Muffin or Donut...

I've made muffins, and I’ve made doughnuts; and now I have made muffin doughnuts – or to put it more clearly, muffins that taste like doughnuts. Whether you spell ‘doughnut’ as such or ‘donut,’ it is a culinary testament to the glory of deep-frying. Throw anything edible in a pot of hot oil and its deliciousness factor spikes up several notches.

But deep-frying is a lot of work, and sometimes I’m not in the mood to knead dough, wait for it to rise, then shape, let rise again, fiddle with the temperature of oil, and finally cook the darn things. My appetite is as impatient as I am and when it’s feeding time, it’s feeding time. As you well know, frying is an art form that comes about only through practice and untold gallons of cooking oil.

Wanting to bake something for breakfast this morning, but not wanting to make yet another batch of scones; I dug out a recipe that’s as intriguing as it is tempting ~ muffin doughnuts: muffins that taste like doughnuts. It didn’t take me long to get in the kitchen and soon, the flour is flying.

Remarkably easier to make than regular doughnuts, these doughnut muffins are made like a cake: butter and sugar beaten together, eggs mixed in one at a time, and then the wet and dry ingredients are added alternately in five additions. This method, also known as the creaming method, produces a crumb that’s soft and cake-like with a pleasingly crunchy top.

In my baking, I discover that nutmeg is the “secret ingredient” in making anything taste old-fashioned, especially doughnuts. It’s responsible for that great flavor that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Using a large ice cream scoop, I place the batter in a regular muffin pan, filling it until the batter is even with the rim of the cup. If you like muffins with a domed top just like the commercial ones, then mound most of the batter in the middle.

These muffins don’t really give off any heady aromas while baking, no hint of the lip-smacking goodness that awaits. They’re done when they’re firm to the touch. I’m supposed to wait until the muffins are “cool enough to handle,” but because I possess what I’ve been told are “asbestos hands,” I pick the muffins up as soon as they come out of the oven and dip them into a waiting bowl of melted butter. I try brushing on the butter with a pastry brush but the butter doesn’t adhere as well as just dunking the muffin into the butter. It’s this lustrous glaze that satisfyingly mimics the “just fried” taste of a regular doughnut. A quick smooch with the cinnamon-sugar mixture and these delectable babies are ready to go.

Pairing it with my double beaker of fresh brewed coffee and browsing my favorite blogs, I am in doughnut muffin paradise. I think it's the buttery crumb merging with the steam that escapes from its divine depths, that creates this glorious place with every bite. Obviously, I can’t mistake this for a real doughnut, not even cake doughnuts, but it surely tasted incredible satisfying.



Muffin Doughnuts
Adapted from a recipe in Southern Living, 2008

Ingredients:
1½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1⅔ cups milk
¼ cup buttermilk

For dipping:
1 cup unsalted butter; more as needed
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degree F.

In a stand mixer or a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just mixed in. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Combine the milk and buttermilk. With a wooden spoon, mix a quarter of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Then mix in a third of the milk mixture. Continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately, ending with the dry. Mix until well combined and smooth, but don't over mix. Grease and flour a standard-size muffin tin. Scoop enough batter into each tin so that the top of the batter is even with the rim of the cup, about ½ cup. A large ice-cream scoop gives you the perfect amount. Bake the muffins until firm to the touch, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Melt the butter for the dipping mixture. Combine the sugar and cinnamon. When the muffins are just cool enough to handle, remove them from the tin, dip them into or brush them all over with the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

You don't have to bake all the muffins right away; the batter will keep, covered and chilled, for up to three days in the refrigerator.

Makes 24

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George’s notes:

• Doughnuts have been around for centuries. Archaeologists turned up several petrified fried cakes with holes in the center in prehistoric ruins in the Southwestern United States. How these early Native Americans prepared their doughnuts is unclear.
• There is a very popular half-truth in doughnut lore centered on a very real sea captain and his mother. In 1847, Elizabeth Gregory was known in her New England circle to make a very fine olykoek. Her secret was to add a hint of nutmeg and fill the center with hazelnuts or walnuts. She even had a special name for her creation -- dough-nuts.
• Olykoek, also known as Oily Cakes, are sweet dough balls fried in pork fat. Made by the Dutch in the mid-19th century, olykoeks were predecessors of the modern donut.
• Muffins are generally, but not always, quick breads - meaning that a leavening agent other than yeast is used to make the bread rise. Muffins are made with a variety of flours, fruits and nuts and are baked in a muffin pan. Traditionally, muffins are sweet to a degree, but savory muffins are not completely uncommon.

