Pistachio Muffins

So my local grocery store, HEB, sells the most AMAZING Pistachio Muffins.  I came across this recipe and it's pretty close, so I'm sharing!

Ingredients

• 1 box butter cake mix
• 1 package instant pistachio pudding
• 4 eggs
• 1 c sour cream
• 1/4 c water
• 1/2 c oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Topping

• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 c chopped pistachio

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all the dry ingredients until just combined.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, sour cream, water and oil.  Combine with dry ingredients and add vanilla and almond extracts.
3.  Spray muffin tins(or use paper muffin wrappers). Pour batter into muffin tins ½ full.  Mix topping in a separate bowl and sprinkle on top of batter.
4. Bake until slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Vanilla Crepes

OK, since college, I've been a huge crepe fan. My room mate took me to this wonderful little restaurant someplace in Dallas (k, it's been a few years, so I don't remember *where*...) and I had these lemon German pancakes. Basically, it was a crepe, and I've had a love of crepes ever since. Here's a yummy recipe that I make for my husband and myself

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons melted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix together the milk, egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt and melted butter until well blended.
2. Heat a crepe pan over medium heat until hot. Coat with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and tip to spread the batter to the edges. When bubbles form on the top and the edges are dry, flip over and cook until lightly browned on the other side and edges are golden. Repeat with remaining batter.
3. Fill crepes with your favorite fruit, cream, caramel or even ice cream or cheese to serve.

Mimi's Cafe Buttermilk Spice Muffins

Mmmh, almost as good as their bran muffins, these are a treat I indulge in only once in a great while!

Buttermilk Spice Muffins
Muffin Batter:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspsoons baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk

Nut Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg


Directions:

Grease the baking tins with butter or margarine


Method

Preheat oven to 375°. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer. When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute.

Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon.

Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. To avoid lumps in the batter, add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts.

Make the nut toppping: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.


Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine. You can also use paper baking cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry. Home ovens heat differently from commercial ovens so you may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time accordingly.

Recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins, or six Mimis size muffins. If using the jumbo muffin pans, reduce the oven temperature by 25° and increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.

Lemon Loaf

Despite the fact that I am working dilligently on loosing weight, I still enjoy a cup of coffee and a sweet treat on occasion in the morning. I've found I do much better treating myself on occasion, than I do with depriving myself. This is a yummy recipe I found that tastes almost identical to Starbucks Lemon Loaf!

• 1 1/2 c. flour **
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 TBS butter (no substitutes)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
• 1/3 c. lemon juice
• 1/2 c. canola oil

Lemon Icing:

• 1 cup plus 
• 1 TBS powdered sugar
• 2 TBS milk
• 1 tsp lemon extract

Instructions:

1. preheat oven to 350
2. combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. in a medium mixing bowl, blend eggs, sugar, extracts, butter, and lemon juice.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl. Blend well. Add canola oil. Blend until smooth.
5. Pour ingredients into a greased loaf pan (9x5 is what I use) Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. While the loaf is baking, mix the ingredients for the icing. Use an electric mixer to blend until smooth. After the lemon loaf has cooled, remove it from the pan and top with the icing. After the icing has set up, slice and enjoy!