Bakery Style Coffee Cake Muffins

Coffee cake muffins that are so good you will feel like they came from your favorite bakery! There is streusel on top and in the middle too!

We have taken our buttery delicious coffee cake recipe and transformed it into a convenient muffin. You can grab one on the way out the door to work or send it with your kiddo in their lunch.

Ok, every time we travel there’s a little bit of a fuss about who wants to eat what as we are stuck in the airport waiting on a layover. Thankfully the layovers are never too crazy, but with a little time to kill and hungry bellies to feed, I don’t mind grabbing a few things from a few places and everyone meeting back at the tables to eat together. Every single time someone doesn’t think anything at all sounds good and that’s usually the one that ends up with a bagel or muffin. It’s generally a certain child, but I’ll keep HER name a secret. 

Coffee cake muffins are a go-to but I’m learning that not all are very moist. In fact, many end up pretty darn dry and bland so last year I set out to make a perfect coffee cake muffin that would rival any ol’ coffee shop in town, and this is it. 

Read more

A sprinkling of coconut adds something extra special to this Blueberry Banana Bread. I’ve made this recipe three times now and I’m just now getting around to sharing it with you!

Blueberry Banana Bread

Why the wait? It kept disappearing before I could get a picture of it. (That tends to happen when I bake at night because we can never resist the warm fragrant bread!)

Determined to share this on the blog with all of you, I strategized before baking it this time. I baked during the day and made two loaves, planning that we’d eat one and then freeze the other loaf for another time.

That may have been a little optimistic considering how irresistible we find this blueberry banana bread. In one sitting, my crew devoured the first loaf and half of the next!

To say this bread is a huge hit every time I make it, doesn’t even begin to express how much we enjoy it. The contrast of the berries and the coconut made this my newest favorite banana bread from the very first bite.

Blueberry Coconut Banana Bread

Banana Bread is one of my favorite things in life. I’ve shared tons of banana bread recipes on the blog, from the awesomeness of Sour Cream Banana Bread to the decadent sweetness of Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Banana Bread.

This Hawaiian Banana Bread is another one I make often, especially in the summertime when I’m in a tropical mood. it’s loaded with coconut and pineapple and it is guaranteed to disappear fast!

I’ve hardly ever made a banana bread we didn’t gobble up with enthusiasm.

This Blueberry Coconut Banana Bread has become one of my favorite types of banana bread. The juicy sweet blueberries bursting in each bite of this moist, tender loaf of banana bread help it stand out from the ordinary loaf.

However, the addition of shredded coconut takes this blueberry banana bread to the next level of awesomeness. Made as a loaf or as muffins, this recipe is a sure-fire hit.

Read more

Caramel Popcorn

Caramel popcorn is the most classic sweet and salty snack there is! This recipe is so easy and addicting. Family movie night just got even better!

When I was a kid we had an old air popper that had a tray on top that melted the butter and allowed it to drip onto the popcorn while you were making it. It was so much fun to sit on the counter and watch those little seeds explode.  

When I got married I discovered that my husband still had an air popper.  His didn’t have the fancy butter tray, but that’s ok. On extra special occasions we got to eat caramel popcorn! It didn’t occur to me that kids now days probably haven’t seen air poppers until we pulled ours out to make some caramel popcorn last night. Our little one was so excited!

What Ingredients Do You Need for Caramel Popcorn?

You basically just need popcorn and then ingredients for making homemade caramel. Here is your ingredients list:

• Popcorn
• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Light Corn Syrup
• Vanilla
• Salt
• Baking Soda

The measurements for each can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Homemade Caramel Popcorn

This recipe is so simple! It has become a favorite of my children to make on Friday nights. Here are the basic steps:

1. Preheat your oven.
2. Make the popcorn
3. Make the caramel on the stove top.
4. Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir to combine.
5. Bake.
6. Let cool and devour!

Why Do You Bake Caramel Corn?

Baking caramel popcorn makes the caramel crisp up and get th

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I had a whole lot of fun this week cooking and shooting new recipes to share with you soon. The changing of the seasons always inspires me with new foods and flavors to play with in the kitchen. I’m all about peaches and blueberries, zucchini, corn, and tomatoes right now. What are you craving these days?

ON THE BLOG this week: Flavorful marinated strips of fork-tender beef are served with crisp hot onions and peppers in this recipe for Korean Beef Bulgogi. Bulgogi is one of the most well-known Korean foods and I’ve been making it at home for years now.

Fresh mushrooms, bell peppers, and sweet onions are sprinkled throughout this buttery, garlicky, Vegetable Rice Pilaf.

If you can imagine your favorite homemade brownies transformed into a smooth and creamy bowl of ice cream, then you have a glimpse of the awesomeness that is this Brownie Ice Cream.

Have you tried German Pancakes? Served with Grandma’s orange sauce, these are unforgettable. They are basically the world’s easiest to make giant popovers. These pancakes are baked in the oven, where they rise tall and they gently fall, instead of being cooked on a griddle like traditional pancakes.

Sweet Orange Sauce has been a favorite part of our weekend breakfasts for as long as I can remember. My grandmother always served this sauce over her German Pancakes and over crepes.

What I’m CRAVING: This Crispy Cajun Cauliflower brings a kiss of heat to this tasty, slightly crunch side dish. I’ve made it almost weekly for a while now. I LOVE it!

My FAVORITE THING this week is my recipe rock! I first told you about it over 3 years ago and I still use it almost every day. I’m ecstatic to see that it’s available again. I spent hours on the phone a couple of years ago trying to track it down for gift-giving and it was out of production.

Sean found it for me one year for Christmas and I’ll admit that I didn’t think it would actually work. But it does! If you’re like me and enjoy a printed recipe instead of using your phone or tablet while cooking, this nifty little contraption manages to hold a single sheet of paper upright with just the stone and magnet.

What I’m READING: Darksong Rising. Continuing with more of the same, this is the third book in the Spellsong War series. The books tell the story of an alternate world where magic is worked through music. It

Fresh mushrooms, bell peppers, and sweet onions are sprinkled throughout this buttery, garlicky, Vegetable Rice Pilaf.

I served this with Honey Spice Chicken Bites and Roasted Green Beans. The kids loved this meal so much that they begged for the leftovers and asked the very next day if we could make it again.

Vegetable Rice Pilaf

Rice pilaf can be made with rice alone or with a mixture of rice and pasta. We make and enjoy both versions. This rice pilaf is fluffy and flavorful, and it is made with rice alone.

I’m not a big fan of rice most of the time, but this was one of my favorite recipes things I ate over the weekend. The rice stayed nice and separate while the vegetables were tender and perfectly seasoned.

Mushroom Rice Pilaf

You don’t need fancy ingredients to make this mushroom rice pilaf and yet the results are loaded with flavor.

Mushrooms and peppers are sauteed in butter before the rice is simmered with garlic and onions until tender. With just a few extra minutes of effort, you’ll have a side dish that everyone is sure to love.

You can turn this into a full meal with some leftover chicken or some sliced kielbasa. My guys love it with some bacon or spicy sausage in the mix too.

Vegetable Rice Pilaf Recipe

1. Melt ½ tablespoon butter in a large skillet (I love this one!) over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and the mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes, until tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then remove the vegetables to a bowl and s