Recipe #45: Crumb Muffins with Raisins

Crumb Muffins with Raisins

Crumb muffins are muffins made with bread crumbs that replace part of the flour. It's an old process that goes back to the middle ages in Europe, when people used stale bread crumbs to make all manner of baked goods. These days, you don't see bakers using bread crumbs much, but people still use graham cracker crumbs, cookie crumbs, and cereal crumbs in baking. So it really isn't such a stretch to incorporate bread crumbs, but I think it's necessary to get the right kind, especially if you're making a quick bread.

I did have a bit of trouble finding a recipe that would approximate the one in 201 Muffins. In fact, after searching the internet for a few days and finding nothing suitable, I decided to check my good old bread making book, A World of Breads, by Dolores Casella, to see if it contained such a recipe. And lo and behold, it did! It was a simple recipe described as "very old"--just what I wanted! I made a few adjustments to the recipe, adding raisins and pecans and more sugar. I used whole wheat bread crumbs which I had to make, but fortunately, there was a recipe for that on the internet! 

I think the muffins came out very well. They were hearty and slightly sweet. I would definitely make these again! My tasters also enjoyed them. I rate these muffins 5 out of 5.

Next up: Crunch-Apple Muffins 

Recipe #44: Cream Cheese-Filled Muffins with Raspberries

Cream Cheese Muffins with Berries

The recipe in the book, 201 Muffins, called for a cream cheese filling and raspberries. I found a recipe that featured cream cheese filling and a variety of berries: Mixed Berry Cream Cheese Muffins, from the website, Five Heart Home. I didn't have any raspberries, so I used the berries I had on had: blueberries, cranberries and cherries. I also added a pecan on top for garnish.

The muffins came out tasting very good. I especially liked the little bit of sweetened cream cheese in the center; it made it unnecessary to butter the muffin! The fruit added just enough tartness.

My tasters also enjoyed them and so if I have occasion, I will make them again. I rated these muffins 5 out of 5.

Recipe #43: Cranberry-and-Wheat-Berry Muffins

Barley Pecan Muffins

I had quite a challenge finding a recipe on line to match the one in the book, 201 Muffins. That recipe uses 1/2 cup wheat berries, sour cream, and two cups of cranberries. Wheat berries was what stymied me; there are no recipes that use those, and for a good reason, as I found out. They are actually raw wheat kernels, which have got to be very hard. I didn't want to eat muffins with hard wheat kernels in them--after all, how much could they cook in only 20 minutes?

So, next I looked for recipes with wheat flour or something along those lines. I finally found one that seemed to fit the bill: Barley Pecan Muffins. The recipe came from the Canadian newspaper, the Globe and Mail, in their Recipes section. Though the title doesn't mention the cranberries and blueberries called for in the recipe, it does feature barley flour, which I learned is equivalent to wheat berries, and not as hard! So this is the recipe I used.

The muffins came out well, and tasted good. My tasters enjoyed them and they went well with holiday meals. So I rate these 5 out of 5.

Next: Cream Cheese-Filled Muffins with Raspberries.