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THE SEMISWEET SISTERS

Two sisters who love to bake...

Strawberry Crumb Muffins

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Strawberry Crumb Muffins.

After making strawberry jam this year, I had a lot of leftover strawberries so I tried something new.

These muffins are moist and you get strawberry in every bite! I love the crumb topping too!

 


Strawberry Crumb Muffins
 
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Recipe type: dessert
Serves: 16-17
Ingredients
  • Muffins:
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ¼ cup sour cream OR lemon yogurt
  • 2 cups Chopped Strawberries
  • Crumb Topping:
  • ¼ cup butter (melted)
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup white sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, line muffin tin.
  2. Combine the oil and sugars in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.
  3. Combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together.
  4. Add the flour mixture, then the milk and sour cream or yogurt, stirring after each addition, until everything is mixed well.
  5. Carefully fold in the strawberries. Scoop the batter into lined muffin tins, filling each about ¾ full.
  6. In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the crumb topping until mixed well, using a fork.
  7. Sprinkle the crumb evenly over the tops of the batter.
  8. Bake for about 16-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

 

 

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Giant Cinnamon Rolls Frosted with Buttercream Icing

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Giant Cinnamon Rolls Frosted with Buttercream Icing.

I love cinnamon rolls! My mom got all the family started on homemade cinnamon rolls because that was one of her go to recipes. We love homemade cinnamon rolls.

This recipe makes 6 giant cinnamon rolls filling up a 9×13″ baking pan.

I made this recipe to copycat one of my childhood favorite cinnamon rolls, besides my moms recipe of course. In Amish country there was a bakery called The Breadbox but unfortunately it closed down in 2020 after 25+ years of business. I was so sad that I was never going to be able to enjoy their giant sized cinnamon rolls again so I went to work making a copycat. Their version probably had more cinnamon and less sugar in the middle but I always thought it was a little too bitter with all that cinnamon but other then that I think this recipe is pretty close.

Recipe makes 6 giant cinnamon rolls frosting with buttercream icing.

Giant Cinnamon Rolls Frosted with Buttercream Icing
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • Dough:
  • 2¼ teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1¼ cups warm milk
  • 5 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ cup salted butter (1 stick) softened
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg + 1 yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Filling:
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter for brushing
  • Frosting:
  • ½ cup butter salted (1 stick) softened
  • 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream or milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar, more if needed to thicken
Instructions
  1. Knead dough using favorite method, by hand, using a stand mixer with dough hook, or a bread machine on dough cycle. I used a bread machine on dough cycle to knead my dough. Start by adding dough ingredients as listed above in the recipe. Knead dough for 10-15 minutes adding extra flour or milk if needed until a nice ball of dough that is slightly tacky forms.
  2. Cover loosely and let rise for 1 hour.
  3. Prepare the filling by mixing sugars and cinnamon together. Also melt the butter for brushing tops. Grease a 9x13" baking dish.
  4. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces.
  5. Roll into a log about 10" long on a lightly floured surface. Flatten and roll to about 6"x24".
  6. Brush with half the melted better, sprinkle with half the filling. Roll it up tightly starting with the short 6" side jelly style and pinch edges. Slice into 3 equal pieces.
  7. Place on greased 9x13" baking dish. Repeat with second piece of dough. Let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  8. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  9. Bake at 350 F. for 25-30 minutes.
  10. Let cool completely then prepare frosting.
  11. To make the frosting place ingredients for frosting in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to mix the frosting until it is whipped together. Add more powdered sugar if it needs to be thickened. Spread on tops of the cinnamon rolls.
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Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins

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Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins.

This is an easy classic blueberry muffin recipe. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. Feel free to use regular or course sugar to sprinkle on top of the batter.


Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 10-11
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups flour
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries
  • sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. degrees. Grease or line muffin pan.
  2. Combine, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix in oil, egg, vanilla and milk. Gently fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups ¾ of the way full. Sprinkle the batter with ⅛ teaspoon of sugar on each cup.
  3. Bake at 400 F. degrees for 19-25 mins.

 

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Dairy Free Waffles (made with water)

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Dairy Free Waffles (made with water instead of milk). No weird milk substitutes like I’ve seen in other recipes.

I don’t have a regular waffle maker so I made them in my Belgian waffle maker. The only real difference is they are bigger and thicker sized waffles. I have the Oster brand Belgian waffle maker (affiliate link).

I didn’t know if it was possible to make dairy free pancakes or waffles. All of the recipes I found had weird ingredients in them with milk substitutes like almond milk & I couldn’t use any of them because the person I wanted to make them for has bad food allergies. So I made up this recipe that uses water instead of milk & vegetable oil instead of butter. They turned out light & fluffy & tasted just as good as my regular homemade waffle recipe. I served them with real maple syrup on top.

