Buttermilk Muffins

I like the above picture.  I know it's not that pretty,  not even all that appetizing, but for whatever reason, I like it.  I think it may be the Willy-Wonka-esque nature of it.  In a field of almost complete white, there are our muffins.  Plain simple muffins in a field of plain simple white.

Which is great and all, because sometimes you need that ideal, when life is never really plain and simple.  Case in point, last weekend Ben and I want on a long hike.  The weather was gorgeous, the sun was out for most of it and Lord knows I needed the 7 miles worth of exercise. It should have been plain and simple, but when we were in the home stretch (seriously, mile marker 6.75) suddenly, I need to use the bathroom.  Not just a little.  Not just soon.  NOW.  Out loud I giggled that we better hurry up cause I needed to use the restroom, but  in the quiet of my brain?  In there, it was seriously considering if that tree over there would be big enough to block me from view.  And drat, why was everything still so dreary and dead looking?  Where are all the leaves to hid my naked backside?  And most importantly, at what age does it become unacceptable to squat and go potty in the woods?  

Thank goodness that Ben, after hearing my nervous giggle and seeing the frantic panicked look on my face, realized that this was not a normal bathroom situation.  He ran the remaining quarter mile ahead to the car as I waited precious yet painstaking minutes till my knight  in shining gym shorts (?) came to save me in his pretty blue Subaru.     

This post did not start out with the intention of me telling the story of how I almost had to throw away my gym shorts.  I could have had a plain simple post about plain simple muffins.  But like I said, it never really is about plain and simple.  And so instead, I took the option of telling an internet full of strangers the story of how I almost pooed my pants at the ripe old age of twenty five.  And that's what life is about, or so I think.  Happy Monday people.

Buttermilk Muffins

Adapted from keyingredient.com

So, the story behind these is simply that I had some leftover buttermilk in my fridge I was determined to use.  And I wanted to bake.  And I also had very strong feelings about not going to the grocery store.  So, after some browsing and searching on Pinterest, these satisfied all 3 criteria.  As sort of mentioned above, these muffins are plain and simple.  Quick to throw together and right into the oven they go.  They're like a less complex version of buttermilk biscuits, if you don't have the time to put into making biscuits.  Plain and simple.

2 c. (250 grams) all purpose flour

⅛ c. (25 grams) granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp kosher salt

¼ c. (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 egg

1-¼ c. buttermilk

Turbinado sugar to dust (Sugar in the Raw)

Makes 12 muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a muffin tin with paper liners, or grease with cooking spray.

Whisk together all dry ingredients.  In small bowl or measuring cup, combine melted butter, egg and buttermilk.  Mix well.  Create a well in the middle of dry ingredients.  Pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.  The batter will be thick and a little lumpy.

Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling to about 2/3rds the way full.  Sprinkle muffins lightly with turbinado sugar.  Bake at 400 for 22-25 minutes, until muffins are set and edges have turned golden brown.  Serve warm with butter and jam.

Buckwheat Pancakes

I was an adorable little girl.  It's not conceited to tell you this because it is a well known fact:  Little girls who are chubby also happen to be incredibly adorable.  And I was chubby.  Oh, how I was chubby.  From the chipmunk checks to the rubberband wrists to the Michelin tireman legs.  I was just cute pile on top of cute pile of chubbiness.  Part of the reason for my adorable chubiness was the fact that I was not a picky eater.  I kinda ate everything.  I went through a stage when I was 9 or 10 where my favorite thing to eat was beets from a can.  My mom thought it was strange, but I think she was happy that at least one of her children was eating the bright pink rounds. 

One of the things on my short list of food dislikes was buckwheat pancakes.  My grandma would always bring back a big bag of buckwheat flour for my mom whenever she went to Amish Country and for a few months afterwards, there it would sit in the fridge in her large green tupperware bowl and mom would occasionally make buckwheat pancakes.  To me, it was the epitome of ruining one of the best breakfasts a kid could ask for.  There was not enough syrup in the world to hide the fact that our mother was still trying to feed us something that was made of buckwheat, whatever that was.  And buckwheat certainly didn't sound appealing.

And that was my stance on it for the better part of almost two decades.  Yet, and almost suddenly, in March, that changed.  Ben and I had met in Charlotte, NC for the weekend and on our last day there, we had brunch outside at this very cute farm-to-table joint on the main street.  He had a pimento cheeseburger we both still dream about and for whatever reason, the buckwheat pancakes with peach and apple cinnamon compote caught my eye.  So I ordered them on a whim.  And I realized that for a very long time I had been very wrong about buckwheat pancakes.  They're good.  They're more complex than regular pancakes, and they hit different notes and they taste fantastic in any amount of syrup. 

