Raspberry Muffins + The Winner

Did you know that I have some of the best in-laws ever? When my husband and I were on our honeymoon, my husband’s mother and sister planted our garden for us. Even though the deer and rabbits attacked it with abandon, we were able to glean some organic produce this year. Without my in-laws, it would have been too late to start a garden this year.

Not stopping with that, they have showered us with their own amazing produce – fresh strawberries, raspberries, green beans, garlic, and more. Plus, they taught me how to can green beans so we can savor them all winter.

Which brings me to these raspberry muffins. I had a whole gallon bucket of lovely raspberries from Reuben’s family in the fridge, and I wanted to bake something delicious with them. We were having soup for supper and I thought these would be a nice addition to the meal. And they were a success! Reuben loved them.

“How to did you get them to be caramelized on top?” he asked.

My evening was made.

Notes:

• Of course I substituted part whole wheat flour and natural sweetener. The original recipe called for lemon zest, but I didn’t have any on hand so I skipped it. It also called for pecans in the topping, but Reuben doesn’t care for nuts in baked goods so I left them out.
• I felt that the recipe did not call for enough buttermilk. I ended up adding 1/4 cup of cream or more to the batter to get it to the right consistency.
• It will seem like there’s way too much topping for the muffins, but that’s not the case. It’s just right. Trust me.

Raspberry Muffins

Printable Page | Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

For the topping:

• 1/3 cup demereara sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

For the muffin batter:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 demerara sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten slightly
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease or line with muffin papers 12 standard muffin cups.

2) To make topping: In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and flour. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

3) To make the muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate small bowl, combine the egg, butter, vanilla, and buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir just to moisten. Add the raspberries and gently fold in with a rubber spatula. Do not overmix.

4) Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Evenly distribute the topping over the batter. Bake in preheated oven until golden and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Place pan on a cooling rack and allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to the cooling rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, with butter of course!

Now for the Winner!

The winner of my RiceSelect giveaway is:

Commenter #78: j.hodge who had yogurt for breakfast.

Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway. I have several more giveaways lined up this fall, so stay tuned!

Keep eating and cooking what you love!

Erica Lea

Surprise Muffins

A while back, when I was serving bean soup for lunch, I realized that there was absolutely no bread to be had. That’s a big no no in our house. If you have soup, you eat bread in some shape or form.

I looked at the clock – nearly 11:30. Dad would be home in half an hour. I decided to make lunch wait a while, and whipped up a batch of muffins.

Isn’t it funny how the recipes you don’t expect much from often times turn out the best? That’s what happened with these muffins. I knew that since they would be 100% whole wheat, they would most likely turn out tough and dry. Not so! To my surprise and delight, they were tender and full of flavor.

Okay, I admit it. This recipe comes from Betty Crocker. That old, tattered, well used book with a broken spine and the pages falling out. When pressed for time, I do refer to this seasoned cook.

The surprise in these muffins lies in the center: a dab of jam nestled in the muffin batter. Use whatever jam is your favorite. Raspberry works very well.

The original recipe makes 12 muffins. I like my muffins a little larger, so I made just eight. Enough for everyone to have one and fight over the last.

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:: Surprise Muffins ::

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Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups (6 ounces) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour(aka soft white wheat)
• 1/2 cup sucanat, rapadura or Demerara sugar.
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Jam of choice

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 400° F. Grease or line with paper muffin cups 12 medium muffin cups.

2) In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredient to the egg mixture and stir just until the flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy.

3) Fill muffin cups 1/2 full with batter. Drop 1 teaspoon of jelly into the center of each muffin and top with remaining batter to fill 2/3 full.

4) Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan onto a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm with butter.

Makes 8-12 muffins

P.S. It’s Kitchen Tip Tuesday…