Fall & Glazed Donut Muffins

I always feel like fall doesn't last long enough, so as soon as we had one rainy cold day, I decided fall had begun. This year I'm diving right in, so I can enjoy every last drop of the fall season! 

The beginnings of fall:

*Starbucks low-fat hot chocolate while grocery shopping.

*Brown leather wedges, and pumpkin cardigans.

*Clinique's plum lipstick/lip gloss

*Cinnamon and nutmeg glazed donut muffins

I love everything about fall: the taste, the fashion, and the crisp fall scents. But I think the taste of fall is definitely my favorite ;)

These donut muffins are perfect for the mood I'm in. They don't scream fall, but there's a little hint of it in there. They're spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and are the perfect morning treat.

Glazed Donut Muffins

What you need:

• 1 cup organic all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 low fat vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup low fat milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze: 

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons hot water
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

What you're gonna do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray. In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly, being careful to not over stir. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Transfer muffins to wire rack and cool muffins for 10-15 minutes before glazing.

To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth. When muffins have cooled, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden before serving. 

Here's what I'm thinkin':

• Makes 12 muffins
• Serving size- 1 muffin
• 144 calories per serving

Which do you love more: fall fashion, crisp fall scents, or the taste of fall?

Today, I needed to feel a little bit of fall.

I seem to be clinging onto summer.

I walk around with capris, and flip flops on, as if it's not getting cold outside. But it is cold outside. The leaves have changed, and are starting to fall off. I need to embrace fall, before it's gone. It is my favorite season after all.

So, I made chocolate chip pumpkin muffins.And they were delish.

What you need:

• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 TBS dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

What you do:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
• Divide into 12 greased muffin tins
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Here's what I'm thinkin'

• Makes 12 muffins
• Calories: 250 for 1 muffin
  

These were just what I needed! They filled my house with the
heavenly aroma of fall....Fall is now my new best friend :)

I Got My Cooking/Baking Mojo Back!

This past week, I've had nothing but one recipe disaster after the other.
It was super frustrating, and I started to wonder if I should get my butt out of the kitchen. Aside from driving me crazy (and broke), this problem was rather inconvenient. I have a hungry husband to feed!

But I didn't give up. I tried one recipe after the other.
Finally, I got my mojo back!

We are really excited about this, here at our house.
We have the yummy aroma of a good home cooked meal, filling our house again.

This meatloaf recipe from Good Housekeeping,
is what got me out of my cooking funk.
It was tasty!(it tasted better then it looks. I promise ;)
Wanna make it? Click HERE for the recipe!

Then tonight I made these heavenly
Doughnut Muffins:I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs,
Slim Shoppin'
She is awesome. Deliciously. Awesome.
I loved these, and I think it was the easiest muffin recipe I've ever made.
I tried linking you to the recipe, but it didn't work. Here's the recipe I got off her site:

1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup flax seed, ground
½ cup vanilla yogurt (I used light)
½ cup sugar
¼ cup canola oil
1 egg
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¾ cup skim milk
3 tablespoons chocolate chips

Just mix everything together until it’s combined. Try not to over stir.

Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, and bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle muffins with cinnamon and sugar, before baking.

Calories for each muffin: 175 calories, 6.5 grams of fat 25 carbs and 1.5 grams of fiber.

It feels nice to cook up a deliciously healthy storm again!

Now I'm in the cooking and baking mood!
I think fall does that to you. Does it not?

I've found lots of yummy recipes on blogs, that I can't wait to try!

If you have any deliciously healthy recipes you think I should try, what are you waiting for?
Share them with me!
Please ;D