Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Lemon pound cake muffins


From Taste of Home Cookbook, with my changes below:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. lemon extract
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream

glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
3 T. lemon juice

In large bowl, beat sugar with butter. Beat in eggs and extracts. Mix in flour, salt, soda, and sour cream. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake @ 400* for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely before topping with glaze.

Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over cooled muffins.
Makes 12 muffins

My changes:
I didn't have lemon extract so I used my newest kitchen tool, my microplane grater to zest a whole lemon. I then used the lemon for the juice in the glaze. I decreased the glaze by half. I thought it was plenty for 12 muffins. I used low fat sour cream. I did substitute some whole wheat flour for some of the all purpose flour but I cannot remember how much, maybe 1/2 cup?

I will definitely make these again. I love lemons!

Apple cranberry crumble

3 cups chopped, peeled apples
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup melted butter

In a greased 8 inch baking dish, place apples and cranberries. Sprinkle with sugar.
In bowl, combine rest of ingredients. Sprinkle over apple mixture.

Bake @ 350* for 60 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks: The Taste of Home Cookbook. It comes in a 3-ring binder and has tons of recipes, all with nutritional info. I love cookbooks but it really irks me when the calorie count is not included. I am maintaining my weight loss with Weight Watchers and I really need to know the calorie counts!

P.S. I did alter this recipe a bit by decreasing the sugar to 1/2 cup. I think it is a perfect blend of sweetness and the sourness of the cranberries. I will make this again, especially since I have accumulated many bags of cranberries in my freezer. Where did all these come from? :)