Recipe #74: Irish Coffee Muffins

Irish Coffee Muffins

I was surprised to find a number of recipes on line for Irish Coffee Muffins (the recipe in 201 Muffins). Most had Kahlua as well as Irish Whiskey, but since I didn't have Kahlua, I chose a recipe that used plain coffee instead of coffee liqueur. This recipe, Irish Coffee Muffins, came from the website, Upstate Ramblings. It uses coffee instead of coffee liqueur, and Irish Whiskey. The flour called for was not specified, so I decided to use graham flour; and in place of the sour cream, I used buttermilk, and then added 3 T margarine to compensate for the lack of fat in the buttermilk. I also added walnuts, not called for in the recipe.

The muffins came out browner than the ones pictured on the website, and the darker flour made for a heartier muffin. They didn't take nearly as long to bake as the recipe suggested--only 16 minutes as opposed to the 20 given in the recipe--but I'm finding that's the case with most recipes, perhaps due to my oven or possibly the size of my muffin tins.

These were not overly sweet and were quite good. I could barely taste the whisky and coffee, however, perhaps due to the whole wheat pastry flour's strong flavor.

My tasters enjoyed them, and I would make these muffins again, certainly.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Next up: Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins

Recipe #73: Honey-Oatmeal Muffins with Fruit

Honey-Oatmeal Muffins
Taken from Food&Wine

This recipe in 201 Muffins called for honey, of course, but also dried fruit. Bakers could choose their own fruit, it seems, so I chose cranberries and apricots. The recipe I chose, White House Honey-Oat Muffins, from the Food &Wine website, called for honey, oatmeal, and other flours. I added the dried fruit and walnuts. I must say, though, that this recipe did not produce a muffin that was as good as the one I used last time. The muffins were drier and not as flavorful. I'm guessing the apricots had something to do with that, since they tend to have less flavor in the dried version. But I'm really not sure. I won't be making these again, though.

My tasters liked them, but didn't rave. That was the way I felt, too, I must say.

Rating: 4 out of 5, just for lack of flavor.

Next: Irish Coffee Muffins

Recipe #72: Honey-Graham Muffins

Honey-Graham Muffins

This recipe in the 201 Muffins book called for graham flour (as well as corn flour, which I ignored). It turns out that graham flour is the same as whole wheat pastry flour (who knew?), but I did buy some graham flour. The recipe I ended up using was Healthy Whole Wheat & Honey
Applesauce Muffins, from the website Five Heart Home. That recipe included honey and applesauce and whole wheat pastry flour, so I used my graham flour, added walnuts and instead of the streusel topping recommended by the recipe, I used a crunch topping with cinnamon chips. They came out really delicious! Moist, just sweet enough and hearty. The crunch topping with the cinnamon chips made them perfect.

My tasters agreed. I would make these muffins again, definitely!

Rated 5 out of 5. I know, I'm an easy grader.

Next: Honey-Oatmeal Muffins with Fruit.