Maple Molasses?

Last week, I received an email from Crosby's introducing their new product: maple molasses. Curious, I followed the link to their website. Sure enough, they have blended maple syrup and (presumably fancy) molasses into a new offering. While I think it is meant to be a pancake syrup, they are releasing new recipes featuring it as an ingredient. First there were muffins, then there were cookies. Both seemed appealing. 

Unfortunately, Crosby's Maple + Molasses doesn't appear to be available in local stores yet and I wasn't about to pay the exorbitant shipping fee ($24.01!) for the $8.99 bottle, so I quickly returned to my previously scheduled programming. 

But the "Wholesome Maple + Molasses Peanut Butter Muffins" had infiltrated my brain and I couldn't stop thinking about them (peanut butter fiend that I am). And so I returned to their website to read more about the product. The label states that the product is 70% maple syrup, which was enough information for me to mix my own reasonable facsimile. I was in business! (Metaphorically, of course. I am not going to be producing a Maple + Molasses knock off for sale.)

The recipe for the muffins was of interest for the inclusion of both rolled oats and peanut butter. In my head, that meant fibre and flavour. They were quick to mix up, taking less than 10 minutes, and they baked in only 18 minutes. Voila!

Now, I'm not sure how wholesome these muffins actually are. They have three different types of sugar (brown sugar, maple syrup, and molasses) and they contain peanut butter, which is typically high in fat. According to the online calculator I used, they contain 180 calories, 4g fat, 2g fibre, and 5g protein. Of course they do wonderful things for one's mental health, so everything in moderation (including moderation) and all that jazz. 

The texture is light and fluffy, which is surprising considering they contain old fashioned rolled oats. They aren't overly sweet and the peanut butter flavour is present but not overpowering. If you really wanted to be extra, you could add peanut butter Chipits or chocolate chips to these, or even some nuts.

Definitely a keeper, as Trooper Ron would say!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a YouTube channel called Cooking the Books. I quickly fell down the rabbit hole, watching episode after episode after episode. The premise is simple: Anna cooks a recipe (or a day of meals) from a vintage cook book each week. It's entertaining to see how food trends and preferences have changed, as well as gender roles and their representation through cook books. But it's most fun to spot well-loved cook books from the past and relive a moment from childhood.

It was because of this channel that I recently became obsessed with looking at the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library again. My mother had this when I was a kid and I loved flipping through it, especially the cards devoted to children's parties and entertaining. I remember vividly a snowman cake that my mother made for my winter birthday. 

Now, you can buy these sets secondhand from online retailers, but the prices are high (ranging from $40 to $90+) and the shipping would be expensive because it's a weighty collection. I got lucky with my Facebook appeal, as a friend loaned me her set (which belonged to her mother). I spent a few hours this week rearranging the cards (with her permission) into the original order. 

As I sorted through cards, I stumbled upon one for "Favorite Muffins." One of the variations was for cranberry-orange muffins, which called for chopped cranberries and orange zest. I decided to try them. 

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup salad oil

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

zest of one orange

1 cup cranberries, chopped

Method:

Heat oven to 400F. Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups. Beat egg; stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining dry ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fold in cranberries.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from muffin pan. Makes 12 muffins.

The recipe was quick and easy. And they baked up in only 18 minutes in my oven. The texture is nice and the orange flavour really punches through. They are perfect as a snack -- and at less than 100 calories each (according to MyFitnessPal), they are guilt-free. Top marks, Betty! (Yes, I know she isn't a real person.)

What is striking about this recipe, beyond the delicious flavour, is how small the muffins are. Compared to what we're used to today in bakeries and coffee shops, these look like miniature muffins, even though they bake in a standard muffin pan. I'm sure none of us are surprised that portion sizes have expanded over the last 50-60 years, but this really puts it in focus.

