Favorite muffin & granola flavors?

[goodhealthgourmet]

I offered to bake up some snacks to celebrate the "re-opening" of my gym this week - the owner has become a friend of mine, and he just had some major renovations done in the place. Anyway, I'm trying to decide what flavors to do, and I'm getting tired of making the decisions for everyone :) So I figured I'd ask my fellow hounds for some suggestions...if someone was baking muffins and/or granola for you, what flavors would you want? I can pretty much do anything, although I'm taking Banana off the table because I don't have any overripe ones on hand, and I don't know if I'll be able to get them at the market tomorrow. Anything else is fair game...

TIA!

[chowser]

Are you looking for somewhat healthy muffins, or a free for all? For a free for all: lemon w/ candied lemon, donut muffins. peanut butter chocolate chip. What about granola biscotti? I have a healthier energy bar biscotti recipe but it is made with flour. Healthier muffin: carrot w/ candied ginger, carrot/zucchini or zucchini. I also love the sweet potato zucchini sweet bread on www.epicurious.com which would make great muffins. It's stil sweet potato but the zucchini makes it more seasonal.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[tatamagouche]

What are donut muffins?

[maplesugar]

If they're the ones I'm thinking of they're basic muffins drenched in butter and rolled in a mixture of ground cinnamon and sugar. (err...like goodhealthgourmet already said 2hrs ago oops)

Edit: *Ack* Apparently I'm more tiredthan I thought...(I had my 7yo's bday party at lunch and family dinner for 13) and didn't read to the end of the post ... sorry ghg

[goodhealthgourmet]

i don't need recipes - i've spent the past year perfecting my formulas...i was just hoping to get some inspiration based on what my fellow CHers might be craving these days. i have a ridiculously long list of the flavors i typically offer to clients, and i just don't feel like making the decision this time :)

tatamagouche - they're cakey muffins that are coated in melted butter & cinnamon-sugar [or plain sugar] immediately after baking. not exactly my style ;)

[chowser]

Yeah, I figured you had the recipes the way you liked it which is why I didn't bother writing the biscotti out. Plus, I'm sure you've tweaked them all for your needs. You could probably just tell your client to name their favorite w/ no list at all--kind of reminds me of the Seinfeld routine when he retired about how hard it is to decide when you're not given a list (after he retired and could do anything he wanted). He said it would be like going into a restaurant and told there is no menu, just order whatever you want. He said it would be impossible to eat there.

As granola goes, I love cashews, macadamia nuts, dried tropical fruits in mine, baked into the nuggets.

[goodhealthgourmet]

chowser, i'm so glad you specifically said you like your add-ins baked into the nuggets - that's the way i do it. so many people stir the extras in after baking [esp dried fruit], but then none of that flavorful goodness really melds with the grains, and typically settles to the bottom [along with those pesky orphaned oats].

the tropical theme seems to be popular these days. i created one last year for a friend that had cashews, macadamias, tropical fruit, lime, and a hint of chili - it was a big hit.

[Boccone Dolce]

Lemon Poppyseed. I like a tarttarttart lightly sweet lemonytart icing on top.
I would eat just the top, though...

Granola flavor? I guess I don't eat ver much to have a preference, except that I do like my granola in medium-largish chunks and not all loose and oatey (oatey is a word I believe I just made up.)

[goodhealthgourmet]

oh, BD, if only you were here. you'd *love* my baking.

my lemon-cranberry muffins [no icing] are the perfect balance of tart & sweet.

i take it by "oatey" you're referring to the phenomenon whereby the chunks crumble and all those single, orphaned oats are languishing at the bottom of the bag/box/bowl...? my granola is super-chunky and crunchy - softness/sogginess & crumbling are serious granola peeves of mine.

oh, and re my OP, i haven't done the baking yet. we decided to postpone the celebration until they've completed the clean-up & finishing touches, and everyone is back from the Labor Day holiday. thanks for all the suggestions - it will make my decisions a little easier :)

[poptart]

Love to hear how you keep your granola in chunks....I have had fairly good success with the Mollie Katzen granola recipe in "Sunlight Cafe" but if there is a technique that can be applied to other recipes, that would be cool.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i can't believe i'm divulging my trade secrets. the things we do for our fellow hounds...i must really love you guys! ;)

- pack it tightly onto the baking sheet, but don't put too much on one sheet - leave plenty of room around the edges for air to circulate.

