Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?

Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane.

~ Old English nursery song

What’s a muffin morning? It's different things to different people at different times. In Victorian England the muffin man made door-to-door delivery of his wares or sold them on the streets, so one might wake up to a nice cup of tea and a fresh muffin or have it for an afternoon tea table treat.

But back in Jolly Olde England, those muffins would have been what we call English muffins, prominent members of the ancient griddle cake family that includes crumpets and Welsh bara maen. The term "bara maen" literally means "bread stone" and the yeasty little breads were baked on stones long before the introduction of the griddle. 

Some say the origin of the word muffin is French, from "moufflet." a word used to indicate soft bread. Leave it to the American cousins to come up with the miniature cakes we call muffins, a variety of quick bread sometimes made with bran or cornmeal. 

The twentieth century saw a great evolution in the little cake-like treat. Muffins in the early 1900s were humble fare and often not particularly sweet. By mid-century popular cookbooks boasted a wide variety of flavors. In 1978 a prominent national doughnut chain added gigantic fresh baked muffins to their line, to the delight of commuters far and wide.

 These days the muffin-hungry find them everywhere from discount warehouse retailers to chain grocery stores. Sad to say, many have forgotten or never known the unparalled freshness and flavor of a scratch-made muffin hot from the oven. Truly, how many of us are lucky enough to have a good fresh-baked muffin at home? And do not even mention those "convenient" packets of dry mix that contain artificially flavored and artificially colored fruit bits. Please. 

  Homemade muffin mornings put the joy into weekends like nobody's business. A muffin morning is filled with hope and sunshine, no matter what’s going on outside my window. Muffins make me smile. They pop their cute little heads up over the sides as they bake, just like cupcakes but more substantive and well-rounded. You could say cupcakes hit the fashion and gossip blogs and pig out on junk food, while muffins read world and science headlines, do impossibly complex multi-colored Sudoku puzzles and follow healthy food regimens.

  A muffin wants to be light and tender, like your first love. Many claim that lots of butter is the secret and I tried that. For a while. But I’ll tell you a little secret. Oil and yogurt give you a heartbreakingly soft crumb that butter can’t touch. It’s no contest. If you must have butter, save it for the table. You get the visuals along with the flavor. The sight of butter melting into a steaming muffin can be an instant jolt to the salivary glands.

 I have had muffins I consider much too earnest—the dry sawdust-and-cellulose variety, punctuated with tightlipped raisins and mingy bits of nut. They’re ponderous and depressed, not leavened by any lightness of spirit. I suspect they read the obituary column and discuss digestion at the breakfast table. Sad, because it goes against a muffin's grain, so to speak.

 A kinder, gentler approach to healthy muffins works best:

• For high fiber, start with whole wheat pastry flour. Add rolled oats, oat bran, flax meal and/or wheat germ. Personal tastes vary so start by using 1/4 fiber rich ingredients to 3/4 flour and adjust to suit yourself.
• For reduced fat, use low-fat or no-fat Greek yogurt. And/or substitute applesauce for half the oil.
•  For reduced sugar, use applesauce or pumpkin puree for half or more of the sugar. Agave syrup, the sweetener from the same cactus that gave us tequila, is extremely low glycemic. Stevia is another natural sweetening option.
• For lower cholesterol, use two egg whites instead of one whole egg.

Feel free to experiment. Be your own expert. Muffins are very forgiving if you don’t take advantage of their good nature and overload your batter with too much dry earnestness.

  Yes, a muffin wants to be a happy thing from the start. They are more interesting to put together than biscuits, less taxing than cake. Measure, sift, chop, mix, bake and poof! you have muffins. They are completely compliant and agree to be wonderful no matter what flavor you choose. Kids love making muffins, and with a basic recipe you can switch around complimentary fruit, nuts and flavorings to your heart's desire.

  If you are in the mood for savory ones—a great dinner addition, by the way—omit sweeteners, then substitute appropriate veggies for the fruit and cheese for the nuts. A teaspoon of fresh herbs kick them straight over the top. If you don’t have fresh use a half teaspoon of dried. Try grated zucchini with monterey jack and rosemary; shredded carrot with cheddar and dill; steamed asparagus tips, chopped fine with brie, thyme and 1/4 cup minced prosciutto or ham. Bake them in tiny cups and they’ll be right at home on the ritziest buffet. And I haven’t even touched on the glories of corn muffins. What’s not to smile about?

