Saturday, March 10, 2007

Long Ago and Far Away...

...I made these Dorie muffins. I haven't used many of her muffin recipes, but the two I've done thus far have been superb! My next experiment will be her Southern biscuits. I'm hoping that they are not flat and dense but puffy and light, but I diverge. The muffins I made were the Allspice Crumb muffins. I didn't have any allspice, so I substituted cinnamon. It was still delicious. With a tender crumb and crispy topping, these will delite your tongue and satisfy your tummy!
Allspice Crumb Muffins
from Dorie Greenspans' Baking from my Home to Yours

2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (I used cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I'm pretty sure I used margarine)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk (I used skim)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice, and salt together. Stir in brown sugar, being sure there are no lumps. In another bowl, whisk the butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla together. Pour over the dry ingredients and gently and quickly stir to blend. The batter will be lumpy. Divide evenly among muffin cups (fitted with paper molds or sprayed). Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the top (recipe to follow) and gently press into the batter. Bake for 20 minutes, or until tops are golden and a knife inserted in the center of muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from mold.
Streusel:
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon all spice (I used cinnamon)
5 T cold unsalted butter, cut into bits (I used margarine)

Put flour, sugar, and allspice in a bowl. Add the butter and work into the flour mixture with your fingers. It should be irregularly shaped crumbs. Dorie says that these can be made up to three days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. when ready , sprinkle this over the muffin batter.
On a side note: In cleaning out my Granny's house, I was the recipient of her tube pan, cast iron skillet, pressure cooker, some REALLY CUTE stacking measuring cups, a pie plate, and an old cookbook. I might also get a poaching pan. SO be watching for my use of these items! Granny would love it.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your muffins look great! I have so wanted to try this recipe, I have it earmarked in my book, I like your idea of the cinnamon too!

Anonymous said...

Those muffins look yummy! I have that book on my "to buy" list and it may need to move up a notch or two.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Another one falls for Dorie. Yes, these are excellent. I can imagine cinnamon would be good but try the allspice too! They are wonderful.

Brilynn said...

I haven't made these ones yet, but I think I've made almost all of the other muffins! You can't go wrong with Dorie!

Red Dirt Mummy said...

Your muffins look great and I'm sure your Granny would be so happy knowing that you will be loving all her baking stuff. Can't wait to see what you make with it all.

Annie said...

Yummmmmmm! Love muffins and cinnamon. Your photography is great too.

Unknown said...

Laurie - Thanks! I just didn't have allspice, but the cinnamon works well.

Alisha - I agree...move it up. There are SO many recipes out of it that I want to try.

AKIHC - She is great isn't she? I used cinnamon b/c I didn't have allspice, but my mom bought me some yesterday, so I'm ready!

Brilynn - OH! They're great. You'll love them. I've got to try more of her muffins for sure.

RDM - Thanks! I can't wait to use some of her stuff either. I'll definitely think of her when I do.

Annie - Thanks! I was really excited at how well the pictures turned out. Natural light is great...as is the new camera!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love the idea of crumb muffins!