Pecan Pie Muffins

SA and I are trying to cut back on our spending so of course one of the first places to feel the crunch is our grocery budget. Grant it we live like two foodies who have no kids.  That being said, its probably a good place to cut back a smidgen.  I was a good girl.  I went to the store the other day and only spent $50.62 on seven days worth of food for us.  What does that mean? Well for one, less meat. (Not a bad thing!) and for two less of a budget for snack type things.  So far this has been fine and I have just made homemade hummus and carrot sticks, but tonight the sweet attack came over me.  Some days you just need that little sweet bite.  SA could go forever without anything except for ice cream but I love decadent tooth achingly sweet treats and one of my favorites is pecan pie.  Tonight, however, SA and I were on snow watch 2011 and indulging in a do nothing night watching Serenity and nerding out at its space opera wonderfulness and I had no time for what I was craving: Pecan Pie.
A quick google had me making these delightful gems and then reveling in both their simplicity and DELICIOUSNESS. Omg. I never thought a muffin could taste like a pie.  It's like two wonderful things rolled into one!
and as a side note:  These muffins taste even better while watching Serenity/Firefly.

Pecan Pie Muffins

delightfully borrowed and modified from food.com

1 cup chopped pecans

1cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Pour into paper lined muffin tins and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

     I saved the recipe for these muffins almost a year ago and then I held onto it for about three months before I ever even made them.  To be honest, it was this recipe that got me into blogging.  My friend (both in real life and in the blogging world) Amber sent the recipe to me and said that she endorsed them.  These were RIDICULOUS.  And by ridiculous I mean ridiculously good.  Its a pretty easy recipe and it makes just the right amount because in my opinion they don't keep too well and they are really rich with the addition of cream cheese. 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins
delightfully borrowed and somewhat modified from Angel in the Kitchen <--click there to see the original recipe and to check out her super tasty recipes!
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. butter, softened
1 egg, at room temperature
1 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. butter pecan cake mix*
1 Tbsp. butter

      Preheat an oven to 400 degrees and grease a jumbo muffin tin.
      Using a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix until combined, but cream cheese is still chunky.
      In a large bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the mixture and add the cream cheese mixture. Stir until combined.
     In a small bowl, combine blueberries and 1 Tbsp. flour, shake till blueberries are coated in flour. Gently fold blueberries into batter.
      In a small bowl, combine cake mix and 1 Tbsp. butter with a fork, until crumbly. Sprinkle mixture evenly across muffins.
     Bake for about 28 minutes, until muffins are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.


     *the original recipe calls for white cake mix and I have used that as well as the butter pecan but I prefer the depth that the butter pecan adds.