The Ultimate Muffin Book

More Than 600 Recipes for Sweet and Savory MuffinsBy Weinstein, Bruce

Morrow Cookbooks

ISBN: 0060096764

S’mores Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Here, the wonderful flavor of the campout favorite jumps right into muffin tins.Graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bake up into a treat worthy ofkids of any age. Whip these up for your next bake sale, then stand back and watch thesmiles.

Ingredients

Nonstick spray or paper muffin cups
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (see Note)
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, at room temperature
3/4 cup yogurt (regular, low-fat, or nonfat)
3/4 cup milk (whole, low-fat, or nonfat)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. To preparethe muffin tins, spray the indentations and the rims around them with nonstickspray, or line the indentations with paper muffin cups. If using silicon muffin tins,spray as directed, then place the tins on a baking sheet.

• Whisk the flour, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and saltin a medium bowl until well blended. Set aside.

• In a large bowl, whisk the egg until lightly beaten, then whisk in the yogurt untilsmooth. Whisk in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Using a woodenspoon, stir in the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, then stir in the preparedflour mixture until the chips and marshmallows are evenly distributed in the batter.Do not overmix.

• Fill the prepared tins three-quarters full. Use additional greased tins or small, ovensafe,greased ramekins for any leftover batter, or reserve the batter for a second baking.Bake for 20 minutes, or until the muffins have firm, rounded, lightly brownedtops. A toothpick inserted in the center of one muffin should come out with a fewmoist crumbs attached, provided it doesn’t hit a melted chocolate chip and come outtoo gooey to tell.

• Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Gently tip each muffin to one sideto make sure it isn’t stuck. If one is, gently rock it back and forth to release it fromthe tin. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes more on the rack before serving. If storingor freezing them, cool them completely before sealing in an airtight container or infreezer-safe plastic bags. The muffins will stay fresh for up to 2 days at room temperatureor up to 2 months in the freezer.

Note: 8 whole graham crackers crushed in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade yield about1 cup of crumbs.

Chocolate Iced S’mores Muffins: Top the cooled muffins with Chocolate Icing (page 223).

Peanut S’mores Muffins: Reduce the chocolate chips to 1/3 cup. Add 1/3 cup chopped,roasted, unsalted peanuts with the remaining chocolate chips.

Rainbow S’mores Muffins: Substitute M&M candies for the chocolate chips.

White Chocolate Chip S’mores Muffins: Substitute white chocolate chips for thesemisweet chocolate chips.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Lemon poppy seed muffins are such a classic that we didn’t want to give them shortshriftby making them a variation of Lemonade Muffins (page 106). We wanted avery moist and a little tangy muffin that takes full advantage of the earthy sweetness ofthe poppy seeds. The secret is a touch of cornmeal, which balances the delicate seedsperfectly.

Ingredients

Nonstick spray or paper muffin cups
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup poppy seeds (see Note)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk (regular or low-fat, but not nonfat)
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. To preparethe muffin tins, spray the indentations and the rims around them with nonstickspray, or line the indentations with paper muffin cups. If using silicon muffin tins,spray as directed, then place them on a baking sheet.

• Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, poppy seeds, baking soda, baking powder, and saltin a medium bowl until uniform. Set aside.

• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and buttermilk until smooth. Whisk in the oil,lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in the prepared flourmixture until moistened.

• Fill the prepared tins three-quarters full. Use additional greased tins or small, ovensafe,greased ramekins for any leftover batter, or reserve the batter for a second baking.Bake for 20 minutes, or until the muffins have lightly browned, rounded topsand a toothpick inserted in the center of one muffin comes out with a few moistcrumbs attached.

• Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Gently rock each muffin back andforth to release it from the tin. Cool them for 5 minutes more on the rack beforeserving. If storing or freezing the muffins, allow them to cool completely beforesealing in an airtight container or in freezer-safe plastic bags. The muffins will stayfresh for up to 24 hours at room temperature or up to 1 month in the freezer.

Note: Since they quickly go rancid at room temperature, poppy seeds are best stored in the freezer forup to one year.

Lemon Poppy Seed Jam Muffins: Fill the muffin tins one-third full, spreading thebatter gently to the rims. Place 1 teaspoon jam on top of the batter in each tin, thendivide the remaining batter equally among the tins, covering the jam completely.

Lime Poppy Seed Muffins: Substitute lime zest and lime juice for the lemon zest andlemon juice.

Orange Poppy Seed Muffins: Substitute orange zest and orange juice for the lemonzest and lemon juice. Reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup and whisk in 1/3 cup orangemarmalade with the eggs.

Reduced-Fat Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins: Substitute sugar-free applesauce forthe oil.

Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins: Substitute whole wheat flour for thecornmeal.

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Excerpted from The Ultimate Muffin Bookby Weinstein, Bruce Excerpted by permission.
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