Southern California Cooking from the Cottage (7 page)
Cherry-Almond Muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Apple Oatmeal Muffins
Cranberry-Nut Muffins
Health Muffins
King Kong Muffins
Raspberry Millet Muffins
Buttermilk Coffee Cake
CHERRY-ALMOND MUFFINS
O
ne day we were thinking up ideas for muffins that would be unusual and tasty. Cherry almond muffins, moist and visually appealing, perfectly filled the bill.
Muffins:
6 tablespoons orange juice
cup dried cherries
1 (7-ounce) package almond paste, crumbled
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot
3 large eggs
1½ teaspoons grated orange peel
1 cup and 1 tablespoon flour
½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sliced almonds
Glaze:
½ cup confectioners' sugar plus some for dusting
1 tablespoon milk
To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 375
o
F. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin or two 6-cup tins. In a small pot heat the orange juice to a simmer. Remove from the stove, add the cherries, and let sit for 10 minutes to soften. In a mixing bowl beat together the almond paste and butter until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition. Add the cherries with their juice and the orange peel. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add to the cherry mixture, stirring just to blend. Fill the muffin cups to the top, and sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
When the muffins have slightly cooled, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl combine ½ cup of the confectioners' sugar with the milk, adding only a drop or two of the milk at a time. Once the consistency is like heavy cream, drizzle it over the muffins. Once the glaze has set, heavily dust the muffins with more confectioners' sugar.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS
BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
A
s I see it, blueberry muffins are synonymous with breakfast. Ours are a bit different than most, because sour cream gives them extra flavor and moistness.
1¼ cups sugar
1 stick butter or margarine, softened
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups blueberries
Preheat the oven to 350
o
F. Grease and line one 12-cup or two 6-cup muffin tins. In a large bowl beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time mixing after each addition. Mix in the sour cream until blended. In a small bowl mix together the flour and baking powder. Stir the flour mixture into the sour cream mixture until just blended. Add the blueberries and stir gently. Pour the batter into the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 25 minutes.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS
Variation:
For red, white, and blue muffins decrease blueberries to 1 cup and add 1 cup raspberries.
APPLE OATMEAL MUFFINS
T
here are lots of good flavors in these muffins that are stuffed with apples and oats and brown sugar.
2 eggs
6 tablespoons softened butter or margarine
1 cup sour cream
cup raisins
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1½ cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 350
o
F. Grease and line a muffin tin. In a large bowl combine the eggs, butter, sour cream, raisins, brown sugar, oats, and apples, mixing well. In a smaller bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add this mixture to the batter, stirring until just blended. Fill the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool slightly before removing muffins from the tin.
MAKES 8 TO 10 MUFFINS
CRANBERRY-NUT MUFFINS
W
e originally served cranberry nut muffins only in the fall, but they became so popular that we now bake them year-round.
1¼ cups sugar
1 stick butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup whole milk
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup whole dried cranberries
Preheat the oven to 350
o
F. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin or two 6-cup tins. In a large mixing bowl beat the sugar and butter until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. In a smaller bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture and the milk alternately to the sugar mixture, mixing well after each addition. When combined, fold in the walnuts and cranberries. The batter will be thick. Fill the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS
HEALTH MUFFINS
R
egular customer Tobie S. says, “The delicious, nutritious and guilt-free Health Muffins are so good that even though I've moved from La Jolla to downtown San Diego, I make a pilgrimage each week to the Cottage to pick up my supply.”
cup egg whites
cup diced dried fruit
cup apple juice
1½ cups mashed bananas
cup canola oil
2½ cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ cups blueberries, thaw if frozen
Preheat the oven to 350
o
F. Grease and line a muffin tin for 10 muffins. In a large bowl combine the egg whites, dried fruit, apple juice, bananas, oil, and oats and mix well. In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix well. Fold in the blueberries, being careful not to overmix. Fill the muffin cups to the top with the batter. Bake for 25 minutes.
MAKES 10 MUFFINS
CALIFORNIA BREAKFAST
A
s people who strongly believe that breakfast is not only the most important but also the best meal of the day, we have always had a special fondness for California mornings. It is our theory that the regional taste for hearty breakfast goes back to pioneer days, when those who came west needed plenty of calories to farm, lumber, or mine gold. Today, from baked apple pancakes in Portland to stuffed French toast at the Cottage, the West Coast is breakfast heaven.
While the Cottage serves lunch year-round and dinner in the summers, many regular customers think of it as their breakfast place. Carol and Lew Brown, who have been coming for years and love the pancakes, explained to us that sitting down at the Cottage is part of their morning routine. “We walk the Cove, then stroll over here for breakfast,” Carol told us.
“Or vice-versa,” Lew added. “You either build up an appetite by walking, or you eat, then walk it off.”
Ann Gotfredson, another morning Cove-walker and Cottage habitué, says that she and her husband, Bob, love breakfast because they can have it outside on the patio and start the day enjoying the fresh air. “I like it here because you can eat so healthy,” Ann says. “The food isn't heavy or greasy; it's fresh. I have two scrambled egg whites, O.J., and a latte. Bob, on the other hand, loves the cinnamon rolls. He's always kidding the waitresses, calling for âMore sugar on top!'”