- don't even think about moving it around or messing with it until it's had sufficient baking time to become a somewhat solid mass

- don't "stir" during baking...instead, about halfway through the total baking time, use a jumbo-sized spatula to flip the entire mass over, trying to keep it in as much of solid piece as possible.

- after it's finished baking, and as soon as it's cool enough to handle, GENTLY break it into your preferred chunk size, and then stick it back into the oven to bake for a few minutes [this will allow you to finish browning/crisping any newly exposed portions that were in the center of the solid mass].

- after baking, leave it on the tray - either in the oven [turned off, of course] or on the counter for several hours or overnight - to let it set up/dry out before storing.

[poptart]

Thanks! :-)
You should write a cookbook.

[goodhealthgourmet]

someday, poptart. someday. :)

[Jetgirly]

My favorite muffins are banana-walnut, and cornmeal.

I like my granola without raisins.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i'm with you, jetgirly, the world really doesn't need any more granola with raisins. i only add them when someone specifically requests it.

[Emme]

muffins
peach (bran)
apple (bran)
sweet potato w/ or w/o chopped pecans
bing cherry and hazelnut

granola
pumpkin pie spiced granola
cherry vanilla granola w/ dried cherries

you gonna make any gluten free?

[goodhealthgourmet]

emme! how are you?

everything is 100% GF [and soy-free, although i know that's not an issue for you] - it's the only way i bake anymore because otherwise i can't taste as i go along to make sure it's okay!

i love the sweet potato idea, but it's not the right time of year for that - i relate those types of flavors [along with my famous pumpkin maple muffins] to fall/winter, T-giving, etc. i did recently make a superb batch of cinnamon-pecan granola, though :)

i had to postpone the bake-fest because i had some dental work done & couldn't really taste or chew anything, so i'm hoping to do it all tomorrow...will post back when i do.

[lgss]

That's awesome, the GF people will appreciate it.

[Emme]

of course, how could i suspect otherwise!

i think sweet potato or butternut squash is a year round hearty flavor but that's just me :)

i also just recently experimented making a tomato muffin - it was *very* unique.

hope NYC is treating you well - im coming for a visit next month or the month after, so i'll hit you up for new places to try :)

[goodhealthgourmet]

tomato, huh? i'm not so sure about that one. although, come to think of it, tomato might have a place in a savory corn muffin or cornbread. hmmm...

an experiment for another time ;)

i haven't personally discovered any new "must-try" places, but i'll keep my eyes & ears open for you. let me know when you're here...maybe we'll even have a chance to say hello!

[cmarie]

i just made some zuchinni/chocolate chip muffins that were a big hit. I got the recipe off of smitten kitchen. ( i adapted the recipe for their zuchinni bread). zuch. are definitely in season right now and cheap

[poptart]

apple oat bran muffins

oatmeal maple pecan muffins

granola with hazelnuts and dried cherries

Not a fan of bananas myself so if I were there I'd be happy to see them missing :-)

[libgirl2]

I am really big on cranberries. I love cranberry orange muffins!

[Chew on That]

Lemon poppyseed used to be a favorite of mine (same with blueberry) but now I'd probably recommend banana muffins with dark chocolate chunks!

[goodhealthgourmet]

great, thanks for the feedback! i'll post tonight with the flavor list when i'm finished baking.

[maplesugar]

I'm always looking for new muffin recipes - particularly lower fat options. I'd appreciate it if you'd post whatever you can on the HC Board.

TIA :)

[goodhealthgourmet]

maple:

my recipes probably won't be of much help to you because i do very specific specialty baking - all my muffins are gluten-free & soy-free, and most are vegan as well...and i bake with agave nectar instead of traditional refined sugars. but i'll certainly post the flavor combos to offer some inspiration, and if you want to post any of the typical recipes you use [or e-mail them to me], i'd be happy to help you make some lower-far modifications...as i'm sure would a lot of other hounds.

[ArikaDawn]

Lemon Blueberry and Blueberry Streusal are the most popular in my crowd. As far as granola, I love vanilla almond or a tropical blend with coconut and macadamias.

[NE_Elaine]

I love morning glory muffins -if I can't have those, blueberry is always good.

[dolores]

A local bakery makes a double chocolate for which I'd love to have the recipe.

[queencru]

I love double chocolate, vanilla almond, and cinnamon swirl. At a minimum, I'd suggest doing at least one without a fruit/berry other than bran in it for some variety.

[Val]

Blueberry muffins....pumpkin muffins...apple/cinnamon muffins--those come to mind first for me.

[ipsedixit]

Sweet corn and honey muffin.