That is what my friend Paulfreund calls me, Muffin Lady. Even though he knows very well that I mostly specialize in cupcakes. BUT he can tell a cupcake apart from a muffin, so I forgive him.
Tomorrow we have review sessions for our Pediatric rotation final. I decided this warranted muffins. Fruity muffins, to pretend they’re good for you! Alas, I just can’t seem to get them quite right. I think it’s my need to make them healthier. I’ll have to add in oil next time. They’re just not quite the same with only applesauce instead of butter =(
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
(adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours)
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream (I didn’t have sour cream, so I used berry yogurt)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I substituted applesauce instead)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.
In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – a few lumps are better than over mixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. I got 16 large muffins out of this!
Chunky Apple Muffins (adapted from Martha Stewart)
* 1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and quartered
* 1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup…you should probably use 1 cup though. they were not that sweet)
* 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup AP, 1 cup whole wheat)
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I used half walnuts, half pecans)
* 2 large eggs
* 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (I used 1/2 cup butter milk, 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt)
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12-cup standard muffin tin with cooking spray; set aside. Cut 3 apple quarters into 1/4-inch dice; cut remaining apple quarter into 12 thin slices for garnish.
2. Whisk together sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add diced apple and walnuts, if using; toss to coat.Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and butter in a small bowl. Gently fold buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full.Top each with an apple slice. Bake until muffins are brown around edges and spring back when touched, 16 to 18 minutes. Let muffins cool slightly, about 5 minutes, before turning out of tin onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.
I made the mistake of not spraying these down =( They stuck to the paper. And were not very sweet, so I hacked em open and added jam to the middle of half of them and a lemony cream cheese frosting to the other half! I used the rest of the cream cheese on top of the lemon poppyseed muffins.
