Sour Cream Apple Muffins

When I asked my friend Sue what I could make for the baby shower she was having to welcome her coming grandson, she said coffee cake muffins.

I'm not much of a baker, but thought I'd trust Ina Garten. I love watching her show The Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network.

Ina doesn't disappoint with her recipes--the muffins were delicious.

I think the glaze is optional. My husband doesn't think the glaze is needed--they're good without it--he prefers less sugar. I glazed these for the baby shower so they would look pretty.

Sour Cream Apple Coffee Cake Muffins

adapted from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sour cream

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

For the streusel:

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup shopped pecans, optional

For the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons real maple syrup or strong coffee

Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer until light, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the diced apple until just combined.

Mix the ingredients for the streusel, then fill the cupcakes 1/3 full with batter.

 Sprinkle with a generous teaspoonful of streusel, then another small scoop of the batter until the cups are filled 3/4 full.

Then sprinkle again with streusel.

Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Drizzle with icing if desired.

Itadakimasu!

***

This is my friend Sue and her family.

Payton's growing up. She's going to have a baby brother soon!

Margie and Natalie are getting ready for shower guests.

Sue out-did herself with all the little details!

This is the color scheme Jen chose for the baby's room, and also for the shower.

This family loves daschunds--they've got four among them.

Look at these cute charms made for the parfait glasses--so cute!

The cookie pops had little 'thank you' charms on them too!

Have you tried a Johan Pie?

They are delicious!

Natalie is in coral and Sadie is in black.

Sadie is part daschund--so that bumps the family count to five!

Thank you, Sue, for the fun baby shower. We are all excited for the arrival of your second grandchild this fall!

***

Sour Cream Apple Coffee Cake Muffins

adapted from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sour cream

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

For the streusel:

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup shopped pecans, optional

For the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons real maple syrup or strong coffee

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Set cup cake wrappers into tin for 24 cupcakes.

Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer until light, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the diced apple until just combined.

Mix the ingredients for the streusel, then fill the cupcakes 1/3 full with batter.

Sprinkle with a generous teaspoonful of streusel, then another small scoop of the batter until the cups are filled 3/4 full. Then sprinkle again with streusel.

Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

FOODjimoto's Top 10 Posts for 2011 and A Giveaway!

FOODjimoto.com celebrated it's First Anniversary this month, January 4th, 2011 was the date of my first post! This blog was a Christmas gift last year from my daughter and son-in-law--I wasn't sure if blogging would be for me--but it has been a lot of fun and I'm enjoying it!

After receiving the gift, and a few days later getting the message, "Go! It's live!", I'd open up the site a few times a day, look at it--and close it up again and walk away--not knowing what to do or what to write. The first thing I did was put a counter on it, just to see if anyone would come by and look. Each time I would log on, the counter jumped ten or 15 views--it must have been my family looking to see if I had gotten started yet--so I jumped in--and 181 posts later--these are the highlights!

Just for fun, here's my top 10 posts (by page views) of 2011:

1. Grandma Kimbro's 2 Layer Cheesecake

2. Créme Brûlée

3. Cinnamon Rolls

4. Gyoza - Japanese Dumplings

5. Chashu - Chinese Barbecued Pork

 

6. Easter Eggs

7. Creamy, Cheesy Potato Leek Casserole

8. Green Chile Posole

 

9. Chocolate Mint Mochi Cake

 

10. Furikake Chex Mix

A big Thank You to my family and friends--and everyone that's been so supportive with all your encouraging comments and also to those that have stumbled me on StumbleUpon, pinned me on Pinterest, etc. You have no idea how excited I have been to see such a big jump in readers because of one photo! Thanks to Foodgawker and Tastespotting--their websites were what made me strive to gain some photography skills in order to pass muster--it still tickles me to see one of my photos make it to their galleries.

To commemorate this occasion--because I am excited to have been blogging for one year, and as a small token of my appreciation for being so encouraging to me--I'm giving away 5 sets of 2 tea towels made by Cheryl Ann Okamoto of Cato Crafts.

Cheryl is a fellow crafter and does beautiful work, I absolutely love all her products and designs.

Each set will contain one "Family" tea towel--it's my favorite of the moment.

Plus a random choice of one of the next three designs--
"A Friend For All Seasons"

"May Your Tea Cup Runneth Over"

Or, "May your rice bowl always be full!"

To win one of these sets of  two towels, simply leave a comment below with your favorite post of 2011 or a shout-out of something else you like about FOODjimoto.com.

The winners will be chosen at random by my son Rick on January 23rd, the Lunar New Year.

Cheryl also makes the famous shoyu and oil bottles--if you're Japanese-American and living in California, you probably have one or more of these.

She also makes this lazy-susan.

Cheryl didn't make many of these gems, I'm happy I was able to get one!

If you would like to contact Cheryl about her crafts you can email her at catoc@pacbell.net.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Cinnamon Rolls

Are you thinking, 'Didn't I just see cinnamon rolls here?' Yes, you did.