So I have been craving buckwheat pancakes ever since, and sadly, dispute several attempts, I have not been able to get them.  I did buy myself a rather expensive little bag of buckwheat flour about a month ago, but that was the most progress I had made on the issue until last Saturday morning.  When I decided enough was enough and we were going to have buckwheat pancakes.  I googled searched andwent through enough recipes to annoy Ben until I found one that sounded just right.  And it helped that it was from the King Arthur cookbook, of King Arthur flour fame. 

And I'm glad I choose that recipe, because it was just about perfect.  The molasses made them dark and smell of gingersnap cookies, never a bad thing and they came out just as perfect as pancakes should.  The one and only change that I would make (and did, after trying the first batch to come off my cast iron) was to add cinnamon.  And that was it.  Buckwheat pancake perfection.  This recipe makes about 12-15 good sized pancakes.  Enough that the last two I polished off for my breakfast Monday morning.  And that was that.  So what I'm trying to tell you here is, despite all previous assumptions, buckwheat pancakes are tasty, even if I am still not quite sure just what buckwheat actually is...

Buckwheat Pancakes

Inspired by King Arthur's Flour via Cook's Hideout

1 c. Buckwheat flour
3/4 c. All purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Large egg
2 c. Buttermilk
2 Tbsp. Molasses
1 Tbsp. Butter, melted

In large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flours, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt.  Create well in center of bowl.  

In separate bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, melted butter and molasses.  Pour into dry ingredients.  Mix batter quickly and until ingredients are just incorporated.  Do NOT overmix!

Heat cast iron skillet (or other griddle) over medium heat.  Melt a small pat of butter to grease pan.  Pour ~1/4 cup of batter to form pancakes.  Let cook on one side until small bubbles form all around, then flip a cook 1-2 minutes longer.

Serve warm with good maple syrup!

P.S.  I was a little too busy pancake flipping and then immediately stuffing my face to take many pictures... so sorry!

Bacon-Cheddar Corn Muffins

I'm so sorry to already be moving the delicious raspberry buttermilk cake from the top of the page.  It's my favorite recipe on this site.  Well, at least right now it is.  I do remember being quite in love with a certain cornbread with cranberries.  But, as I have been told, all good things must come to an end.  Well, sorta.  There is a buttermilk cake in my oven and the smell is making me quite happy. 

In reality, I really shouldn't be that bummed out.  These muffins are very good in their own right.  They hit all of those things that they promise.  There was a cheesiness, and a little bit of heat from the jalapeno.  There was corn, although in my opinion, if I was craving some cornbread this wouldn't quite do the trick.  And the bacon, well when isn't bacon a delicious addition to anything?  Did you know they make bacon vodka now.  Bacon vodka!  Sigh...  I digress.

Anyways, these will do you proud.  They might not ignite any undying flames of love within your very being, but they are satisfying.  And I imagine even more so when paired with a chili or tomato soup.  And they freeze and reheat well, as I just discovered. 

Use the good cheese and bacon, cause you're going to taste it.  Also, hey look!  You can use the leftover buttermilk you have from making my favorite cake, which I am sure you all have by now.  See, I am looking out for you.

Bacon-Cheddar Corn Muffins
Adapted from May 2011's Cooking Light

1 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
4 thick cut bacon slices, cooked, drained and crumbled
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375.  Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. 

Combine flour, cornmeal, cheese, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cumin and salt in large mixing bowl.  Whisk together.  Whisk in bacon and jalapeno.  Make well in center of dry mixture.

Combine buttermilk, oil and egg in a small bowl.  Mix well.  Dump mixture into well in dry mixture.  Stir until just moist, do not over mix.

Pour batter evenly into 12 muffin tins.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes, in pan on wire rack.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

My blog crush on the smitten kitchen continues.  And this recipe definitely isn't helping it.  It has gotten stronger, if not more obsessive.  Almost as obsessive as I have become over this cake.  Which is quite obsessive.  This is the dessert from Ben's special welcome to TH dinner. 

This cake was delicious.  And on top of that, this cake was ridiculously easy to make.  But more importantly, this cake was amazing.  Scrumptious.  Wunderbar.  Lecker.  So tasty that I had to go into another language to describe it.  Ben and I demolished seventy-five percent of it in roughly 4 minutes Friday night.  The remaining quarter barely lasted a minute the next morning.  And I had to fight Ben for my fair share of it for breakfast.  The moral of this story is that the cake is deliciously yummy.  For breakfast, dessert and I would certainly eat it for any other meal as well.