So if your dealing with a milk allergy or perhaps you’ve ran out of milk at your house, you can still make waffles from scratch. If your waffle batter is too thick add a little more water, you want it to be the same consistency as regular waffle/pancake batter. I find that sometimes I have to add an extra tablespoon of water to mine to thin it out.

The recipe below made 6 Belgian waffles. If only cooking for 1 or 2 people you could cut the recipe in half if you want a small amount.

Dairy Free Waffles made with water.

 

Dairy Free Waffles (made with water)
 
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Recipe type: Breakfast
Ingredients
  • 2 large egg
  • 1½ cups water
  • ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • ⅓ cup oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Add eggs to mixing bowl & whisk really well (about 2 minutes).
  2. Add water, sugar, oil, & vanilla & stir. Add in flour, baking powder, & salt. Mix just until everything is combined. If mix is too thick you can add a little bit more water. You want it to look like normal pancake/waffle batter.
  3. Let sit for a few minutes.
  4. Heat up your waffle iron and use as directed to cook the waffles. (My waffle iron has a heat setting and I cooked on medium/high for about 5 or 6 minutes, varies).
  5. Serve warm.
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Baked Vanilla Cake Donuts Glazed

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Baked Vanilla Cake Donuts Glazed.

I love donuts. It is fun to be able to make baked donuts at home. This recipe makes moist vanilla cake donuts. You can add a vanilla glaze to them, coat them in cinnamon and sugar, frost them with chocolate or vanilla frosting, they are versatile.

This recipe makes anywhere from 6-9 donuts depending on how high you fill the donut pan (affiliate link). I’ve made it a few times filling all 6 donut cavities to the top & it makes 6 big donuts but the hole in the middle kind of closes up so now I usually make 8-9 smaller donuts.  If you don’t own a donut pan you can make your own using a muffin pan instead if you roll up aluminum foil into balls and place them in the middle of each muffin hole. To create the hole just pour the batter around the aluminum foil balls.

I like to use a small spoon to scoop the batter into the donut pan but you can also use a piping bag or make your own using a ziploc bag & cutting a bottom corner to pour the batter into the pan.

The tops will be a very light golden brown when they are done and they will be springy to the touch. If you have trouble removing them from the pan try using a small rubber spatula. The bottom side of the donuts will be a nice dark golden brown color (as shown below).

If you don’t like your donuts sticky then I recommend storing them in the fridge to keep the glaze hard.

 

Baked Vanilla Cake Donuts Glazed
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
  • (add ¼ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter)
  • For The Glaze:
  • 1¼ cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease donut pan with oil or cooking spray.
  2. Whisk together the sour cream, egg, vanilla, butter, & sugar in a bowl.
  3. Add flour, soda, salt, & nutmeg (optional) & stir together until well combined.
  4. Fill donut pan with batter & bake for 12-16 minutes or until the top is springy to the touch & the sides are turning golden brown. Remove from oven & let cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.
  5. For the Glaze: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar & milk together. Glaze should be thin so you can easily dip the donuts to glaze them. You may need to add a little more milk or powered sugar to get the right consistency.
  6. Once the donuts have cooled down a bit dip the donuts into the glaze, flipping them over so both sides get covered. Set on a cooling rack to dry. Place a piece of waxed paper or paper towel under the cooling rack for easier clean up from the dripping glaze.
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Classic Coffee Cake

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Classic Cinnamon Coffee Cake.

A classic recipe for cinnamon coffee cake. I first started making this year many years ago in high school. I have changed it a little since then but this is my go to recipe for an easy coffee cake. The cake turns out really moist and to me it is not overly sweet. The original recipe called for 1 cup of sugar instead of 1/2 cup which you find in the recipe below.

This is a small batch coffee cake that bakes in a 8×8″ baking dish. The original version was for double and made in a 9×13″ pan but I usually don’t need such a large batch. I usually make the recipe below then cut it into 9 square pieces.

  • ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
  • Topping:
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees. Grease a 8×8 inch square baking pan & set aside.
  2. Stir together the butter & sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg, sour cream, yogurt & vanilla, and mix well.
  3. Stir in the flour, baking powder, & baking soda together and mix until well combined.
  4. Topping: In a small bowl stir the brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon together.
  5. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan (I use the back of a spoon to spread it out so it’s all laying evenly). Using a spoon sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan. Take a knife and swirl the cinnamon topping in.
  6. Bake at 350 F. for about 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean after being inserted into the center. Cool a few minutes before serving.
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