Lemon Curd Muffins

The price of lemons is quite dear in our local grocery stores (over $1 each) so I wanted a recipe that would showcase its tart citrus flavor and use both the juice and the zest.  I like lots of lemon flavor.  Boy, oh, boy, does this muffin deliver!  From the lemony fragrance while it baked to the first bite, it is pure lemon.  It has an aroma that keeps you hanging around the kitchen and once baked, going back to the cake plate to have "just one more little taste."

I don't keep lemon curd stocked in the pantry (and truthfully had never tried it until very recently when I made Danish pastries at a friend's house and she had some in her fridge) because the word curd just turned me off.  What an unpleasant sounding word for something delicious.  But a rose by any other name...  I made my lemon curd using a recommended Ina Garten recipe.  It may be on the sweet side for some, but we liked it. 

Lemon Curd Muffins
(Discovered on:  Circle B Kitchen)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used sour cream)
1/2 cup whole milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and then allowed to slightly cool
1 cup lemon curd, divided

Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Line a 12 muffin cups with paper liners.**

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. (Do not skip this step.)

In a pitcher or bowl with lip, mix the egg, yogurt (sour cream) milk and butter together.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture into the center.  Mix lightly and only until the ingredients are combined (about 25 strokes!)

Add 2/3 of the curd in 6 or 7 dollops and quickly "marble" it through the batter; a couple of good stirs should do it.

Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to slightly cool as these are best eaten on the same day, while slightly warm. 

Top with another dollop of curd before serving.  Personally, I cut a small conical divot out of the center of the muffins, saving the divots as a cook's treat, smiles, and filled the divot with the curd. 

Makes about 12 muffins

Ina Garten's Lemon Curd

lemon
3/4 cups sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
pinch of salt

Zest the lemon into the sugar and mix well, set aside.
 
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined. 
 
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.

MY NOTES:  I had enough batter to make 13 muffins.  The recipe called for plain yogurt, but all I had was sour cream so that's what I used, and it worked fine, and in the future that's what I'll probably use as that's what I usually have on hand.

Way back in the Dark Ages when I took Home Ec, Mrs. Haus, my Home Ec teacher was the one who said to stir muffin batter only 25 times.  I have a large stirring spoon that I recently bought, a 25-stir seemed adequate.  The point is, stir until barely combined.  You may have a few bits of flour that are not mixed it but it should be okay.

Really, Really, Really Good Blueberry Muffins

I may have mentioned a while back that my friend Alice T. asked me if I had a really good blueberry muffin recipe.  Truth was, I didn't, which sent me on a quest to find one. While I accept that everyone has their own opinion of  what is "best,"  I tried several  so-named best recipes from different sources, only to be disappointed with leaden or sodden lumps of dough with blueberries interspersed.  I began to believe I was seeking an ideal which lived only in my imagination:  fluffy, blueberry-goodness, in a muffin form, not too sweet (so that let out anything with a strudel  topping), and without crazy ingredients or procedures.  I had a favorite, blueberry tea bread, so why would I need a blueberry muffin recipe.  Well, I just did and so did my friend Alice.

This morning,  I discovered a really, really, really good blueberry muffin recipe.  It's reportedly from Cooks Illustrated, which was my reason for trying just one more recipe; they call it their Best Blueberry Muffin.  I messed up on following the directions, and these muffins still came out moist, fluffy, blueberry-good!  I'm just sayin' the search stops here as far as I'm concerned.  Alice, you have to try these!

Really, Really, Really Good Blueberry Muffins

(found on food.com)

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 1/4 cups sour cream

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, preferably the small, wild kind

Put your baking rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350*F.  Spray  a standard muffin tin** with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt (or you could just sift all the ingredients together).

In a second medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg until it is light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add the sugar and whisk until well combined, about 30 seconds.  Add the butter in 2-3 additions, whisking well to combine after each addition. Add the sour cream in 2 additions, whisking until just combined.

Add the frozen berries to the dry ingredients and gently toss to combine.  Add the sour cream and fold with a rubber spatula until batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed, about 25-30 seconds.  There may be some small streaks of flour but that's okay; it's more important not to overmix.

Fill your muffin tins about 1/2 to 2/3 full.  Bake until it's a beautiful golden color or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.   It's okay if a little blueberry clings to to the toothpick, that may be inevitable, just look to insure that there is no wet batter.

Turn the muffins out onto a wire rack, turn right side up, and allow to cool for several minutes before enjoying.

**My Notes:  Well, as I said, I messed up following the directions, assuming, erroneously that I already knew what I was supposed to do. HA!  I added all the dry ingredients in the first bowl (the sugar should  have been in the second bowl), beat the egg, sour cream, and salted butter in the second.  (I did reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon to allow for the salt in the butter.)  I tossed the still-frozen blueberries in a little flour to give the batter something to stick to so the blueberries wouldn't all sink to the bottom.  I added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (mixed ever so gently in 2 additions, I did see that!), and then folded in the blueberries.

The recipe states to use a standard sized muffin tin, but I found I had enough batter to make 18 muffins that  crowned nicely without spilling over the top, as I'm not keen on that muffin-top look and clean-up. 

French Breakfast Muffins

If you grew up liking cinnamon and sugar generously sprinkled on your buttered toast, I can almost guarantee that you'll love these French breakfast muffins.

These muffin gems are dipped into melted butter and then twirled in a cinnamon sugar mix to thoroughly coat the top in a childhood favorite.

No fancy ingredients or fancy equipment needed, no special skills. The batter is heavy, almost like a play-doh consistency, and the baked muffin is on the heavy side; one would definitely not call this light and fluffy. Even though there's quite a bit of butter in the recipe, I still added a little pat to the split muffin.  Ole Sweetie-Pi, after eating the first one, said "I'm going to have another.  These are good!" 

French Breakfast Muffins
(Better Homes & Gardens)

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup butter melted

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a mixing bowl combine flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
 
In another bowl beat egg slightly; stir in milk and 1/3 cup melted butter. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (the batter may be lumpy). Lightly grease muffin cups. Fill cups about two-thirds full with batter. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl combine the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Immediately dip tops of hot muffins into the 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine, then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture until coated. Serve warm.

Makes 12 smaller-sized muffins.

Jelly-Filled Doughnut-Muffins

 
Every have something in your mind that you want but feel that you shouldn't have?  I have been craving doughnuts something fierce these past few days, but really, do I need another deep fried doughnut on my hips. Sadly, no. So, I have been denying myself. Denial is not always a good thing.  I have been snacking around my desire for a jelly doughnut, sigh.

As luck would have it, quite serendipitously (I just love that word, serendipitously), I found a recipe on Recipezaar for jelly doughnut cupcakes. Now, you'll note that the original recipe calls these a cupcake.  I think they are more of a muffin because they tend to be a tad heavy (in my opinion) for a cupcake, but what's in a name.

Cupcakes...muffins...These are very good!  No, they are not like deep-fried doughnuts, being  a bit heavier but still cake-like, but they are good.  Ole Sweetie-Pi immediately fell in love with these, and declared that the muffins would be terrific even without the jam.  Personally, I wouldn't go so far as to say that because it was the sweetness of the jam that I wanted, but the muffin by itself is sweet and delicious.

These little ruby-eyed treats are a keeper in our house.  The recipe makes only six muffins (cupcakes), perfect for the two of us.

Jelly-Filled Doughnut-Muffins

(Recipezaar #286300)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest**
1/2 cup milk

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Good quality red jelly (any flavor), slightly warmed**
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling 

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour 6-8 cups of a cupcake/muffin pan.


In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar, and cream until light and fluffy


Add the vanilla, egg, zest, and milk; beat well


Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Beat until the batter is light and fluffy.  

Fill each cupcake cup about two-thirds full.


Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack. 

Using a small paring knife, cut a core-shaped divot from the center of the muffin, being careful not to go all the way to the bottom.  Spoon slightly warmed jelly into the cavity.  Sprinkle sifted confectioners' sugar over the tops.

**I didn't have any lemon zest, so I just added a 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice; seemed to work just fine.

**The original recipe doesn't state to, but I warmed the raspberry jam I was using for in the microwave. The heat lightly melts the jam, making it much easier to spoon.

Glorious Morning Muffins

The "Glorious Morning" muffin is by far my favorite breakfast muffin. It's carrot cake with an attitude. It's a wake-up-and-throw-your-arms-open-to-the-rising-sun muffin. The "Glorious Morning" muffin is moist, packed full of goodness and flavor, is sweet and toothsome; it is in a class of its own.

Most folks refer to this muffin as Morning Glory, and indeed that's what I always called it until one wintry morning, it was renamed, "Glorious Morning."

When I had to go into the office everyday, I would take the commuter bus. Each work morning, a line of us would start queuing up for the bus at 5:57 a.m., shivering, sleepy, sometimes cold to the bone. The parking lot was unlit, dark woods were behind us, and we were left standing in the starlit dark, listening for the hum of the bus's tires as the bus exited the interstate. As we stood there, stomping our feet, clapping our hands against the cold, and breathing warm breath into our cupped hands, we all shared a common misery and friendships developed.

