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Mississippi Spice Muffins for Busy Mornings!

Our family has always felt that it was important to eat together as a family as often as possible.  During the school week, this meant breakfast and supper.  During the weekend, it meant all three meals.  Mealtime is such a wonderful time to talk to your children and share their experiences of the day.  It also provides you an additional time to pray together as a family.  Many teachable moments occur during our family mealtimes.  I should emphasize that our mealtimes are spent at the table, not in front of the television. 
Breakfast can be very hectic, so when my boys were little, I came up with a simple method to reduce any fussing about what we were going to eat.  They always knew that Monday was Muffin Monday, Tuesday was Toast Tuesday (cinnamon toast, cheese toast, peanut butter toast), Wednesday was Waffle Wednesday, Thursday was Thirsty Thursday (nutrient packet fruit smoothies) and Friday was Free Friday (anything goes!). Weekends were also considered "free" and we often sat down to larger breakfasts. I must add that each day was not complete without fruit and milk.  A friend of mine once asked how I got up and made muffins from scratch each Monday.  I always prepared the ingredients the night before, so a simple mixing and baking was all that was necessary.

I thought I would share one of our family's Muffin Monday favorites with you.  It is a terrific recipe for anytime of the year, but the spices make it a wonderful choice for a crisp fall day.

Presenting the starting line-up:
1 cup soft butter                                                                   1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups sugar                                                                         1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs                                                                                   2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups applesauce (preferably unsweetened)                          4 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon                                                1 cup nuts, chopped
2 teaspoons ground allspice                                                    Powdered Sugar
(Camera cast an unusual whitish color on top of the applesauce.  Please note, this is not fungus!!)
Okay, I know that I am new to blogging, but do the "cooking bloggers" possess three arms?  I just can't take a decent picture while stirring in ingredients.   I would probably share more recipes if I had three arms!  Here it goes anyway!  

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time.  Mix in applesauce and spices.  This is a forgiving recipe and I didn't have cloves, so left them out this time.  Sift together salt, soda, and flour.  Add to applesauce mixture and beat well.  Stir in nuts. You will end up with a lovely caramel colored batter!
Bake the muffins right away or refrigerate until ready to bake.  I did the latter, so the batter holds the shape of the scoop. 
Bake in lightly greased muffin pan or in muffin cups at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. If the batter has been refrigerated, bake for 15-18 minutes.   While the muffins are cooking, enjoy the wonderful "fall" aroma being emitted from your oven.  Apples, cinnamon, and cloves always remind me of the cool, crisp, leaf raking weather of fall.  Let cool on a wire rack.
 Sift powdered sugar on top before serving.   Don't they look like snow capped mountains! 
The batter will keep in the refrigerator for awhile.   The original recipe states that the batter will keep "indefinitely", but I wouldn't do that for several reasons.  Number one, we eat them too quickly.  Number two, yuck!  I just can't imagine opening up a container of batter that I had made months ago and baking a batch of muffins.  Just doesn't seem healthy!

I found this much loved recipe in a Southern Sideboards cookbook given to me as a wedding gift 29 years ago!  It is a great cookbook!  I use it often.  If your local bookstore does not carry this cookbook, it can be found at the following link:
MS Junior League Southern Sideboard Cookbook
I end by saying that if you decide to use my Monday-Friday breakfast method, don't forget to add in dried cereal somewhere in the line-up. To this day, my boys will not eat dried cereal! They will eat any type of cooked cereal such as oatmeal, cream of wheat, and even my two childhood favorites, Ralston and Malt-O-Meal, but cold cereal...forget about it! Do you think this will be a topic of conversation with their future wives?!

I will be linking this week to these terrific blogs:

Comments

  1. Really great job with the photos!

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  2. Looks delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe! And thank you for joining in this week.

    xo
    Claudia

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    1. As always, thanks for hosting! They are really good. Try them sometime and let me know what you think.

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  3. These look like the perfect thing to make on a Saturday afternoon! Yum!
    Thanks for the recipe!

    ~Liz

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    1. You are welcome! We love them. Hope you like them as well!

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  4. I can attest to the fact that these muffins are absolutely delicious especially with a nice cup of hot decaf coffee. Thanks for sharing the recipe- think I will make some for Dad this week.

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    1. Thanks Mom! I know Dad will enjoy them just as much as he enjoys everything you make!

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  5. These muffins look absolutely delicious! I need to make them for breakfast :) Thanks so much for the recipe!

    Have a wonderful and blessed day!
    karianne

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  6. Thank you for sharing this recipe. The muffins look delish. I must try them. I agree with you that meal time is a great way to "keep in touch" with your children. It is a proven fact that a family who eats meals (at the dinner table together) has well adjusted children and they are healthier. Blessings to you~!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! They are delish! Love that Rachel Ray phrase!

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  7. Blessings to you, my dear new friend....I am always thrilled when I find another believer in our Lord and Savior Jesus/Yeshua!

    Thank you for sharing your Monday through Friday menuu. I will be passing it on to some of my friends that still have kids at home.