The crust is crunchy and crisp and the cake underneath is soft and fluffy and has that yummy tang from the buttermilk.  The raspberries sank to the bottom and become mushy, melted pockets of fresh taste.  I may or may not be drooling right now...  This cake would work with any fresh berry and it was fantastic with raspberries.  For my trip up to Chicago this weekend, I'm already planning on making another one with strawberries and mini chocolate chips.  The one and only thing that I plan to change (besides trying a variety of fillings, but that doesn't count) is to sprinkle Turbinado sugar to form the crust on top instead of regular sugar.  And that was actually the boy's suggestion!  Impressive, right?  He wanted a more crunchy crust and I think it would work great.  Look at him... already earning his keep.

UPDATE 12/29/11:  I have made this cake several times since I discovered it way back when and like I predicted, it is infinitely adaptable.  To date, it has been made with strawberries and with frozen mix berries, both worked beautifully.  On one try, mini chocolate chips were added, although I'm not sure they were necessary.  I've also made it with half white flour, half whole wheat (to make it healthy of course!).  It was a little runny, so a few tablespoons of buckwheat flour were thrown in.  There was no reasoning, but I would be lying if I said that wasn't my favorite version I've made yet.  In summary, if you have left over buttermilk this is what you should be making, regardless if you only have frozen mixed berries and not enough all purpose flour.  Because it will still be amazing.  

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Adapted slightly from the Smitten Kitchen

1 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting.

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (optional, I didn't)

1 large egg

1/2 c. well-shaken buttermilk

1 c. fresh raspberries, or other fresh fruit

1 1/2 Tbsp. Turbinado (Sugar in the Raw) sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

In small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla, zest and egg and beat until well incorporated. 

Switch mixer to low speed.  Alternatively, start adding dry ingredients and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Pour batter into prepared cake pan and smooth top.  Scatter berries evenly over the top.  Sprinkle Turbinado sugar evenly over top of everything. 

Put into preheated oven.  Bake cake 20-25 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool to warm, about 10 to 15 minutes more (if you can manage it!)  Invert onto plate.  Devour. 

Corn Bread with Dried Cranberries

Hey.  Drop that.  And drop that.  No, seriously, drop everything and get your sweet little butt into the kitchen.  You need to make this.  Make this immediately.  And eat it warm.  And then even try to tell me you aren't in love with it.  I bet you can't.

It all started innocently enough.  I was reading the cookbook I bought for myself in my end-of-tax-season celebration and I saw something that would use some of the leftover buttermilk I had in my fridge.  And sure, it called for dried blueberries, but why couldn't I use the handful of dried cranberries I still had in my pantry, purchased on my very first Greenville Costco trip.



If all I needed to buy was a bag of good yellow corn meal, I was in.  And lucky for you, it all came about. 

This cornbread is delicious.  It came out of the oven and I really tried to imagine not cutting it and eating it immediately.  See, it's traveling with me to Terre Haute, IN this weekend, and I figured it'd be sweet to bring it whole.  But then I realized, in the name of food blogs everywhere, it was my duty and my honor to taste it if I was going to blog about it.  And that's my defense.  Granted, there are no excuses for the second and third I went back for.  But no one has to know about those. 

 
It was by the sheer grace of God that I managed to wrap the rest of it up in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.  I did double layers to discourage any trickle of an idea that I could just unwrap it for another slice.  My second choice was to hide it somewhere.  Which may explain why it's already packed into my suitcase.

Ben was trying to guess what it was that I'm bringing this weekend.  Spoil the boy as I have, he is no longer surprised that I bring something homecooked, something usually sweet.  Not telling him what I'm bringing is the only element of surprise I have left.  The only hints I gave him was that in contained both butter and deliciousness.  And really, what else do you really need to know?

Two quick notes: when the butter is melting in the pan in the oven, watch it like a hawk.  It'll go from sizzling to burnt quick.  Also, when you pour the batter into the pan, some of that melted butter will come up the sides and on to the top.  I was worried about it, but as far as I can tell, didn't effect the beauty or pure deliciousness of the corn bread.  Guten Appetit! 

Corn Bread with Dried Cranberries

Adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook

4 Tbsp. (60 g.) unsalted butter
2/3 c. (105 g.) yellow cornmeal, preferably stone ground
2/3 c. (105 g.) all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. (250 ml )buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c. (60 g.) dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (190 degree C).

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter and set aside.  Cut up the remaining 2 tbsp. butter into a 9-inch round cake pan.  Place pan in oven until it is hot and the butter is melted and sizzling, about 3 minutes (Watch!)  Using oven mitts, rotate the pan as need to coat bottom evenly with melted butter.  Remove from oven. 

In large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Make a well in the center.  Pour in buttermilk, melted butter and beaten egg.  Using a wooden spoon, mix the batter just until it comes together, it's ok to have some lumps.  Do a quick chop of the cranberries and stir them in.  Spread batter evenly into the hot pan. 

Bake at 375 until "the top springs back when pressed gently in the center", about 20 to 25 minutes.  Let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.  Best served warm.