The best part of waking up…

May 22nd, 2013 by justJENN

My routine for getting up in the morning? I lazily open my eyes to the sunlight streaming in the windows, stretch my arms wide, listen to the sweetly chirping birds, calmly breathe in and reach a zen state, then think about the easy day ahead. Uh…yeah right. More like wake up to already energized kids playing in the living room, rushing to make breakfast, pack school lunches…get dressed for school! Brush your teeth! Wash your face! Comb your hair! Easy morning? Not so much.

To counter all the craziness I’ve learned that if I turn on music, everything comes together! The kids get calm, there’s more of a spring in my step, food gets eaten, clothes put on and all the morning stresses seem to fall away. Fun upbeat songs get the kids going. Music provides the rhythm for the day and lifts your spirits to start our day off right. The hectic mornings become fun and smooth and before you know it we’re ready to roll and head off to school!

Once the kids are out the door, the real work begins but I need breakfast to get me going. While a lot of people start out the morning drinking coffee, I also like to bake with it! I was asked by Folgers to create a post about how music and coffee get me going in the morning. I like to turn on my favorite songs and bake Coffee Muffins, they are easy to eat while working or on the go. Make a bunch and share them with co-workers or your kid’s teachers, they’ll appreciate the extra energy!

Morning Coffee Muffins ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup coffee

2 eggs

crumb ingredients:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons cold butter

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prep a muffin pan with liners. (you will approx 18 muffins)

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the buttermilk, coffee and eggs. Stir until JUST combined. Not too much – you don’t want a tough muffin!

Fill the liners 3/4 of the way full.

For the crumb topping, in a small bowl mix together the flour, brown sugar and cold butter. Cut it up with a fork until crumbly. Generously add the crumb topping on top of each muffin.

Bake for 15-18 minutes depending on your oven. Let cool on a wire rack.

The combination of music and morning coffee is a ritual that makes me feel like I’m prepared to take on the day!

I have great memories of ‘the best part of waking up’ Folgers jingle as a kid. Folgers is having a Jingle Contest where you can vote for the best Top 10 Finalist! See how they found the Top 10 contestants on the Road to the Jingle on Facebook and vote once every day through June 19th. You could win exciting prizes, like free Folgers Coffee, iTunes® gift cards, signed CDs from Gavin DeGraw, and even a $10,000 Grand Prize just for voting! Click here for official rules.

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Folgers. All opinions and reviews are my own.