Yes, they are truly muffins by chance.
They were supposed to be simple breakfast muffins made on the fly at midnight.
And they were supposed to be the quickest way I could come up with at that moment to use up the excess kefir sitting in the fridge for a few days.
But then – and I should know it always ends like this! – I got carried away 😀 and from being plain kefir muffins to becoming a pantry-clearing or fridge-clearing recipe was a very short step.
I poured the flour and kefir into the bowl thinking: I’ll just add some dried oranges (another excess sitting in the fridge) and stop.
Then while mixing flour and kefir, I got the idea to remake the mint ring cake, because it’s been so long since I wanted to change the photos! Too bad that before I even reached for the mint syrup bottle, I was distracted by another thought: oops, I’m out of seed oil!
So, forgetting the mint, I focused on the ‘fat part’: and now what do I use, extra virgin olive oil or butter? Ok, let’s go with extra virgin.
I pour the oil, and luckily the cruet has a small spout because when I reach 10 grams, I stop: no, this oil is too flavorful, it’s not suitable for a dessert! Ok, I’ll use butter. I open the fridge and there… while the cold expensively produced by the fridge escapes into my warm kitchen… I ponder that: the butter is rock hard!, I should cut it into pieces and melt it… no, I don’t feel like it!
Darn, it’s almost midnight, I need to hurry!
Uh, hey, but here’s a nice jar of peanut butter that’s been open for ages, and who remembered it?? Ok! Let’s go with peanut butter! But how much do I need? Should I add a teaspoon? Two? Heck, I’m on a diet, I should be cautious… ok, 20 grams should be fine, especially since there’s already a little bit of oil…
Alright, I mix and… oops, speaking of diet! I haven’t added the sugar!!
I grab it, pour it… 20 grams, 30, 40… oooh uuuhh… ideonaaaaa!!! What if I replace some of the sugar with…
Alright, folks, I’ll finish telling you in the recipe! 😀
I even have a photo, of this rather unusual ingredient (not at all dietetic but oh well…) that I used in these muffins and will show you later in the procedure.
Hey, but first there needs to be the cover photo! The one that tells you what can be achieved when around midnight you mix some ingredients in a bowl decided on the spot. Very on the spot.
😀
⚛ ⚛ ⚛
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup Milk kefir
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Crumbs of cookies, pandoro, and panettone
- 2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Peanut butter
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 2 tbsp Water
- 2 1/2 oz Chocolate (mixed dark and milk)
- to taste Dried oranges
Tools
- Muffin Mold
Preparation
Pour the flour and baking powder into a bowl, mix well with a spoon to distribute the baking powder.
Pour the milk kefir.
👉 If you don’t make your own kefir, you can replace it with plain yogurt, either homemade or store-bought.
Add the sugar, oil, and peanut butter.
👉 The reason for such a small amount of oil is explained in the introduction. 🙂 If you want to substitute it, you can use an equal amount of peanut butter (for a total of 30 g). For those who want to use only oil and no peanut butter, I recommend a mild olive oil or cold-pressed seed oil.
If you don’t have peanut butter at home, traditional butter is also a valid option.
At this point, I added these:
I’ll explain what they are. 😀
It’s a mix of crumbs from cookies, crumbs from panettone and pandoro, or even ring cakes, anything that can be reduced to crumbs or pieces. Have you ever collected crumbs and pieces of broken cookies that accumulate at the bottom of bags? Well, besides those, I also collect crumbs from panettone and pandoro, from ring cakes and plumcakes, homemade or packaged. Some baked goods produce a quantity of crumbs for each slice cut! Saving these crumbs to use in desserts is one of my waste-avoiding habits, started by chance a few years ago when I emptied a bag of cookies to make the base of a cheesecake for which I didn’t have the necessary ingredients. Seeing the good result of that improvised cheesecake base, from that day I understood that crumbs can be a resource and I started saving them.
After a considerable number of cheesecakes made over the years, this time I tried using the accumulated crumbs in these muffins. 😀
If you don’t have the necessary amount of crumbs (do you save them too?), you can use cookies of your choice, or a piece of baked goods like ring cake or tart, and crumble them.
At this point, I added some water to soften the mixture (but you can also use more kefir).
👉 This is an optional addition to be decided based on the consistency of the mixture, which depends on the type of crumbs used.
Finally, chop 70 grams (or more, to taste) of chocolate and add it to the batter.
👉 I used the inexhaustible stock of Easter egg chocolate I have in the freezer 😀
Flavor everything with pieces of dried oranges (like these), or alternatively with candied orange peel (this), orange powder (this), or simple grated zest.
Pour the batter into a muffin mold, I used a 6-cup mold.
Bake in the oven at 350°F for 20–25 minutes. It can be helpful to check doneness with a toothpick before removing from the oven.
Wait for them to cool before serving.
Great the next day, so preparing them in the evening for the next morning’s breakfast is ideal!
I will be waiting for you…
…on my Facebook page 🙂 if you want to chat, you can find me there every day. Also, join the group! –> Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond
And if you want to check out my Pinterest boards, I’ll see you there too!
