Posts Tagged ‘vanilla’
Mexican Vanilla Mini-Muffins with Vanilla Syrup
It took two weeks to convince my husband to watch “The Duchess” with me, but last night he finally caved. It wasn’t my claim that period pieces aren’t really ‘chick flicks’ that did it (“Yea, right,” he said), but rather the intoxicating aroma of Mexican Vanilla Mini-Muffins. Remember those old-time cartoons where the characters would literally float down the stairs, guided by their noses and the scent of fresh food? That’s pretty much what my husband did, wandering into the living room just as I put a platter of muffins on the table. He knew what they were because I’ve made them before, so as I drizzled vanilla syrup on two of them he said, “Oooo, can I have one?”
“Sure baby… I was just about to watch ‘The Duchess’ with these. Do you want to join me?”
Sometimes a gal has to do what a gal has to do.
110 minutes later that movie was over, and though my husband didn’t hate it, he didn’t love it either. But I got what I wanted: some quality chick flick time (ok! I admit it! it’s a chick flick!) with my guy. When the final credits rolled he gave me one of those “Aren’t you glad I love you this much?” looks, then announced, “I need to watch something with explosions now.” Ah well. At least we had muffins. 
If you read my previous post, “How I Ate My Cake, and Lost Weight Too,” you’ll know that these muffins were part of our budgeted treats for the week. We each enjoyed two mini-muffins, and the rest were sent to my husband’s office this morning. It was a bittersweet farewell, but it’s just too tempting to have goodies like that lying around the kitchen!
Part II of my balanced eating series will be online next week. I’m toying with the idea of starting a 2nd blog with my non-baking recipes and weight loss tips/tricks…or perhaps creating a new category on this blog for that purpose as Jen suggested. What do you think? I can’t tell you how often I’ve resisted posting something here because it was just too far off the “baking” theme.
This Mexican Vanilla Mini-Muffin recipe, which gets its name from the use of Mexican vanilla beans, belongs to Marcy Goldman. She graciously gave me permission to post it here when I told her that people were asking for the recipe after I tweeted about it last weekend. If you want to sample more of Marcy’s recipes you can try her Blueberry-Raspberry Honey-Butter Glazed Scones, previously posted on this site, or visit her online at BetterBaking.com. These muffins appear in her book A Passion for Baking and if you’re in the market for a new baking book, I encourage you to check this one out.
Mexican Vanilla Muffins
Reprinted with permission from A Passion For Baking, by Marcy Goldman. You can visit her online at www.betterbaking.com.
Ingredients: Makes 24 mini muffins or 14-16 regular sized ones.
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- Scrapings of 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups cake flour *
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup (see note below for comments)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
For the Vanilla Syrup (Optional)
* stir the cake flour before scooping and measuring
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and generously spray a 24-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray (or use paper liners) or 14-16 regular muffins cups. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until well blended. If using vanilla bean, cream the scrapings of the bean in with butter. (Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use a small knife to scrape out the insides.)
Blend in eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and gradually add milk. Scrape down the bowl often to make sure all is evenly incorporated. If you didn’t use a vanilla bean, fold in the vanilla paste at this point.
Spoon batter into preparing muffin cups, filling each ¾ full. Bake until lightly golden brown, 17-20 minutes for little muffins, 20-24 minutes for larger ones, or until muffins spring back when lightly pressed with fingertips.
Meanwhile, for the Vanilla Syrup, gently boil sugar, corn syrup and water for 5 minutes. Cool to almost room temperature and stir in vanilla. Brush each muffin with vanilla syrup twice and let stand. (I just drizzled the syrup on top with a spoon and give it a few minutes to absorb into the muffins).
Note: Instead of cake flour you can use 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
Ari’s note: Although corn syrup gets a bad rap as a sweetener, in moderation I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) has been linked to obesity because people eat so much of it – in soda, for instance. You can read more about HFCS at WebMD.
Marcy tells me that honey could be used as a substitute for corn syrup, but the resulting mixture won’t taste the same so if it is an issue you may simply want to omit the corn syrup altogether. Also, Nancy found a homemade substitute for corn syrup that may be worth a try. Thanks for sharing in the comments Nancy.
p.s. The muffins are yummy without the syrup too.
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