The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook (117 page)

1.
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Pour in the cream; stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. The dough will still be wet and tacky.

2.
Turn out the dough onto a well-floured work surface, and pat into a square about ½ inch thick. Let rest about 5 minutes.

3.
Using a 2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out 24 rounds. Gather together the scraps; pat into a square, and cut out more rounds. Place on a baking sheet, and bake until golden on the tops, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven; immediately brush the tops with butter. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MAKING MUFFINS, STEP BY STEP

1. For best results, bring the milk, eggs, and butter to room temperature. Take these ingredients out of the refrigerator before you start, letting them warm up as you measure the dry ingredients.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; pour in the wet ingredients.

4. With a rubber spatula, fold the wet mixture into the dry one, with as few strokes as possible.

5. Fill buttered muffin tins about three-quarters of the way with batter. This leaves enough room for a crumb topping.

breakfast muffins

MAKES 12

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

½ vanilla bean, split and scraped

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cup sugar

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cup milk, room temperature

1 large egg, room temperature

1¼ cups fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or peaches

Streusel (recipe follows)

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter a standard muffin tin. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; whisk to combine.

2.
In a medium bowl, combine the butter, vanilla bean scrapings, sugar, milk, and egg; whisk to combine. Fold the butter mixture and fruit into the flour mixture; use no more than 10 strokes.

3.
Spoon ¼ cup batter into each prepared cup; press 2 tablespoons streusel on top of each. Bake until the tops are golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven; let cool in the pan 15 to 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

streusel

MAKES ENOUGH FOR 12 STANDARD MUFFINS

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

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cup all-purpose flour

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cup confectioners’ sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Put all ingredients in a medium bowl; mix with your fingers until the mixture is moist and crumbly.

MUFFIN VARIATIONS

When you want a change from plain muffins, add fresh fruit or nuts (see suggestions below). You can add one or a combination of mix-ins, as long as the total volume does not exceed 1¼ cups. Good combinations include peach and pecan, blueberry and lemon zest, raspberry and walnut, and strawberry and orange zest.

¾ cup walnut pieces

¾ cup pecan halves

1¼ cups sliced strawberries (about ½-inch pieces)

1¼ cups sliced peaches (about ½-inch pieces)

1¼ cups blueberries

1¼ cups raspberries

2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh orange zest

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

applesauce muffins

MAKES 18

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

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teaspoon ground cloves

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1½ cups packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs

Apple Cider Applesauce (recipe follows) or 1½ cups store-bought applesauce

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin and a 6-cup tin with paper liners. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves together into a medium bowl. Set aside.

2.
Put 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, the granulated sugar, and ½ cup brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs, 1 at a time. On low speed, mix in the applesauce and then the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts by hand.

3.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the tins on a wire rack.

4.
Meanwhile, in the clean bowl of the electric mixer, mix the cream cheese with the remaining 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter and 1 cup brown sugar on medium speed until smooth. Spread the cream cheese frosting on the muffins. The muffins can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 2 days.

apple cider applesauce

MAKES 1½ CUPS

1 pound juicy apples, such as McIntosh, peeled, cored, and quartered

¾ cup apple cider

1 tablespoon sugar, plus more if needed

Pinch of salt

1.
Bring the apples and cider to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover the pan; reduce heat. Simmer until the apples are very soft, about 12 minutes. Stir in the sugar and salt.

2.
Cook (uncovered) over medium-low heat until the apples have broken down and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

3.
Puree in a food processor until smooth. Add more sugar, if desired. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.

health muffins

MAKES 12

If you prefer, you can bake these muffins in a standard muffin tin; spoon ¼ cup batter into each cup.

Nonstick cooking spray (optional)

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup wheat bran

3 tablespoons flaxseed, ground, plus more for garnish

1¼ teaspoons baking powder

1¼ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

5 carrots, finely grated

10 ounces (about 15) dried figs, sliced into eights

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cup applesauce

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cup honey

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a
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-cup muffin tin with cooking spray, or line with paper cups; set aside.

2.
Combine the flour, bran, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl; whisk to combine. Add the carrots, figs, applesauce, honey, eggs, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, stir until just combined.

3.
Spoon ½ cup batter into each prepared cup, and bake until the tops are golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven; let cool in the pan 12 to 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

brown sugar cornbread

MAKES TWO 9 × 4¼-INCH LOAVES

This cornbread—made slightly sweet with the addition of dark brown sugar—mixes very easily: Just whisk together the dry ingredients; melt the butter and sugar; and whisk in cold milk to cool the liquid. Next, whisk in the eggs, then stir the brown sugar mixture into the cornmeal, scrape the batter into the pan, and bake.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for the pans

2
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cups yellow cornmeal

2 cups all-purpose flour

2½ tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup packed dark-brown sugar

2 cups milk

4 large eggs, beaten

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Butter 2 9 × 4½-inch loaf pans; set aside.

2.
In a large bowl, whisk together the yellow cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.

3.
Heat the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat just until melted, and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; whisk in the milk and then the eggs. Pour into the dry mixture, stirring just until blended, and divide evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing the tops.

4.
Bake until the loaves are golden and a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Turn the loaves out onto racks to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

orange breakfast biscuits

MAKES 12

2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

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cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1¼ teaspoons coarse salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces