Muffins Went Rogue

I started out with the full intention of making lemon poppy seed muffins.  While I was getting the ingredients ready, my eyes caught the 'playing around' section of the recipe which recommended dropping a teaspoon of jam in between the muffin batter.  I thought why not ? Seems like a terrific idea to jazz up a muffin.

Unfortunately (there seem to be a lot of unfortunate events in my baking lately), overzealous me dropped more than a teaspoon of jam, and my muffins ended up bleeding.  The tall muffin pan that I used also didn't help - The surface of the muffin cups was smaller than any regular muffin cups, and so when I dropped the jam onto the batter, it was all askew.  So that's how I went rogue on my lemon poppy seed muffins, and as a result, they ended up bleeding black cherry jam :).

It is a good thing that the coordinates of the jam do not affect the texture nor taste of the muffins.  Phew. I did not have any back-up breakfast food for Little Missy.

So, imagine if you will – a still-warm-from-the-oven muffin enclosing (or not) a dollop of sweet black cherry jam, drizzled with lemony glaze.  Now, this is just the type of muffin that I look forward to wake up to.  I urge you to make some of this, your audience will be so thankful, trust me :)  Oh yes, I highly recommend that you do not omit the lemon glaze, as it really brings out the lemon flavor of the muffins without going over the top.

This is yet again another muffin recipe that I had adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.  But really, I make no apologies for the recent plethora of recipes from her book.  If you must know, I have bookmarked so many pages in that book, as Greenspan has a knack for making everything look and sound yummy, yet simple enough to make.

Citrus-Raisin Sunshine Muffins

Befitting its name, these sunny yellow muffins are sure to bring a little sunshine to your morning breakfast.  They also have that wake-you-up flavour as described by Greenspan, the happy result of the orange and lemon combination.  Definitely something worth waking up early to prepare especially when today is a holiday and I could have slept in.

Also, nothing beats the smile that I get from Little Missy when she wakes up to the smell of something baking in the oven.  Someone should seriously think of inventing an alarm clock that diffuses the aroma of fresh bakes.  I swear, they would be the best selling alarm clock in the world.

Again, this muffin recipe is adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  I have bookmarked so many of her recipes, and am currently working my way through them.  Maybe I should also jump on the "Tuesdays with Dorie" bandwagon.

A-maize-ing Muffins

Little Missy loves anything corn.  When she was younger, she used to gnaw her way through steamed corn on the cob with her (then only) 2 front teeth, almost like a chipmunk :).  I think she found it comforting during her teething process.

While rummaging through my pantry the other day, I came across a packet of cornmeal that my brother had given me some months ago.  I did a quick scan through my cookbooks, and found this Corniest Corn Muffins recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  Since I had all the ingredients on hand (including the cornmeal which is not a commonly found item in my pantry), I had to try this almost immediately.

These muffins are best served warm.  For this purpose, I prepared the ingredients the night before, woke up a little earlier this morning to mix the batter and bake the muffins, just in time for breakfast, and looking like a hero-mom :P.  I even had time to snap some photos, and to get a headstart on this post.

Oh wait, I hear floorboard squeaking upstairs.  Little Missy is up.  To be continued ...

Maple Walnut Muffin

Every once in awhile, I would rummage through my fridge for a stock clearance exercise.  This time round, I found an unopened package of walnuts and a bottle of maple syrup. I googled “walnuts + maple syrup”, and discovered this gem.