Almond Cherry Chocolate Muffins...

I think breakfast is my favorite meal ~ but that totally depends on what's for dinner. Usually my morning ritual is sipping a double beaker of hot coffee with a splash of cream for color while browsing the blogs I follow and reading through various online newspapers, both here in the U.S. and London; just to see what has happen during the night. Then with my second cup, I will fix breakfast.

Breakfast has long been touted as the most important meal of the day. It gives you energy and keeps your appetite in check until dinner. Unfortunately, almost no one has time to eat it. One solution to the modern breakfast dilemma isn't faster fast food, but a mainstay of home baked goodies; like scones, biscuits, quick breads, granola and my favorite ~ muffins. These baked goods are quick to assemble and quick to bake or made a day ahead; they can be sweet, savory, full of fruit and nuts, or plain.

Quick breads are the friend of the busy breakfast lover. You can bake a batch of muffins or scones in the evening or on the weekend and freeze them to preserve their just-baked freshness; which really works. Pull one out of the freezer before bed or a couple of hours before you want to eat and grab it on your way out the door. Even if you can't help eating on the run, at least you can add some whole grains and nutrients to your homemade goodies instead of buying food that is just dessert masquerading as breakfast.

Back in the mid-90's, I was the chef at a gourmet coffee shop in Ridgefield, CT. This was pre-Starbucks on every street corner. Bright and early ~ 4:01 AM ~ I rose and headed to the shop to make the muffins, scones and croissants before the shop opened at 7 o’clock. Daily I had my usual stand-by items requested by my loyal customers and then I would make one or two “special goodies” like my Pain au Chocolat and these Almond Cherry Chocolate Muffins.

The muffin recipe below is quick and easy to make; so, don't be surprised when your family ~ even the chronic breakfast skipper starts to request home baked treats.



Almond Cherry Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped cherries (fresh or dried)
3 oz chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup sliced almonds, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prep your muffin tin with liners, or grease well with PAM.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Add buttermilk and almond extract.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add the flour mixture, cherries, and chocolate to your butter/sugar mixture; gently stirring until just combined. Being careful not to over mix your batter.

Fill your muffin cups about ¾ full. Sprinkle top of muffins with sliced almonds.

Bake for 15-22 minute, depending on your oven. For me 18 minutes is the magic number. Remove from oven a let them cool on a wire rack before removing from the muffin tin.

Makes 12 muffins

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George’s notes:

• The word breakfast is a compound of "break" and "fast," referring to the conclusion of fasting since the previous day's last meal.
• Nutritional experts have referred to breakfast as the most important meal of the day; based on studies of the large numbers of people who skip breakfast, to adverse effect on their concentration, metabolism and weight.

If breakfast baking sounds good to you, but you question your baking know-how, fear not. All you need is three basic principles:

1. measure flour correctly
2. mix with a light hand
3. don't overbake

Bread Pudding Muffins...

Bread Pudding Muffins are a delicious way to use leftover stale bread. Not only do they have the wonderful flavor of bread soaked in a cinnamon flavored cream, but they also contain chunks of apple, slivers of lemon zest, and plump raisins.

The interesting part about this Bread Pudding Muffin recipe is that instead of baking the bread pudding in one large roasting pan it is baked in individual muffin tins. This makes for a very nice presentation.

What a perfect way to start the day.

A good English friend has told me it is very common all over the UK, for most kitchens to have a bowl sitting on the counter to collect leftover bread. Once the bowl is full the bread is used to make a rich and creamy bread pudding. What makes a bread pudding perfect everyday fare is that it does not use fancy ingredients; just bread, milk or cream, sugar, eggs, and some flavoring ~ like vanilla and cinnamon. And any leftover bread can be used; like French, Italian or even croissants. You can leave the crusts on or take them off. My favorite is the more sturdy French bread, crusts left on, that doesn't have too thick of a crust.

I came across this recipe some months ago and thought I'd give it a try. Since bread pudding is one of my all-time favorite desserts ~ see my recipe for Chocolate Bread Pudding ~ at first I was a bit apprehensive about a muffin. Let me tell you, these are moist & delicious. So, give them a try...

Bread Pudding Muffins
adapted from Marcy Goldman's "The Best of Better Baking"

Ingredients:
7 cups of bread cubes, cut into bite sized pieces *
1 cup half & half
1 cup milk
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
⅓ cup all purpose flour
½ tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
½ cup raisins or dried cranberries
1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Butter well or spray with a non stick vegetable spray a 12 muffin tin.

Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and add the cream and milk. Let stand for five minutes. Then stir in the beaten eggs, sugar, vanilla, and melted and cooled butter.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and lemon zest. Stir this mixture into the bread cube mixture and then fold in the raisins and apple chunks.

Evenly divide the mixture among the 12 muffins cups, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place the muffin tin on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins

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George’s notes:

• Bread pudding is a common dessert made with stale bread, soaked overnight in milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla. It is then drained and baked in the oven in a water bath, then covered in a bourbon whiskey, rum or caramel sauce and sprinkled with a dusting of sugar.
• Bread pudding made its appearance in the 13th century known as "poor man's pudding." These early bread puddings were made with water instead of cream or milk, making them inexpensive to create.

Orange-Chocolate Muffins...

Now that we are all in the baking mode, here is a muffin I use to make at the Ridgefield Coffee Company, where I was chef for several years. It was always a success due to the lightness, its flavor and its combination of ingredients. I usually make this during the holidays to accompany my morning coffee. These delicious breakfast muffins are best eaten warm from the oven. The addition of yogurt makes these muffins wonderfully moist and soft – enjoy!



Orange-Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:
2 whole oranges quartered & seeded
2 large eggs
14 tablespoons butter, melted& cooled
1 cup chocolate chips
4 cups plain yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¾ cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease two 12 muffin pans.

Blend the whole oranges in the food processor — skin and everything. Add the eggs and melted butter. Combine the mixture, but do not over-process. Place it in a large bowl with the chocolate chips. Mix the yogurt, lemon juice and sugar together in a bowl. Sift the dry ingredients into another bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and the dry ingredients to the orange mixture, alternating small amounts of each. Just blend with the lightest movement — do not over-mix. Place 2 tablespoons of batter in the prepared muffin pans.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the muffins comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes and then cool on a wire rack. The muffins will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container. These muffins also freeze very well.

Makes 24 muffins

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George’s notes:

• The Ridgefield Coffee Company (CT) was a wonderful gourmet coffee shop, per Starbuck’s moving east. There we offered just breakfast and lunch ~ with amazing desserts, croissants, pains au chocolat, scones and a wide assortments of cakes and pies.
• If you are planning to travel with these muffins, pack them carefully because they do squash out of shape easily.

Skillet Cornbread...

Skillet-baked cornbread was a traditional staple at my grandparent’s home when I was growing up. No large family meal was served without it. My grandfather use to say, “If you try to take my cornbread, boy. There will be consequences and repercussions!” I miss his dry-wit and his wonderful stories of ‘his boyhood days’.

This is one of my favorite recipes for skillet cornbread, Southern-style. It's a must with chili, soups, greens (collard & turnip), and other delicious Southern meals. Also, it’s a great cornbread to make for Cornbread Dressing, if you are thinking of making some at Thanksgiving.

Skillet Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2½ cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup low-fat milk
2 large eggs
2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Add about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a 10-inch seasoned iron skillet; place in oven.

In a mixing bowl, combine the meal, flour, salt, baking powder and soda.

In another bowl, whisk buttermilk and milk with eggs and melted butter. Gradually fold milk mixture into dry ingredients, folding and mixing just until all dry ingredients are moist.

Using oven mitts or potholders, carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven; swirl slightly so oil coats sides of pan. Pour batter into the skillet then return to oven. Reduce heat to 350°. Bake cornbread for 35 to 45 minutes, until it pulls away from sides of pan and is lightly browned.

Cut into wedges and serve.

Straight from the oven...

Enjoy the taste of fall in an unusual yet tasty muffin adapted from an old Southern Living cookbook recipe. These apple-cheddar muffins are laced with fresh chopped apples and finely grated cheddar cheese that gives them a flavorful kick. Perfect to enjoy with your morning coffee!


Apple-Cheddar Muffins

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 large apple, peeled and chopped
½ cup chopped sweet onion
1 tablespoon sugar
2⅓ cups all-purpose baking mix
1½ cups (6 oz.) shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
¼ cup plain yellow cornmeal
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degree F.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add apple and next 2 ingredients; sauté 6 minutes or until onion is tender.

Combine baking mix and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Whisk together milk and eggs; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Stir apple mixture into batter. Spoon batter into a greased muffin pan, filling two-thirds full.

Bake at 425 degree F for 14 minutes or until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Gently run a knife around edges of muffins to loosen. Remove muffins from pan to wire rack, and let cool 10 minutes.

Serve warm.