Emma and Lily

Monday, May 03, 2010

French Breakfast Puffs

From Ree Drummond's book The Pioneer Woman Cooks (The woman is not afraid to use butter!)

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease muffin cups (mine made 17). It's VERY important to grease the muffin tin, rather than using cake liners! In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening. Add the eggs and mix again. Alternate adding 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the milk to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Remove the muffins from the pan and set aside.

To make the coating, melt the butter in a bowl or glass pan. In a separate container, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Dip the warm muffins in the butter, coating thoroughly. Then, roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Don't be afraid to really coat 'em up. Let the kids help!

After cooling completely, puffs can be frozen in plastic bags and reheated later. Yield: 12-18 muffins.