March 2011 Baking Challenge

**Palooka** · 03-05-2011, 08:29 PM

Made some low fat applesauce muffins. They were good but I should have thrown a little raisins in them. Froze most of them.

**tervsforme** · 03-05-2011, 11:03 PM

I've been thinking of trying to make some scones. I've never made them. I have some dried cherries I could put in them. Perhaps tomorrow.

**waterbaby77** · 03-06-2011, 07:54 PM

I'm doing the March freezer/pantry challenge, and I'd like to join the baking challenge as well because I really need to use up the flour, blueberries, pumpkin, raisins, and coconut.

Would love to have some muffins or quick bread for breakfasts and snacks. I have done no scratch baking for months because most weeks at work are 40+ hours and I don't feel I have time, but it really takes so little time to whip up a batch of muffins.

Blueberry-lemon muffins and pumpkin-raisin bread sound really good right now, so I will look for some recipes and try to do some baking next weekend.

**MsMarieH** · 03-07-2011, 02:43 PM

Hubby asked for chocolate chip cookies, so I made that instead of peach cobbler this weekend. Put the bananas in the freezer to make muffins later.

I have a yummy recipe for pumpkin muffins.

Really fast and easy and tasty. They were moist and delicious, nicely spiced, though I did increase the spices a bit (can't remember how much, probably doubled the cinnamon and upped the nutmeg a smidge - I use fresh grated - and might have throw in some ground allspice and a teeny bit of cloves as well), just cause I like things spicy.

I substituted chopped walnuts for the golden raisins as I didn't have any raisins on hand. They were great split and spread with a little butter.

The recipe is from Country Living's Country Mornings Cookbook. Lots of good recipes in that one - all breakfast. I found a copy of the recipe online:

Spicy Pumpkin Muffins - Pumpkin Recipes - Country Living

Spicy Pumpkin Muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total time 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cup(s) flour
6 tablespoon(s) sugar
1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) (ground) cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon(s) (ground) nutmeg
1/2 cup(s) golden raisins
1/4 cup(s) (.5 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup(s) (canned) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup(s) milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously grease 12 muffin cups. In a large bowl, with a fork, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the raisins.

In a 1-quart saucepan, melt the butter. Remove from heat; let cool slightly. Stir in the pumpkin, milk and egg. Stir the liquid into the flour mixture until just moistened; the batter will be lumpy. Divide the batter among the greased cups.

Bake the muffins 15 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove muffins from cups; serve warm.

**hotprincesscm** · 03-07-2011, 03:52 PM

I've made two batches of cookies and a banana bread so far this month....none from scratch. Boxed banana bread, and the premade dough for the cookies...but I still baked them! LOL

**Palooka** · 03-07-2011, 08:34 PM

MsMarie, thanks for the recipe. I shall try it.

Tonight I made low fat rocky road brownies. They are cooling at the moment.

**frugalfranny** · 03-08-2011, 01:04 AM

I am soooooo wanting to bake.....but I don't dare.

I have just been in the kitchen too much........freezer full.......refrig. full..........counter full.........YEOW!! No victims lined up!!

Just finished reading two new (to me) cookbooks too....plus a friend gave me three Family Circles......have already cut out two recipes to try.

**Palooka** · 03-08-2011, 01:16 AM

FF, there is always room to store them in your belly.

**frugalfranny** · 03-08-2011, 01:26 AM

Originally Posted by Palooka

FF, there is always room to store them in your belly.

If they would STAY in the belly and NOT GO TO THE HIPS.....I would do it.

I love to bake!! ('can have' a horrible sweet tooth!)

And, kid you not..........I have a TRUCKLOAD of new recipes that I want to try!! Always trying new things..........only make maybe half dozen things more than once.

**piney** · 03-09-2011, 06:35 PM

Baked a peach cobbler today used can peaches

**Palooka** · 03-10-2011, 08:25 PM

I made chocolate chip cookies with my step-daughter today. Have yet to have one and would like to keep it that way.

**piney** · 03-23-2011, 10:12 PM

Yesterday i bake the pineapple coconut bars had got the recipe from fv.

**piney** · 03-29-2011, 11:23 PM

Today baked a

but used a jiffy cake mix and baked it in 9x12 cake pan so it would be a thin lawyer and when i started to eat some i put strawberry and cool whip on it.{was good}

**scrap_candles** · 04-02-2011, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Debbie-cat

Not sure about this month. I do have some frozen shredded zuchinni to use up...maybe zuchinni bread. Oh, also need a cake for DFIL for his birthday on the 9th.

my ds brought me home TONS of zuchinni last summer and i shredded it all and froze it. I made alot of bread and muffins with some of it but still had lots left over, my question is when i thaw it to use should I use it all? or do I need to strain all the liquid it turns to out and just use the pulp? I had it all frozen in baggies in the right amounts but not sure how to use it. That was the first time we had ever eaten zuchinni but they loved the choc zuch. muffins