Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins - #MuffinMonday

Last week I took a few days off work and it was amazing. It was two years of going non-stop and the last year in particular was HARD. I was struggling to manage my calendar and not overbook myself and just barely making it through my extremely short weekends. I work on Saturdays so it is really just Sunday to get everything done. 

The day I returned to work, I saw this quote on Facebook. "If you don't take a break, your body will take one for you and it won't be a convenient time." So so true. I was really starting to think I was at my breaking point. Never a good thing. My calendar is still a mess but I have made a promise to myself to actively work on making it more manageable and schedule more days off from work.

The plan was to catch up on some baking during my down time but that didn't happen. No worries, I found time yesterday to pull out the baking pans and whip up some muffins. 

It's Muffin Monday so as usual, there are sweet and savoury treats down below for you. Be sure to check them all out. 

Chocolate Chip  Nut Muffins 

Yield:  16 muffins

Ingredients

375 grams all purpose flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

pinch of nutmeg 

1 cup sugar 

1 cup milk 

2/3 cup oil 

1/3 cup yogurt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pistachios)

Directions

Grease or line your muffin tins. Preheat oven to 425 F. 

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. In another bowl whisk sugar, milk, oil, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and then gently fold until there are no more streaks of flour. Next, fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. You can reserve some to top the muffins. 

Divide the batter among 16 baking wells - filling almost to the top. 

Bake for 5 mins at 425 F then reduce to 350 F and bake another 8 to 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. 

Notes

Muffin recipe adapted from Sally Baking Addiction. 

• Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Fruit Curd Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Mocha Oatmeal Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pumpkin Apple Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Zucchini Feta Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin-loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Focaccia Bread Art - #BreadBakers

I have wanted to make focaccia bread art for a very long time but just never had the opportunity. When I offered to host this month's Bread Bakers and chose the theme "Flatbreads", I already knew what I wanted to make. It was going to be amazing. Now, what's that saying? Man plans and God laughs?

Do you know the absolute worst time to need a variety of colourful vegetables? No. Well, let me tell you. It's right after a hurricane has ravaged your island leaving most of the farms flattened so vegetables are scarce and hence EXPENSIVE. Tomatoes and sweet peppers are about US $10 per pound. O my heart. Cabbage? Unthinkable. Hopefully, we can get past this very soon. 

In any event, I pushed on and did something. I made this a few times. The first time, the focaccia was a little blah so for subsequent versions, I made an herb oil for use in and on the dough. That was a game changer and what I highly recommend. 

Focaccia Bread Art

Ingredients 

Sponge

1 cup flour 

1/2 cup water 

a pinch of instant yeast 

Herb Oil 

5 tablespoons olive oil 

Herbs of your choice (I used rosemary and 3 minced cloves of garlic)

Rest of the dough

2 cups flour 

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast (or 2 1/4 t of active dry yeast)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons herb oil from above 

Toppings (your choice)

Remaining herb oil 

Sweet peppers  (in different colours)

Parsley 

Rosemary 

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Escallion

Directions

Mix together the sponge ingredients and let sit at room temperature for 14 hours. 

Add the herbs and garlic to the olive oil and gently warm. You don't need it to be hot. I did this in a bain marie for just a couple minutes. Let the oil sit.

When the sponge is ready, add the flour, salt, yeast, water, and oil. Knead together to make a soft dough. Let rise at room temperature in an oiled bowl for about an hour until doubled. You can also proof the dough in the fridge at this point as well. The slower rise develops more flavour.

While the dough is rising, slice your vegetables and herbs to get them ready to quickly top your focaccia. 

When the dough is ready, lightly spray a baking sheet and also drizzle with a little olive oil. 

Gently pull and shape the dough into a rough rectangle or oval. It should be about 3/4" to 1" thick. Use your fingers to dimple the dough then drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Next, have fun and add your vegetables and herbs in any pattern you desire. Remember to use the herbs from your oil here as well.

Preheat oven to 425 F. 

Let the focaccia rise until puffy. 

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. 

Eat and enjoy. 

• Eggless Keto Naan from Sneha's Recipes
• Focaccia Bread Art from Passion Kneaded
• Magical Oreo Paratha from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Nan-e-Barbari from Ambrosia
• Rosemary Onion Socca - Chickpea Flatbread from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Pizza Bianca from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Ceckerboard Bread - #BreadBakers

So the theme for August's Bread Bakers is "Picnic". You think long and hard and finally come up with the perfect idea. You feel witty. Checkerboard bread to mimic picnic blankets. Get it? Checkerboard? Picnic blanket. Perfect, right? You submit your idea and then immediately remember that picnic blankets are plaid not checkered. 

Doh!

Plaid or not, I'm glad I can participate in this month's Bread Bakers. Work won't let me be great so I'm missing out on a lot of baking but this month's Bread Bakers is super special. It's our tenth anniversary. I still remember how excited I was when Stacy first posted about this group. I had just begged my way into the original bundt baking group and was very excited that there was another group to join. 

If you're wrapping up your summer with a picnic or too, scroll down for some options for your spread.

Checkerboard Rolls 

Ingredients 

4 1/2 cups (540 grams) flour 

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon salt 

2 eggs

1 cup milk 

1 tablespoon oil 

2 to 4 tablespoons water 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder 

2 teaspoons water to make a paste with the cocoa

egg + tablespoon of water for an egg wash

Directions

Whisk the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Add eggs, milk, and oil. Knead together. You want your dough to be soft and tacky so add a little of the water at a time to achieve this. My climate is extremely humid and I only used about 2 tablespoons. 

Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is almost smooth and then divide into two equal pieces. Put one piece aside and continue kneading the other until it is smooth, soft, and tacky. Place in a covered, oiled bowl. 

Next, add the cocoa paste to the other half of the dough. Thoroughly knead until the cocoa paste has been fully distributed. This is the hardest part for me. I always question my choices whenever I decide to colour dough. Will it blend? But don't worry, it will come together.

Put the chocolate dough into an oiled bowl and cover.  At this point, I prefer to put the dough in the fridge for a slow, cold rise. But you can let the dough rise at room temperature. 

When the dough has doubled, grease a 9" x 13" baking pan. 

Working with one piece of dough at a time, divide the dough into six equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth tight ball. Place alternating colours into the baking pan. 

Cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled and puffy. This could take about an hour.

With about 20 minutes left, preheat the oven to 375F. 

When the rolls are doubled and puffy, brush with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes or until the lighter coloured rolls are golden.

Cool and enjoy. 

• Baked Whole Wheat Kachoriby Cook with Renu
• Checkerboard Rollsby Passion Kneaded
• Cheddar and Herb Loafby Palatable Pastime
• Easy Sourdough French Country Breadby Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Eggless Fruit & Nut Chocolate Banana Loaf by Sneha's Recipe
• Garlic Herb Fan Rollsby A Messy Kitchen
• Hushpuppiesby A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Niçoise Picnic Squaresby Food Lust People Love
• Schiacciata all'Uva by Culinary Cam