Hobnob Kitchen

Time to revisit these favorites!

I first tasted these luscious muffins back in ye olden days of high school. The fact that they had “French” in the name intrigued me almost as much as their taste. As a homegrown Texas girl who had never traveled much out of the state much less internationally, I was eager to up my sophistication game any way I could. In retrospect though, I was, in fact, a member in good standing of the French Club and had participated in Culture night where we ate a “French “ meal, the highlight of which was putting snails from a can between two pieces of Mrs. Baird’s white bread with mustard. Clearly I’d been around.

These muffins were even better than my very hopeful palate had anticipated,and even though I’ve since learned that they’re not particularly French, they’re still one of my top breakfast treats today. The nutmeg (fresh is best) is the star and combined with the cinnamon and butter? Cold morning perfection.

French Breakfast Puffs

Ingredients

3 c. Flour   

3 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Ground Nutmeg (freshly ground is best)

1 c. Sugar

2/3 c. Shortening (Crisco)- don’t try to substitute oil or butter; trust me, I know.

2 whole Eggs

1 c. Milk

1 1/2 c. Sugar

2 tsp. Cinnamon

2 sticks Butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a another bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening. Then add eggs and mix again. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.

Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

In a bowl, melt 2 sticks butter. In a separate bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Dip baked muffins in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture.