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SUPPER: Savory Muffins
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SUPPER: Savory Muffins
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| A blank canvas |
| Photo l Michael Persico |
The comedian Jim Gaffiagan once said, "A muffin is nothing more than a bald cupcake."
It's so true. Though every muffin has the potential to be a hand-held panoply of breakfast flavors, too often they succumb to overgrown size and sugar and end up little more than a.m. dessert. The healthy-sounding apple bran muffin at Starbucks weighs in at 310 calories and 30 grams of sugar. If you want a doughnut, why not ditch the charade and just eat a doughnut?
I've lately been craving a muffin with more substance than sugar. A savory muffin complements an eggy breakfast, but also fits in with the dinner crowd. The best muffin recipe I've ever used is from Mom's ancient copy of the red Betty Crocker Cookbook, complete with photo illustrations on orangey '70s film stock. The basic recipe allows for additions of any flavoring element you like, from virtuous veggies to crumbled bacon.
Suggestions:
- Chop half a fresh fennel bulb and one large onion into a quarter-inch dice. Toss with two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 minutes, until soft and sweet. Mix into muffin batter.
-Chop three sprigs of fresh rosemary as small as you can, or measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of dry rosemary. Add to muffin batter, along with 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
-Peel and dice two apples. Add to muffin batter, along with 3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese.
-Cook three strips of bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels, then crumble. Add to muffin batter, along with 3/4 cup grated smoked Gouda cheese and a three sprigs of picked-over thyme.
Recipe for Basic Muffin Batter from the 1978 edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook, after the jump.
Betty Crocker's Basic Muffin Batter (p. 199)
Go Get This:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Now Do This:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease bottoms only of about 12 medium muffin cups, 2 1/2 X 1 1/4 inches. Beat egg; stir in milk and oil. Stir in remaining ingredients all at once, just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pans. Yields about one dozen muffins.
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