SUN COOKING USA
AROUND THE WORLD
Sun and Honey Muffins
Any kind of honey can be used for these muffins that taste great with a pat of butter. The kind of honey used will affect the flavor, experiment with different varieties until you find the one you like best. Any kind of milk or yogurt (whole, low fat, or nonfat) will work, too so there’s no need to make a special trip to the store.
Sun Oven Honey Muffins
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
More Muffins
With the holidays behind us it’s time to get back to healthier eating. The maple syrup makes these bran muffins better than most. I keep them in the freezer for a quick portable breakfast or midmorning snack.
Sun Oven Maple Bran Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole bran cereal (not flakes)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup buttermilk
Solar Baked Muffins and Tea
The oat flour gives these tea infused muffins a slightly chewy texture. If you’re like me and don’t really use a lot of oat flour, look for a well stocked grocery store that sells it (and other ingredients you only use occasionally) in bulk. That way you’re less likely to find a partially used and expired bag of the stuff in the back of a cupboard one day.
Sun Oven Tea Infused Muffins
Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
6 Earl Grey tea bags
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Sun Oven Savory Parmesan Muffins
A cross between a muffin and a biscuit, these savory muffins can be served in place of bread. They go great with soup or salads. The recipe yields up to one and a half dozen muffins that can be baked in two batches. Use two cross-stacked six-muffin tins or silicone molds placed on a baking sheet or a combination to fit at least a dozen at a time in the cooking chamber. Any kind of milk and sour cream (whole, low-fat, or nonfat) can be used.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Yummy Sun Oven Muffins
My favorite source for muffin recipes is “The Ultimate Muffin Book” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.
I have only one complaint with it. Every recipe I’ve tried so far claims to yield 12 muffins, but actually makes quite a few more. They even give instructions to bake the excess batter in ramekins or a second baking so they are obviously well aware that the yield is off. I don’t have the patience for a second baking (I know I’d forget about the second batch) and fitting all the muffins in the Sun Oven in one go can be a challenge.
The solution pictured below is the best I’ve come up with so far. The baking pan on the bottom has sides that are high enough to stop the muffins from touching the upper layer as they rise and allows the air to flow. Still, I was only able to fit eight molds in the pan and there was enough batter for at least two more. I wound up, as usual, overfilling the tins.
Sun Oven Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
Topping:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Maple Muffins to Go
Now that Mark heads out each morning with his food for the day in tow I’ll be doing a little more baking. In my opinion no packed lunch is complete without a mid-morning snack. I look at the coffee break as a sort of second breakfast so I’ll be keeping the freezer stocked with muffins and other types of baked goodies. I just toss one in his lunch bag straight from the freezer and it defrosts by the time he’s ready to eat it. These maple syrup muffins were one of the first things I baked after moving to California. I didn’t have the maple sugar that the original recipe called for so I used brown. They are not too sweet and are kind of like portable pancakes. They’re good on their own, but with a a little blueberry jam they’re even better.
Solar Baked Maple Muffins
(adapted from ”The Ultimate Muffin Book” by Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough)
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup maple syrup
Savory Sun Baked Muffins
These savory muffins are the perfect accompaniment to yesterday’s frittata. They’re also good with soups, salads, or cheese. Use a high quality extra-virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
Solar Baked Olive Oil Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina or white cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup milk (whole, 2%,1%, or fat-free)
1/4 cup Marsala wine
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Preparation
Set Global Sun Oven out to preheat. Coat two muffin tins with six indentations each with cooking spray or line with paper muffin cups.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, semolina or cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk the eggs, milk, and Marsala until smooth; whisk in the oil and lemon zest. Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until just moistened. Fill the prepared tins three-quarters full. Bake any leftover batter in a second batch. Use a rack to separate the two muffin pans and cross stack them in the Sun Oven. Bake until lightly browned with rounded, lightly cracked tops, about 40 minutes. Set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tins then cool for about 5 more minutes before serving. Muffins will stay fresh for up to 24 hours stored in an airtight container or frozen up to 1 month.
Makes 12 muffins.
A Packed Solar Lunch
I volunteered at the Arizona Humane Society today and here’s the lunch packed full of solar goodies that I brought with me. A Mac and Cheese Muffin, a Solar Lunchbox Drumstick, carrot and celery sticks, and a Solar Sour Cream Muffin with strawberries. Everything (except the carrots and celery) had been made in advance and was easy to put together before heading out in the morning. By the end of my shift six cats had gone to their new homes and one lunch had been thoroughly enjoyed. That’s what I call a good day.
Solar Sour Cream Muffins
I don’t use a lot of sour cream so when I buy some it often gets pushed to the back of the fridge only to be found when it’s too late. This muffin recipe is a good way to use it up before it gets moldy. The muffins come out moist and airy and are great with jam or honey. I got the recipe from “The Ultimate Muffin Book”. It says it makes 12 but I always get more – 16 to 17. I bake the first dozen together in two cross-stacked muffin pans and the rest in a second batch in silicone molds. We eat a few of them as soon as they’re ready and freeze the rest.
Solar Sour Cream Muffins
2 cups all-prupose flour
2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Steel-Cut Oatmeal Sun Muffins
The next time you cook steel-cut oats in the GSO make extra for these muffins. The maple syrup and blueberries make them a sort of portable oatmeal breakfast. Keep a few in the freezer for those mornings when you want to grab something healthy as you head out for the day. Here in Arizona, a frozen muffin placed on the dashboard will defrost by the time it takes most people to commute to work.
Except for baking them in the GSO I made no changes to the original recipe. It makes 12 muffins. They can be baked together by separating the muffin pans with a rack and cross stacking them, or in two batches. Either way the baking time will be 25 to 30 minutes.