I suspect that within this recipe card set, there are a number of well-tested, reliable, quality recipes. And that is one reason to hold onto the set if you have it or buy it if you find it at a flea market. But as I've begun flipping through the cards, I've noticed one small issue with the set. A number of the recipes, at least in the baking sections, rely on Betty Crocker mixes as a foundational ingredient. (This muffin recipe was an outlier in that regard.) Unfortunately, many of those products aren't available anymore (at least not here in Canada). For example, one of the cards I reviewed started with a gingerbread cake mix. I'm not sure I have ever seen such a beast. Another uses a dry icing mix, which is also not available. All to say, it may not be possible to make some of the recipes in this set, because of the reliance on prepared mixes. Nevertheless, there's still a lot available that is made entirely from scratch. 

I'm thrilled to have delicious muffins for my lunch bag this week. And to stroll down memory lane with these recipe cards. 

English Muffins

For about a year now, I've been wanting to make English muffins. Last night, with the weather making it feel more like a fall day than a summer one, I decided it was the perfect time to test out another recipe.

I'd looked at several recipes on Pinterest, but my mother reminded me that I should look at the Cream of the West Cook Book. Of course! I pulled it out and noticed that on a post-it note on the cover, English muffins and a page number were listed. I flipped to the page and read the recipe. It would make 3 dozen. 

Now, that's a lot of English muffins for one person (especially if that person is trying to be carb-aware). I decided that I would half the recipe and a little after 7pm started the process. I was worried about the amount of salt because it seemed a bit high, but was impressed with the dough's texture. I left it to rise for an hour.

When I came back, it was time to roll and cut the muffins. It was a little strange to be rolling a yeast dough like that, but it cut beautifully and the corn meal on the cutting board and sheet pans kept it from sticking. (Pro tip: don't try to re-roll -- it really doesn't work.) I left them for another 30 minutes.

Now was the moment of truth. Every recipe I'd read indicated that you were to use a griddle pan to griddle the English muffins. I don't own one. I also don't have a large cast iron pan, which I assume would work just as well. Instead, I had a large orange skillet that came in my Rachel Ray set. I could fit four muffins in it at a time. I had 14 muffins. They had to cook for 12 minutes. It was going to be a bit of a marathon.

I didn't want to leave them at all during the process because I was afraid they would burn, so I stood watch through 4 batches. The corn meal kept them from sticking and with the pan on heat mark "3" I got a beautiful colour on them.

And they smelled so good! I'm sure it was driving my neighbours crazy.

I finished all the batches and then couldn't resist eating one of the still-warm muffins with butter. They tasted better than any English muffin I'd ever tasted. Indeed, I couldn't help but mark a 10/10 in the cook book for future reference.

And this morning I enjoyed one with my father's legendary raspberry jam...

So delicious!

Have you ever made English muffins? What's your favourite recipe?

Oatmeal Muffins

Today I had some time to myself, so I decided it was a good opportunity to bake something from the Cream of the West Cook Book again. I took the book down and flipped through every page, taking note of things I'd like to try in the future (porridge bread), things I might be willing to try (carrot quiche?), and things I definitely did not ever want to try (a strange rice and marshmallow concoction). Eventually I decided that oatmeal muffins would be a good choice (particularly since I had all the ingredients).

I followed the recipe as written, using vegetable oil. Of course, I couldn't resist adding some raisins to these muffins, because just as peanut butter and jam are soul mates, so are raisins and oatmeal.

The interesting thing about older recipes, of course, is how small the portions are. This recipe makes 12 small muffins. I filled the muffin cups 1/2 full (using a 1/4 cup measure), because if I'd filled them 2/3 full as the recipe suggests, I'd have run out of batter. I'd imagine that for most people, they'd want to divide this batter between 6 cups to make more substantial muffins, but the smaller size is fine by me for a snack. The recipe is accurate in terms of bake time -- mine came out perfect in 18 minutes.

The resulting muffin is light and airy, with a bit of chew from the rolled oats (perfectly pleasant). They doubled in size as a result of the baking powder. The only change I'd make for the future is to double the cinnamon.

I give them a 7/10.

What's your favourite muffin recipe?

And what would you add to oatmeal muffins?