 Warning: I take issue with paper baking cups, at least at home. I understand why they’re used commercially, to avoid breakage and to promote freshness and sanitation. I can even get behind them for cupcakes. You do need a place to put your fingers that isn’t gooey. But with nonstick or silicone pans, baker’s spray and air-tight containers there’s no reason for paper cups at home.

A muffin with its fluted paper peeled away—if you can even get the dang thing loose without tearing up your muffin—has little of the structural integrity or beauty of a muffin with its lovely crust intact. And the little guys know they’re not at their best wearing paper. They become temperamental. They break when you try to de-paper them. They crumble. They cling to torn bits of muffin cup, not my favorite flavor enhancer. Just put the package of baking cups down and back away. You’ll thank me when you see the little beauties tucked into a basket with a fresh napkin or piled high on a plate.

BASIC SWEET MUFFINS

The recipe is simple: combine dry and wet ingredients separately, then combine and bake.  I like to use a number 8 scoop, 4 ounce size, to get consistently sized muffins. Or use a 1/2 cup measure. Spray with non-stick spray for easy batter release. 

If you want the lightest imaginable muffin, take the time to separate the egg and beat the white to the stiff peak stage. Fold into the batter just before portioning into the tins.

Another little trick—I use the food processor to chop nuts and always get very finely ground nuts at the bottom. Reserve to sprinkle over the muffin tops before baking for an extra bit of muffin glamour.

These muffins are  Strawberry-Almond. Follow the basic resipe using strawberries for the fruit and almonds for the nuts. Add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract.

 THE RECIPE

•  Baking spray

Dry Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey or agave syrup*
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt1 cup nuts of your choice, chopped

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup light vegetable oil
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring to complement fruit and nut selection
• 1 cup fruit of your choice, cut into 1/4” pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat twelve cup standard sized muffin cups with baking spray.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium sized bowl. Add the nuts and toss to coat them well with flour.  

  In a separate bowl whisk oil, yogurt, egg, and flavoring together until well blended.

Stir wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.

 Gently fold in fruit. Divide batter among muffin cups and bake in the middle of the oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

There now. Slather on the spread. Pour a cup of coffee, tea, or some milk. Perhaps a little orange juice or maybe hot chocolate.  See? The rest of the world can go away for a while, can’t it? You’re smiling, aren’t you? There you go.

 Happy muffin morning.

VARIATIONS:

Here are some standard favorites along with a few new ones to try. 

 Chocolate Muffins: Chocolate is the perfect cloaking device for high fiber ingredients like whole wheat, flax, bran, etc. Add 1/2 cup cocoa powder to dry ingredients. Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa is stellar. Add vanilla. Nuts optional.

Apple Walnut Muffins: Chopped apples and chopped walnuts and add one teaspoon apple pie spice. If you like raisins or dried cranberries, substitute them for 1/3 cup of the apples. Rehydrate them for best results.

 Strawberry Almond Muffins: Use fresh strawberries for the fruit, almond and half almond extract, half vanilla. 

 Banana-Nut: Use one small banana, chopped or mashed. Add pecans or walnuts and use vanilla to flavor. 

Pineapple/Coconut Muffins: Make muffin batter using brown sugar instead of white. Add 1 cup canned crushed pineapple, well drained, and 1/2 cup grated coconut flakes. Use rum or coconut extract to flavor. Sprinkle tops evenly with 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts.

Peanut Butter/Chocolate Chip: Add 1 cup chopped peanuts and 1 cup chocolate chips to the dry ingredients and 2 tablespoons peanut butter to the wet ingredients. No extract needed.

 Lemon Poppyseed: Omit fruit and nuts. Add the zest from two lemons and two tablespoons of poppyseed. Obviously if you omit 2 cups of ingredients you will have fewer muffins, about 8.

 Jammie Muffies: Omit fruit but use nuts if you like. Select a flavoring to go with your favorite jam or jelly. Once muffins are portioned into the tins, make a little indentation in the tops and place a scant teaspoon of jam or jelly into the well. Carefully smooth batter over the top so none shows through and bake as directed. This one is a big favorite with kids, but be CAUTIOUS. The jam filling will be HOT. 

 LAGNIAPPE

(Three To Get Deadly)

Folks have long referred to their sweeties as "muffins." Hence the term "stud muffin" was immediately recognizable to the collective psyche when it came on the scene.  (See clarifying example at left.) 

The little film is from a fellow who loves his muffin so much he wrote a song and made a video about her. And very cute it is, too.