Coconut Chocolate Chip Nutella Zucchini Muffins

I love taking great healthy ingredients and assimilating them into tasty delicious baked goods. Every time I successfully incorporate a vegetable into a dessert it makes me that much prouder of what I have made. I'm not sure why... maybe it is the melding of ingredients that aren't traditionally used together, maybe it is the surprise on people's faces when I tell them the ingredients... Case in point, Coconut Chocolate Chip Nutella Zucchini Muffins! The muffins are super moist and on the heavier more decadent side. I spread half with a layer of chocolate frosting to kick them up a bit. They are the perfect (if a bit unbalanced) mix of healthy and indulgent.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Nutella Zucchini Muffins

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup white sugar

1 cup grated zucchini

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flaked coconut

3 tablespoons Nutella

3/4 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour or line muffin tins.

In mixing bowl beat egg, oil, and sugar. Warm nutella a bit in the microwave to make is a softer consistency.

Stir in zucchini, nutella and vanilla.

In another bowl, measure flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and coconut. Stir to combine thoroughly. Pour all at once over batter in mixing bowl. Stir to moisten.

Spoon into muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 - 25 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn out on rack.

Allow to cool a bit, and enjoy!

You could also make this in a loaf pan for a chocolaty twist on zucchini bread!

Hope you have a wonderful memorial day with family and those you love!

Linking up to Tasty Tuesdays and It's A Keeper Thursday.

Orange Poppy Seed Bread/Cake

Me + this cake = Love at first luscious bite! I am a big fan of a good poppy seed muffin or bread (I am especially fond of those GIANT Costco poppy seed muffins). This bread recipe takes everything that I love about those muffins (the moist texture, the lovely crunch of poppy seeds) and takes it to the next level by adding a sweet, fresh, orange juice glaze. This bread is, in a word, FANTASTIC. In some other words... scrumptious, tender, decadent, need I go on?

Orange Poppy Seed Cake-Bread

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Makes 2 loaves (8 X 4 1/2-inch loaf pans), I made one loaf and two mini loaves.

Bread Ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 cups flour(I didn't realize until too late that I only had 2 cups of all purpose flour left, so I used 2 cups white flour and one cup wheat flour. It made it a bit denser but I liked the texture it gave.)

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups fat free half and half

1 tablespoon melted butter (for flavor)

3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

Glaze:

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon melted butter

Line the bottom of the loaf pans with waxed or parchment paper and then grease and flour the entire loaf pan well. This part is quite important or else it WILL stick! For a tutorial on how to grease and flour a pan go here.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs and oil.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, salt and baking powder.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the egg/oil mixture and whisk to combine.

Add 1/2 of the half-and-half and stir together. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the last half of the half-and-half and stir.

Finally add the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix.

Add the vanilla, butter, and poppy seeds and mix well.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans, filling about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 60 minutes checking often the last 10 minutes of baking to ensure the bread doesn’t over bake (the mini-loafs baked in about 45 minutes while the larger one took much longer, about 65 minutes). When completely baked, a toothpick inserted in the middle should pull out moist crumbs but not wet batter.

While the bread is baking, combine the glaze and ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Let the bread sit in the pan for five minutes. Run a thin-edged knife around the edges of the bread and carefully remove the bread from the pans onto a wire rack set atop a layer of paper towels or a cookie tray.

Brush the tops of the bread with the glaze while the bread is still warm. Continue brushing and/or gently pouring until all the glaze is on the bread.

Cool completely before slicing.

mmmm, carbs make me happy☺

Have a splendid weekend!

Canned Biscuit Dough Doughnuts

Doughnuts... from refrigerated biscuit dough??? Only Paula Deen would come up with this one. Literally all you do is pop open the biscuits, separate them, cut a hole out of the centers (I used a bottle cap for this), and fry them up. Ready in about two minutes. I dipped mine in vanilla and chocolate frosting, drizzled them with extra frosting, and topped 'em off with some sprinkles and a generous helping of candy corn (festive, right?). You may be thinking that doughnuts made from biscuit dough wouldn't, couldn't, definitely don't taste like doughnuts... well, I am here to tell you, these taste pretty much identical to a Krispy Kreme (now I have only had one Krispy Kreme in my entire life, but from what I remember, these are pretty similar). They have that great doughy doughnut texture, and are SO delish when served warm. I recommend making them before the rest of the family wakes up and timing it just right, so that as everyone stumbles into the kitchen after rolling out of bed, you are there to greet them with a smile and a plate full of fresh made doughnuts (they'll never know you spent all of five minutes making these). You could also serve them warm with sauces/frosting on the side and let the kiddos decorate them however they see fit. This recipe is an all around winner, enjoy!

Biscuit Dough Doughnuts (glaze recipes follow)

From Paula Deen via foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

1 tube refrigerated biscuit dough (I used homestyle)

Oil for frying

Heat about 2 inches oil in a large pot or dutch oven to a temperature of at least 350 degrees. Mine hit about 360 and did great! Cook really fast though!

While oil is heating, separate biscuits and cut a hole in the center of each one. I did this with a soda bottle cap. Set middles (soon to be doughnut holes) aside.

Watch out for splatters!

When oil has reached the proper temperature, fry the doughnuts and doughnut holes one at a time until light golden brown.

Flip half way through so that you get both sides nice and fried. Remove from oil using a slotted spoon or tongs and set on paper towels to drain.

Coat with cinnamon and sugar or frost and sprinkle (see glaze recipe below)

Vanilla Krispy Kreme Style Doughnut Glaze

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup powdered sugar

Whisk together vanilla, milk, and sugar.

Dip doughnuts in glaze. Top with sprinkles or candy.

Chocolate Doughnut Glaze

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons milk

Whisk all ingredients together.

Dip doughnuts.

Top with sprinkles or candy.

Cute little doughnut holes

Sugar anyone?

Yum! Here's to a delicious weekend!