One of my fellow commuters, Kevin C., is a dear human being; the planet is made a better place because he is here. He is a loving and devoted family man, he volunteers at his church, is involved in the public school. He is funny and kind. Kevin and I both love food, so the first time I made these for my office mates, I also brought in a couple extra to share with him. They were still warm from that morning's baking and Kevin opened the little bag, took a deep whiff, and declared, "These are Glorious Morning muffins!" And that's what I've called them ever since. Well named, Kevin!

These muffins take a little work and you will mess up a couple of dishes in the process. To me, the work is worth the effort to have a Glorious Morning. There are a number of variations around the web as well as one in my Best of New England cookbook, but the one I use is found at Earthbound Food Organic.

Glorious Morning Muffins
(aka Morning Glory Muffins)

1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
3/4 cup raisins (I use dried currants)
1 large apple, peeled and grated
1 cup (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350F. Prepare muffin tins by either using paper muffin cups in each cup or generously spraying with a baking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut, raisins, apple, pineapple, carrots, and nuts'; stir to combine, breaking up any "clumps" or grated carrot or apple.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil and vanilla. Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well. Batter will be heavy and thick.
Using a one-half cup measuring cup or spoon, equally divide the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each to the brim. (I fill mine only 3/4 full as I don't like the muffins spilling out over the tops of the muffin cups and possibly burning to the pan.)
Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.
Some folks may want to frost these with cream cheese frosting, but personally I think that gilds the lily and is too much. These muffins are perfect on their own.
Wishing you a Glorious Morning!

Strawberry Streusel Muffins

The grocery store I go to has long tables stacked with tall rows of quart cartons of luscious looking, ruby red strawberries. They are right at the door as I walk in and they are the first thing I see. I cannot not see them. They beckon me; they sing their siren song. I just cannot pass them by. I draw closer, take a whiff and it's too late. At least one, more likely two, cartons of strawberries jump into my grocery cart and follow me home. That's the honest truth. Really. Well, maybe I've slightly exaggerated. Only about the siren song; strawberries really don't sing. Do they?


And then I have the most delicious task of finding a way to use them. I scanned Recipezaar and found Strawberry Sweetheart Streusel Muffins and they sounded just perfect for breakfast.

After the first bite, I knew these were a keeper. While the muffins are simple and lovely on their own, you must make the strawberry butter. Oh. My. Goodness. Sweet strawberry goodness in every mouthful. It's definitely the strawberry butter that brings these muffins right over the moon.

Makes me glad for lazy Sunday mornings and hot coffee.

Old Fashioned Raspberry Muffins

When I arose this morning, the sky was heavy with leaden clouds, the air was cold damp, and our five cats were acting all crazy, erupting from corners, chairs, and tables, chasing each other. Snow was sure to be imminent.

I've had raspberries in the freezer for a little while and thought it would be a nice treat to make raspberry muffins. I bet I have close to a hundred cookbooks and not one of them had a raspberry muffin recipe in it. Can you believe that? Me neither. I think I need another cookbook!

A quick search, and I found this gem on RecipeZaar. I cannot tell you how much we enjoyed these muffins this morning. Ordinarily I would wait to post, but these were so good I just had to share it with you as soon as I could!



Now the directions say to use the paper cupcake holders, which I did not do; I rarely use them. I have an unattractive trait called arrogance which too often prohibits me from taking good advice. I don't like paper cupcake holders because I think only cooks who are too lazy to do a good job greasing their pans or to take the time necessary to wash the the muffin cups after use them (I also have a thing about lazy people.) Whatever; as I said, arrogance.

If you look closely at the photo, the outside of the cupcakes are a little too brown, I think. In this instance, I believe the paper cupcake holders would've prevented their overbrowning and made for a prettier presentation.

The heating of the milk with the lemon, butter and vanilla and zest is positively inspired. I wish you could've smelled the aroma of the lemon zest as it infused the milk (I didn't have orange). The wonderful, citrusy aroma woke up Sweetie-Pi and brought him downstairs to see what was smelling so exquisitely good.

These muffins are light, full of tart raspberry flavor with a nice balance of lemony goodness. Perhaps rolling the raspberries in a little sugar before adding to the batter would be good, for those who have sweeter taste buds.

This recipe made 18 standard sized muffins for us, filling the muffin cups half full.