Sunday, June 22, 2008

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Am I the only person who feels compelled to sing that song whenever I eat a muffin? Okay, maybe I am..... Anyways, I've been in the mood to bake (and eat!) muffins all week, so that's what I've been doing!

I had not planned on making the Carrot Raisin Muffins from VWAV, but after realizing that I have not tried any of the muffin recipes from that book *gasp*, I rushed to find what ingredients I had on hand, so these sounded perfect! They were pretty good; I loved the golden, crispy top to these muffins, but I think I would change a few things next time I make them. While the raisins added a wonderful burst of flavor and sweetness to these, I still think they were a little bland so next time I will use brown sugar instead of white, increase the amount of sugar from 1/4 c. to 1/3 c., and add a touch more cinnamon. I can't believe I went this long without trying any of the muffins from VWAV (I think I just forgot they were in there...)!

My mom and I had to make a stop at Whole Foods this week to grab something, and while I was there I couldn't resist buying a muffin from the Chicago Diner. They had several varieties, but I really wanted a bran muffin, so I bought a Bran Date Nut Muffin. While eating it, I noticed that there was some flavor that was just...."off." About half way through the muffin I realized what it was: I remembered that I hate the flavor of dates. Haha- I guess I should have gotten a different type of muffin then.... Still wanting to satisfy my craving for a delicious bran muffin, I decided to make even more muffins the following day.


I adapted this recipe from VegWeb to make the BEST bran muffins EVER!! I actually used blueberries in only half of the batter (bottom photo) and raisins in the other half (top photo) because I didn't have a lot of blueberries left, plus the fact that I love raisin bran muffins. Both varieties turned out wonderfully moist and delicious and I honestly can't say which one I like more. The rest of my family loved these as well, because they were all gone by the next morning! As you can see from the picture, these muffins had a little trouble rising, so I think I'm going to play around with the leavening in hopes of making these have the beloved muffins tops.

In addition to all of the muffins that you see above, I have also been playing around with some muffins recipes that I have created, so I'll hopefully perfect those soon (not in three months, like my last muffin recipe) and be able to share them with you guys!

6 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Haha, I forgot about the song!! Brings me back to my early childhood :0)

Chicago Diner baked goods = incredible.

Wow, those bran muffins look great!!

J said...

Wow, you have been on a muffin kick!

I really want to try the Chicago Diner.

I honestly don't know if I've ever had dates or not.

Mmmm, it has been ages since I've had a good bran muffin, and they are one of my favorite kinds of muffin!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Ooh no, you're completely normal! I sing that song to myself too when I eat muffins!

(Or maybe we're BOTH odd?) ;o)

Anonymous said...

It's been a long time since I made the VwaV carrot raisin muffins, but man, were they good! Really, I think it's more difficult to make a bad muffin than a good one, if you ask me- Muffins are inherently delicious!

Vegan_Noodle said...

I think muffins are one of those food that you definitely can get in the mood for and eat a ton of 'em. I haven't been in the mood for awhile, but this post has me hankering for a muffin!!

Erin said...

Hahaha, you bought a date muffin even though you don't like dates? Now that's funny. I don't like dates either, so I understand. I do love bran muffins though, so dense and healthy!