Today was a butter-on-the-couch day. Except this time it wasn’t butter on the couch (that was actually my sister’s kid). Today was a milk-seeping-under-the-computer day (not to be confused with the lotion-smeared-on-the-computer incident.)
Of course I’m referring to the things our children do (or destroy) that we have to clean up, when we would rather be doing something else. Such is motherhood! Somehow it’s all worth it! This morning as I finally finished putting on my mascara and left the bathroom, I realized it was 10am. Midmorning, and barely dressed! What did I do all morning?? Oh yeah, mopped up spilled milk. (This milk was less spilled, and more artistically spread about, I would say. A true joy!) My BFF Sarah had another good one a while back: “Sometimes I stare at my to do list and wonder how I got nothing done, and then I remember: it’s because I didn’t put “clean jello out of dollhouse” on it.”
Raise your hand if you’ve tried these muffins!! The first time I had them was in college when Sarah would make them all the time. It’s an absolute classic (that I had never had before!) If you go to the original Betty Crocker recipe, you can read comments from ladies talking about how they made this in Home Ec back in the 70s. It’s been around a while! They are called French Breakfast Puffs but I don’t really know why. They’re basically Snickerdoodle muffins. I imagine some cook in the Betty Crocker test kitchen feeling like ‘muffin’ was too common a word for these delightful things–“I know, I’ll call them a puff! A French puff, even!” Oh so fancy.
Honestly, these taste like doughnut holes but with none of the work (read: no frying). Because you are dipping the entire muffin in butter, it creates this delightful little crust, made even crunchier because of the cinnamon-sugar coating. It really does imitate that blessed outer-edge-of-the-donut-crackle. I’ve never made these as mini muffins before, but have heard that it’s delicious. I bet it would make them even more perfectly pop-able. The recipe as written makes 10 muffins; I imagine you could get 20-24 mini muffins out of one batch.
There is nothing fussy about this recipe. It comes together dangerously fast. I did change up the original a bit. Instead of shortening, I used butter, and I doubled the nutmeg because I love the stuff. I used ground nutmeg, but if you have fresh nutmeg that would be amazing! You might want to add a bit less than 1/2 teaspoon if using fresh. (Unless you are like a mega nutmeg person.)
Later this week I am heading to a blogging conference at the Googleplex! That’s Google headquarters. (I know, what? Like, they aren’t all just working at home in their jammies?) My husband Eric visited Facebook headquarters for work one time, and found out that all the food is free. Like, all of it. Sign me up for that, dude. (Google? Free food pls?)
P.S. Some exciting changes are coming to The Food Charlatan soon! I cannot WAIT to share! It will be several more weeks but stay tuned for updates and sneak peaks! Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter One year ago: Chewy Brown Sugar Snickerdoodle Blondies Two years ago: Gruyere-Crisped Potatoes Au Gratin Six years ago: Gnocchi with Carrot and Zucchini Red Sauce More muffin recipes to love! Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake Muffins with Maple Syrup «why don’t we always drizzle syrup on our muffins?? I mean…
Raspberry Lemon Glazed Muffins « these are perfect for spring!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins « These are such a popular recipe!
Other recipes for “French” Breakfast Puffs! French Breakfast Puffs from The Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Brown Butter Breakfast Puffs from Smitten Kitchen «neeeed to try this with browned butter! French Breakfast Puffs from 365 Days of Baking
