SMS: Orange Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Crumble and Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there who work so hard! And a special wish for happiness to my own sweet Mother. Being a mom is a really tough job and some days there seem to be few if any rewards. On a related note, I have two pretty cute little boys here that I might be willing to part with for the right price (i.e. if you pick them up they are yours). I am just kidding (mostly)! But if anyone has any ideas how to get kids to stop fighting, I am all ears.
Okay on to the recipe. These muffins were so yummy! I loved them and, in my opinion, the pecan crumble really is what separates these muffins from any other blueberry muffins. I could have eaten the whole bowl of that pecan crumble plain (or maybe with a bowl of ice cream) . Luckily I resisted, and I am so glad I did because the synergy of the crumble with the muffin was better. These were really pretty easy to make and I was able to get a dozen regular sized muffins as well as a dozen mini muffins. The only problem I had was the amount of liquid in the batter. Melissa mentions in the recipe that you will need to adjust the amount of liquid in the batter depending on the moisture of the fruit you use. Well blueberries are not as moist as, say, peaches, so I guess I should have used more liquid, but she doesn't specify how much more. Anyway, after I had everything mixed together, I realized it was more the consistency of bread dough than muffin batter, so I added more liquid and because of that I think the muffins were slightly over mixed. Ah well, I will know better next time and this time they still tasted pretty great. Find out how the other SMS bakers did and be sure to check out the wonderful blog of this week's host, Chaya of Sweet and Savory.

Coffee Break Muffins

I don't drink coffee but I like the smell and have been wanting to try Dorie Greenspan's recipe for these muffins, with a little tweaking of my own. The only thing I changed was that I used Postum instead of espresso. I liked them and will make them again but I think next time I will add a tablespoon of cocoa powder just because I personally felt like they needed a little something extra. I thought about adding chocolate chips but I think that might make them a little too sweet and I liked the fact that they were not overly sweet first thing in the morning.
Here is the recipe with my changes...

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. postum
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup hot water with 1 tbsp. postum, cooled
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare a muffin pan.
In a large bowl whisk together the first 6 ingredients. Add the brown sugar. In another bowl whisk the remaining ingredients. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Whisk gently but quickly to blend. Do not overblend. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Bake for 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.