 But my husband has been asking for cinnamon rolls lately.

Every time he sees the photo of Brock's cinnamon rolls on my computer, he says,

"Those cinnamon rolls look good!"

Since he's said it about a dozen times now--and he didn't get to have any of the ones Brock made earlier this month--I decided to make him some.

I didn't have any frozen bread dough like Brock used, but I did have some yeast and decided to use the recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, in honor of her upcoming new show on The Food Network!

The show premieres Saturday, August 27th at 11:30 am. I'm so excited!

I was surprised how easy these were to make! The recipe makes a lot, so I had a lot to give away--that seems to be right up my alley, doesn't it!

  Cinnamon Rolls Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
8 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 cup extra flour, separated
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 cups melted butter
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups sugar

Measure 4 cups of milk into a large pan.

Add 1 cup vegetable oil and 1 cup sugar.

Scald the milk mixture.

Heat it until just before it boils, and remove from heat and let it cool for about an hour or so until it's lukewarm.

While the milk is cooling, measure the extra 1 cup of flour and add a heaping teaspoon of baking powder.

Add a scant teaspoon of baking soda.

And 1 tablespoon salt and set aside.

Measure 1/4 cup ground cinnamon.

Have the ingredients for the dough filling together, measured and ready.

This is the yeast I used.

You need two of the three packages--you buy it in threes.

When the milk is lukewarm--you should be able to touch it--add the yeast packages and let it sit for a minute or two.

Add the 8 cups of all-purpose flour and stir mixture until combined.

Cover dough with a clean dry kitchen towel and let the dough rise for at least an hour.

After the dough has risen, add the extra cup of flour with the salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Stir until well combined.

Butter the baking pans you'll be using with some of the melted butter.

I used two of these large casserole dishes plus three pie plates.

Divide the dough into four pieces and roll it out into a large rectangle.

Spread a generous layer of melted butter onto the rectangle.

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.

And sugar.

Starting with the long end away from you, roll the rectangle into a log, keeping it tight, then pinch the seam closed to seal the log.

Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces and lay into pans.

Leave some room around the cinnamon rolls, they've still got to rise.

Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise for 30 minutes before baking.

Bake at 375ºF for 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

A little bit browner than these would be perfect!

Now for the icing!

Ingredients:

1 lb. powdered sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 stick butter--4 tablespoons

3 tablespoons strongly brewed coffee

1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract

Mix all ingredients for the icing.

Adjust the amount of milk or powdered sugar (if it's too thin) to make it runny enough to be pourable.

I like the icing, but it is really sweet!

A thin drizzle on the cinnamon rolls is perfect.

This was a little too much icing for me.

Itadakimasu!




***

A big THANK YOU goes out to my niece Kelly for making FOODjimoto's new blog banner!

It tickles me to pieces when she tells me she makes some of the recipes!

This is Kelly's graduation picture.

She recently graduated from high school.

If you've been following along here, you may remember that Kelly likes sukiyaki.

She also loves mushrooms.

Sometimes Kelly models my boutique creations, like she is in the picture above, which was taken a few years ago.

That photo is one of my favorites.

This one is too.

When Kelly was this age she was chatty.

Really chatty.

Her chatty phase, which lasted for several years, was a favorite of mine.

She's not as chatty now as she was then, but she's still a lot of fun.

Kelly can text really fast.

She's also good at Touch the Numbers, an iPhone game.

Here's Kelly with her family.

My brother Gordon is on the left, then Leslie, Kelly, my sister-in-law Amy--and their dog Kira.

And here she is with her cousins at a recent family wedding.

Kelly's going to be attending UC Berkeley this fall.

Thanks to Kelly, FOODjimoto has a new banner!

Love you, Kelly!

***

Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 packages Active Dry Yeast

8 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 cup extra flour, separated

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

1 scant teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 cups melted butter

1/4 cup ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups sugar

Icing:

1 lb. powdered sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 stick butter--4 tablespoons

3 tablespoons strongly brewed coffee

1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract

Measure 4 cups of milk into a large pan. Add 1 cup vegetable oil and 1 cup sugar. Scald the milk mixture. Heat it until just before it boils, and remove from heat and let it cool for about an hour or so until it's lukewarm.

When the milk is lukewarm add the yeast packages and let it sit for a minute or two. Add the 8 cups of all-purpose flour and stir mixture until combined. Cover dough with a clean dry kitchen towel and let the dough rise for at least an hour. After the dough has risen, add the extra cup of flour with the salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir until well combined.

Butter the baking pans you'll be using with some of the melted butter.

Divide the dough into four pieces and roll it out into a large rectangle. Spread a generous layer of melted butter onto the rectangle. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and then sugar.

Starting with the long end away from you, roll the rectangle into a log, keeping it tight, then pinch the seam closed to seal the log. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces and lay into pans. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise for 30 minutes before baking.

Bake at 375ºF for 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Mix icing to a thin consistency that allows pouring, and drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.