Happy Easter

Hope everyone had an excellent Easter weekend! I had an insanely busy one! My aunt and uncle were in town visiting my Mom so I spent last week helping with some of the snacks. Cookies, muffins, etc. 

The muffins were Morning Glory Muffins. I'd never heard of them before but Mom requested them by name. OMG are they ever delicious! Jam packed full of goodness: pineapple, carrots, apples, etc. Definitely making these a staple around here. Only thing I may change from my first batch is the cups. I may look into some taller muffin cups so that I can make them a bit bigger... more to enjoy!

I also made a batch of my chocolate chip cookies made famous by Bon Appétit Magazine a couple of weeks back! Always a crowd pleaser. My contributions to Easter Dinner were a White Chocolate Raspberry Tart and a batch of Parker House Rolls. Based on a couple of Instagram requests I'll share the muffin recipe and the tart recipe below.

Feel free to let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see from me!

Morning Glory Muffins (adapted from Epicurious)

2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 1/4 C granulated sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1/2 C canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C grated carrots
1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 C unsweetened coconut
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F and grease or line a muffin pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl beat together the eggs, applesauce, oil, and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Batter will be quite thick!

Add in the apple, pineapple, carrots, coconut, raisins, and walnuts. Mix until just combined.

Fill muffin cups 2/3rds full and bake for 20-25mins, until golden brown and a tooth pick comes out clean. Place on rack to fully cool.

White Chocolate Raspberry Tart (from Lindt The Season: Winter 2016)

2 C vanilla cookie crumbs (roughly 1 box of Nilla Wafers pulsed in food processor)
1/2 C unsalted butter, melted
1/2 C granulated sugar
400g white chocolate
1 C heavy cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and room temperature
3 C fresh raspberries
Fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Toss together the cookie crumbs, melted butter, and sugar until crumbs are evenly coated. Press into a 9" fluted tart pan*. Bake 10-12 mins until lightly golden brown. Transfer to rack and cool completely.

Chop the chocolate and place in a small heatproof bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 5 mins and stir until smooth. Whisk in the cubed butter until combined.

Place bowl in freezer for 30 mins, stirring occasionally. With an electric mixer whisk the chocolate mixture until light and fluffy, about 5 mins**. Carefully spread into cooled shell. Chill for 30 mins and scatter the raspberries and mint overtop. Refrigerate at least 1hr or until set. To serve, dust with powdered sugar. 

Notes:
*Was my first time making a crumb crust and I used almost the full 2C of crumb mixture but it ended up being too thick. Use your judgement here.

**In my haste I completely forgot to beat the chocolate mixture before pouring into the shell and it was still insanely delicious! Just FYI on that.

You will definitely enjoy this tart!! I plan on making it all summer long - can't think of a better way to showcase fresh summer raspberries!