The Muffin Man

Oh, do you know the Muffin Man,

The muffin man, the muffin man,

Do you know the muffin man,

Who lives in Drury Lane? 

When my son was much younger and in   4-H, one of his food project demonstrations for 4-H Day was making muffins. The talk started with this well-known children's rhyme. Muffins are a favorite breakfast, brunch and snack food now, just as they were in Victorian English households where they (actually more of a bread product then) were delivered door-to-door by a muffin man. 
I reminisced of that young child as I watched the young man he has become receive a PhD degree this weekend. This occasion certainly called for a celebration of family and friends - and food. The following morning we hosted a celebratory brunch with the family of another new PhD, who is a good friend of Clint's. I had baked several dozen muffins, which together with the sausage/cheese/meat tray, fruit tray and veggies made a great buffet for guests to  munch and visit with. 
A couple of new muffin recipes are now added to my collection. I'll share these here, and in a later blog post the old favorites that I also made. 


Cappuccino Muffins  (from Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners)

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

2-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons instant coffee granules

½ cup butter, milted

 1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir milk and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved. Add butter, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 4 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve with espresso spread.

Espresso Spread: (I forgot to take this to the reception, but the muffins were fine without it!)

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1 tablespoon sugar

½ tsp. instant coffee granules

½ tsp. vanilla extract

¼ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a food processor blender combine the spread ingredients; cover and process until well blended. Transfer the espresso spread to a small bowl; cover and refrigerate until serving.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Muffins (from Pinterest)

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 ¼ cup buttermilk

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Peanut butter swirl:

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

½ cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper liners.  Combine  butter and 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl, microwave 20-30 seconds, stir, repeat until melted and smooth. Set aside. 

Whisk together (in mixing bowl) flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, combine buttermilk, egg and vanilla and whisk to combine. With mixer on low speed, blend dry ingredients with buttermilk mixture just combined.  Blend in melted chocolate mixture. Stir in the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips with a spatula. Divide the batter between prepared paper liners, filling each no more than 2/3 full (muffins will rise a lot!)

To make peanut butter swirl, combine the peanut butter and butter and microwave biefly until smooth. Whisk in the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drop a small spoonful of this mixture on top of each muffin and swirl together using a skewer. Bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.