99 Kinds of Bread: #2 Mini Cheese Cornbread Muffins

Sometimes you want an extra bite at dinner that doesn’t take too much effort.  These mini cheese cornbread muffins are just that.  They can be whipped up quickly and easily and add a tiny bit of something to your dinner plate.

Using a mini muffin pan produces a whole bunch of these little guys, so you have a big family there’s plenty for everyone.  Or if you’re just cooking for one or two, the leftovers save nicely and can be popped in the microwave.

I used sharp cheddar cheese in these, which complements nicely with the cornmeal.

Since these were so simple, and tasty too, I’m sure they will become a new staple to my family’s dinner rotation.

 

Mini Cheese Cornbread Muffins

• Servings: about 24 mini muffins
• Time: 20 mins
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Mini muffins made with cornmeal, buttermilk and cheddar cheese

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tb sugar
• 1/2 ts baking powder
• 1/2 ts salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Generously grease a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in the buttermilk and egg.  Beat until smooth.  Add the shredded sharp cheddar cheese and stir until fully mixed.

3. Pour the batter into the mini muffin pan, filling each hole about 2/3 full.  Bake on the top rack of the oven for 10 minutes.

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99 Flavors of Bars: #3 Gooey Golden Oreo Blondies

Amazing.  Blondies, double stuffed golden oreos, and gooey butter cake topping, all layered together.  These bars are chewy, sweet, and satisfying to bite into.

My daughter evenly layered the double stuffed oreos on top of the blondie base.  By using double stuffed oreos, the actual flavor of the cream comes through in the bars.

Next comes the layer of gooey-ness.  This layer is based off of the topping for gooey butter cake.  The lumpy goo laying on top of the oreos doesn’t look appealing at this point, but it sets up nicely in the oven.

Like traditional gooey butter cake, a heavy dusting of confectioner’s sugar tops these bars off.

These bars are so amazing and also easy to make.

Look at that golden oreo cream in the middle…

Gooey Golden Oreo Blondies

• Servings: 16 small bars
• Time: 50 mins
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A blondie bar topped with golden oreos and gooey cream cheese

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 ts baking powder
• 1/4 ts salt
• 9 double-stuff golden oreos

Topping ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups plus 2 Tb confectioner’s sugar
• 1 egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir the brown sugar into the melted butter.  Beat in the egg.  Blend in the flour, baking powder, and salt until fully mixed.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.  Lay the golden oreos in rows over the batter.

3. In another bowl, stir the cream cheese with the powdered sugar.  Beat in the egg.  The mixture may be lumpy, which is ok.

4. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the oreos.  Spread evenly to cover.

5. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.  Dust the top of the bars with the remaining 2 Tb of confectioner’s sugar.

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99 Flavors of Sundaes: # 1 Cherry Almond Crunch Sundaes

Even though school has already started here in the South (we’re already in the third week), it is still summer, which means there is still plenty of time for ice cream desserts.  Since cherries are in season, I made a fresh cherry sauce to pour on top of vanilla ice cream, topped with some sticky almond crunch.

To chop my almonds, I used my nifty hand-grinder for nuts.  It makes chopping just a handful of nuts really simple.  You could also use a food processor or pre-chopped nuts.

Now on to the cherries.  Cherries are so pretty, especially while they are cooking, which makes them turn a brighter hue of red.

Depending on the tartness of your cherries, you can opt to add more sugar.  Or, if you just want your cherry sauce sweeter, go ahead and increase the amount of sugar.

I found my cherry sauce was just sweet enough when combined with vanilla ice cream.  The sticky, crunchy almonds on top added a special touch to my sundae.

 

Cherry Almond Crunch Sundae

• Servings: 4
• Time: 30 mins
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Vanilla ice cream topped with fresh cherry sauce and chopped sticky, sugared almonds

Ingredients

• vanilla ice cream
• 3 cups whole cherries, pitted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tb lemon juice
• 1 Tb flour
• 1 ts cornstarch mixed in 1/8 cup cold water

Almond crunch ingredients

• 1/4 chopped almonds
• 2 Tb sugar
• 1 Tb water
• 1 ts almond extract
• dash salt

Directions

1. Place cherries in a small saucepan.  Sprinkle with sugar and flour.  Stir in lemon juice and water.  Cook over high heat, stirring often, until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to simmer.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Pour in the cornstarch/water mixture and stir until combined and thickened. Remove the cherry sauce from the heat and let cool.

2. In another small saucepan, add all of the almond crunch ingredients.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until the water has cooked off.  Immediately transfer the almonds to a piece of wax paper to cool.

3. Scoop vanilla ice cream into a bowl and top with cherry sauce.  Break the almond crunch into pieces and place on top of the cherries.  Enjoy!

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