Crumb Top Coffeecake Muffins

When I was a kid, I used to love to get those Hostess coffeecakes that came in a three pack at the gas station! I thought they were so delicious, and my mom never, ever made coffeecake, so they were quite a treat too. I always used to have them with chocolate milk. The breakfast of champions, clearly.

Now, as an adult, I never buy them. We try to eat more natural and organic foods in our home, and sadly, those fall far outside of our eating style. However, several weeks ago, shortly after I celebrated my 100th blog post, I ordered something that inspired me to recreate those little cakes, in a healthier form. 

Many of you mentioned, during the Bake It Pretty giveaway, that you would buy the muffin top pan if you won (unfortunately, it's currently sold out!). Well, I couldn't stop thinking about how fantastic it would be to have that damned pan. Thanks, guys. So now I have it. And now I really am thanking you guys, cause I made the yummiest muffin tops with it!

Because I always thought those little Hostess coffeecakes were like muffin tops, they were the first thing I was inspired to try!

FYI-these are not exclusively to be made as muffin tops. I have included directions for making them as standard muffins, too.

Delicious Flavored Candy Apples

Halloween is over and November is here! You know what that means, right? To my American friends who thought "Thanksgiving and all of it's delicious food," you're right, and, yes, it's also Loki's birthday this month, but that's not what I'm thinking either! There's another reason to get excited about November! That's right, folks, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1 comes out on November 19!!!

You wouldn't believe how excited I am! Oh, the sweets I have in store for the occasion! And all of them are straight from the books!! I have been like a mad scientist, trying (and succeeding!) at recreating flavors and ideas for the treats I want to make. But that's not for a couple of weeks yet. For now, I'm still mourning another Halloween gone by.

No more ghosts and ghouls. No more witches. No more jack o lanterns. And worst of all, no more yummy Halloween goodies. This year was especially sparse for us on Halloween goodies, because our boy is officially "too old" for trick or treating.  That's right, no more "checking" his candy for bad pieces, sorting it with him into what he likes and the "throw away" pile. As if any Halloween candy ever gets thrown away!

I told the hubster Saturday evening that we should find a baby to borrow, so we'd have an excuse to keep trick or treating. Babies are the best for trick or treating...everyone loves them and gives them plenty of treats, but you get to keep it all, and the baby'll never know! It's the perfect scam! As it is, we now have to buy our own Halloween candy again. That's why I decided this year to make some, in the form of candy apples.

I've loved candy apples all my life. Not caramel, mind you (although they're delicious too), but candy apples. The bright red, hard candy coated apples that I only ever got to have when the fair was in town. As I've gotten older, though, I've come to realize that, if I'm really honest with myself, they're not very tasty at all. The candy shell is always just a super sweet, flavorless sugar candy. I was inspired to try and make a better tasting candy apple.

Bonus, these treats are great for pretty much everyone, because they are naturally gluten- and dairy-free and they're vegan, as well!