Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ Guest Food Blogger Anna Crisman

As a Christian wife and mother, it is my desire to inspire and encourage you with the richness of God’s many blessings! At LifeBellissima.com, I blog on a variety of topics that are near and dear to my heart — family life, homeschooling, organic food/recipes (which of course includes chocolate!) and our many adventures in the country with a tabby cat, several rabbits, and seven Rhode Island Red hens!

I love the flavor of candied pecans as well as the combination of chocolate with pecans, so I’ve tried to incorporate all three flavors into this new muffin recipe. These are great for a snack, light dessert or sweet breakfast. I hope you’ll give them a try and let me know how you like them!

Honey Pecan – Chocolate Chip Muffins

*I prefer to use all organic ingredients

1 cup pecans, finely chopped or pulsed in a food processor

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon coconut sugar

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup vanilla almond milk

2/3 cup raw honey

6 Tablespoons coconut oil, softened

1 Tablespoon vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

-In a food processor, pulse together the pecans, cinnamon and coconut sugar. You can also finely chop the pecans and mix together in a small bowl.

In a food processor, pulse together the pecans, cinnamon and coconut sugar. You can also finely chop the pecans and mix together in a small bowl.

-In a stand mixer, with a hand mixer or by hand, gently whisk together the eggs, vanilla almond milk, honey, coconut oil and vanilla until combined.

-Gently blend in the flour, baking powder and salt until incorporated into the wet ingredients.

-Gently fold in the pecan, cinnamon, coconut sugar and chocolate chips by hand.

-Fill muffin liners or cases approximately 2/3 full, and bake for 13-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

-Garnish with chopped pecans and shaved chocolate, if desired.

Enjoy!

Please stop by Anna's blog and take a tour:  http://lifebellissima.com

Happy Eating & Reading!

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Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ "Sour Cream Coffee Cake"

This is one of the best coffee cake recipes of all time! 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter softened to room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt, optional

DIRECTIONS:

• Cream butter and sugar together in mixing bowl for 2 minutes on medium speed.
• Add eggs, one at a time and beat well.
• Fold in sour cream and vanilla.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to above mixture, and beat until well blended.  Mixture should be satiny and smooth at this point.
• Pour 1/2 mixture into well greased and floured bundt pan.

Mix together the following ingredients and spread evenly in bundt pan.

• 4 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Spoon remaining 1/2 of batter into pan and spread evenly across top.

Cook 1 hour @ 350 degrees. Insert toothpick into center of cake to make certain it is fully cooked throughout.

After removing from oven, cool on rack for 20 minutes.

Remove from pan, invert onto rack, and allow to cool to room temperature.  

Store in air tight container.  

Happy Reading & Eating!

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Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ Poppy Seed Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 eggs - beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. butter flavoring
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 tsp. almond flavoring
• 3 cups flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. poppy seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Mix all liquid ingredients in mixing bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in dry ingredients and mix well until smooth.
• Pour into greased muffin tins or paper baking cups.
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Makes 12 large or 30 small muffins (cupcake size).

HELPFUL HINTS & SUGGESTIONS:

• The real secret to this recipe is the butter flavoring.
• I prefer to use canola oil rather than vegetable oil in this recipe.
• The muffins are very moist and tasty!
• These are my grandchildren's favorites.
• They freeze well, so if it works out better for you to use just a portion of the muffins initially, you will have some for later for guests who drop in unexpectedly.
• The butter flavoring can be a bit of a challenge to locate, but I have been able to score a bottle when needed at Fred Meyer stores.

Happy Reading & Enjoy these muffins!  

Please leave a comment if you try this recipe and like it!

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