    I agree that dinner conversation is such a wonderful opportunity to pass the things of God on to our children. The scripture from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 reminds me of this.
    I so appreciate your visit and thoughtful comment on my blog.
    Have a happy day,
    Carolynn

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    1. Your sweet comments warmed my soul! I too am always so excited to see fellow believers in blogland. I hope your friends find my Monday-Friday breakfast menu helpful. Mornings can be so busy, but set the tone for the day. It is a great time to say more than just a blessing for food. It is a wonderful time to pray for the day we are about to begin. There is no better way to start the day with your family! Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. Are you new to blogging ? I started at the end of May. Had I started in the winter I'd not have lasted a month. I can't imagine focusing JUST on taking food pictures while trying to cook. Thank goodness I just took pictures of flowers and kids and what have you doing the summer months or I'd never have lasted!

    Having said that your pictures are fine by me, the recipe looks great, and the tutorial was great.

    AND I CARE for a very selfish reason! :) My middle son's favorite cake is Spice Cake. Well, for twenty years I've made Duncan Hines Spice Cake with this or that icing and this year I see that it is no longer on the shelves. So I said to myself a few days ago "I need a Spice Recipe" and HERE YOU ARE! :)

    I am blessed :)

    Bookmarking this to print out the recipe tomorrow and visit some more posts on your blog..have a wonderful week! :)

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    1. Yes, I just started at the end of June. I am still getting adjusted to blogging and posting pictures. Thank you for the comments regarding the pictures. Makes me feel better! I do love to cook and share recipes. I'm with your middle son...I love spice cakes and muffins! I have not tried this recipe in cake pans, but it is delicious, so I think he will like it. I have quite a bit of batter left, so will put it in a round cake pan to see how it holds up. Will let you know!

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  9. I'll be right over to pick mine up! Those look great. I'm gonna check the pantry to see what ingredients we are missing for these so I can make some.

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    1. Anytime Stefanie! They are yummy! Pleas note that they do have four. I left it off the list but is now corrected. Have a great day!

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  10. They certainly sound yummy! And you reminded me of Malt-O-Meal -- love it!! When my kids were growing up, we always ate together -- made for a great family time when the other hours were busy. They're all grown up now and on their own and I miss those family times!

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    1. Don't you just love Malt-O-Meal?!! I started eating it when we lived in Maine. Now that I live in Mississippi, it can be hard to find. Give me a bowl of Malt-O-Meal and a piece of buttered toast and I am a happy girl. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment!

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  11. I came to your blog from Stonegable On the Menu Monday. These look like good muffins but I didn't see flour in the recipe-is there none?

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    1. Thank you Linda for catching that HUGE goof! There is flour, in fact 4 cups of all purpose. I am on my way to your blog now!

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  12. Oh my I can almost smell them from here. Yummmmmmy! This is such an awesome post. I would love it if you would share this post at our WIW linky party. Hope you can join us. :-)

    Paula
    ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

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    1. Sounds like a fun party! I am new to blogging and love the linky parties. You get to visit with so many talented bloggers out there. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a sweet comment. Will be heading your way!

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  13. Thanks for partying with us!! I am following you back. Love your blog! Let me know if you would ever like to do a guest blog post for Blissful Bucket List. My readers would love your style!

    Sarah@
    www.blissfulbucketlist.com

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    1. I would love to do a guest blog spot! Can't wait to get it started! Let me know what type you are looking for! Thanks for visiting Still Woods and following. Have a great evening!
      Blessing from Still Woods

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  14. hi thanks for stopping by blog ... Can you pass one of those over!!! They look delish. Would love it if you would link up tomy Welcome Home Wednesday Party!!!! Debbie Vintage on a Dime

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    1. You make the coffee and I'll bring the muffins! Would love to join your party! Thanks for stopping by!

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  15. Oh these look and sound amazing! Growing up in MS, I'm sure I will naturally love them. :) Can't wait to try them. Pinned for safekeeping.

    I saw your link on The Brambleberry Cottage.

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    1. How funny! I was just at your blog commenting on the soup! Thanks for stopping by. Hope you try the muffins. They would make a Mississippi girl proud!

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  16. Replies
    1. Thanks Patty! Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think. I love spice anything, so love these!

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  17. Thanks Patty for visiting, leaving a comment, and following! Have a Fabulous Friday!

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  18. Mmmmm, do you mind if I pin these to my "Mmmmmm" board on Pinterest?!?! They look DELICIOUS!

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    1. Sure! Please reference Still Woods Farmhouse. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment!

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  19. They are delicious!!!

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  20. Replies
    1. They are good! We have loved them for years! Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment! Have a great weekend!

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  21. Those muffins look yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Your milk glass cake plate is beautiful. So glad to see you share your faith right up front. Isn't our God awesome!

    Linda

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  22. These muffins look delicious! Thank you so much for posting the recipe, and for the wonderful idea about rotating breakfasts. Have a lovely weekend!

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  23. Sounds like a yummy recipe. We love muffins around here!

    Thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday. I hope you'll join the fun each week. Be sure to stop in tonight to see yourself featured.

    Blessings,
    Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage

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    1. Thanks Liz! I will be joining in this week as well! Love Time Travel Thursday:)
      Blessings from Still Woods

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  24. Replies
    1. They are really good! I think you will like them as well.

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  25. Yummy! I love your little 'breakfast days of the week'-so clever and cute!
    Susan

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    1. Thanks Susan! Our days of the week breakfast worked well for us...well, except the cold cereal omission! Thanks for dropping by!

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  26. I would love to link up! Thanks for inviting me!

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