11. Being pregnant I can no longer read your blog, because every time I do I have the most insane craving for whatever beautiful muffin you just baked!! I'm going to tell Rob I need him to bake these right away!

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  12. Just found your blog and I'm LOVING it! This recipe looks AMAZING! Thanks for sharing :)

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  13. These muffins are AMAZING. I made them yesterday and my fiance thought I'd bought them from the bakery they looked so professional. I did them with leftover frozen raspberries from my parents' farm & I didn't have enough white chocolate chips but they were still brilliant. London was feeling milder, I bought daffs from the market - these were the icing on the cake for a feeling of springlike renewal!

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  14. My dog to this day is still scared of thunder and lighting. It's just something some dogs struggle with. This would taste ever better if you used rice milk instead of almond milk.

    -Zane of ontario honey

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  20. Theo ý kiến của mình thì chuyện đó chưa đúng, nhất là ở nước mình.

    Cho mình hỏi, bên bạn chuyên cung cấp mua thang máy Mitsubishi phải không?

    Bên mình cung cấp van tai hang hoa thang máy, vận chuyển hàng hoá ra Phú Quốc, vận chuyển hàng hoá đi Sài Gòn, van chuyen hang di Nha Trang, van chuyen hang hoa ra Hue, van chuyen hang hoa ra Ha Noi giá chất lượng cao.

    Đặc biệt nếu bạn có nhu cầu vận chuyển hàng ra Hải Dương, vận chuyển hàng hoá đi Bắc Ninh, vận chuyển hàng ra Hải Phòng, van chuyen hang hoa di Thai Binh thì mình sẽ để giá rẻ nhất cho bạn.

    Cảm ơn bạn nhiều nhé.

    ReplyDelete

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