Tuesday 11 November 2008

a load of fuss about muffin: peanut butter and chocolate muffins

Oh dear. It's been a while again, hasn't it?

I seem to be perpetually buried under a pile of papers, emerging from time to time only to take the cat for emergency visits to the vet (he's not been a well chappie), or for other incredibly exciting domestic tasks such as shopping, going to the bank, etc.

And this week is no exception, not least because I'll be off and away for 2 weeks from Friday. Wa-hey! But in the meantime, I've got stacks of work to send out and bill, holiday stuff to sort out, etc, etc, etc. Bleurgh.

But.

But. A couple of weekends ago I had a quick go at making some muffins, the recipe for which had rather grabbed me. It said chocolate. It said peanut butter. It said muffins. You get my drift?

Let me make one thing clear. I am not much of a muffin fan. I love English (savoury) muffins, but US-style muffins - well, I just don't see the point. Give me a good old-fashioned slice of cake, preferably crammed with a buttercream filling and slathered with more of the same on top, anytime.

But I don't want to be excused of closing my mind to things. No, not me. I am bold, bloody, and resolute. So here, possibly for the first and last time, I bring you muffins, US-stylee.


peanut butter and chocolate muffins


Were they any good?

Well, yes, actually. Plenty of peanut flavour and plenty of chocolate (always a good thing, obviously). And moist. So, as muffins go, a definite thumbs-up.

And here, so that you can share the love, is the recipe I used, taken from Baking Bites:

Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (or smooth)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (low fat or skim is fine)
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and milk until smooth. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Divide batter into your paper-lined muffin tin. Each cup should be filled to the top, not just half way up, to ensure you get a nice dome on the muffin.
Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the top of the muffin springs back when lightly pressed.
Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12.

I'll confess to having used buttermilk instead of ordinary milk, and dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate chips. The buttermilk worked (giving the muffins more of a scone look on top), but I think milk chocolate would have been marginally preferable to dark chocolate. Whatevah. Do your own thing.

Next time (if there is a next time), I'll add bananas, too. Because I can. I know no bounds.

21 comments:

Sarah said...

I only like muffins when they are really moist and with lots of filling (lots of blueberries, or in this case, the chocolate and peanute butter). These really do look great.

Anonymous said...

You gotta love peanut butter and chocolate. Those muffins look very tasty indeed ;-)

Heather said...

Oh c'mon. Just put frosting on top and call them cupcakes. That's what they are, as far as I'm concerned.

They look quite nice, I might add. I haven't baked muffins (or cupcakes) in some time.

Pia K said...

I'm rather fond of muffins, perhaps not the oversized ones - even if they're good to share and freeze well - but if they're moist and filled with something delightful, like pears, blueberries, bananas and chocolate, saffron and almond paste... These doesn't look half bad either...;) Glad to see a post from you again!

Peter M said...

Delighted to see you back in the cooking/baking mode...it's been too long. Need help with turning the stovetop on?

Anonymous said...

ooh, invite me over when you make the banana version.

you just can't go wrong with a baking bites recipe in my experience.

Manggy said...

Hey, have a great trip! I hope it at least allows you to take a breather. The peanut butter-chocolate combination is heavenly-- and even more so with banana ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on the muffin thing, I don't really get what all the fuss is about. I feel the same way about cupcakes but it's practically illegal to say that out loud so I'll be quiet :)

These do look good though, if I had any peanut butter I'd be tempted to have a go myself.

Frequent Traveler said...

I love good muffins, and the combination of chocolate and peanut butter would make them quite an unusual dessert treat for a cold fall evening !

glamah16 said...

Strangly I'm not a peanut butter fan(i'm weird), but like almond butter. So I would definatly try this with the almond butter and chocolate.I would take a muffin over a cupcake .

Maria said...

These look super delicious!

Sam said...

For US-stylee muffins these look really good! Adding banana is a great idea too!

test it comm said...

Peanut butter and chocolate...mmm...

David Hall said...

Don't worry, paperwork just piles a mile high in our house! As long as you keep returning with top recipes like this, YUM!

Cheers
David

Susan from Food Blogga said...

pb and chocolate. You hit US-style muffins on the head with this one. Yum!

The Peanut Butter Boy said...

Now wait a darn minute, I think I missed these buggers. Can't get any better than this in my opinion! Except maybe adding some banana puree...You could even substitute it for some of the butter and have just that many more excuses to pig out on these.

Rosie said...

Oh it's nice to see you back :)

Those muffins look delicious!

Rosie x

Anna said...

Sounds amazing, and I love the addition of buttermilk! Have a great holiday!

Anonymous said...

Peanut butter and chocolate in a muffin? How much more perfect can this be??!!
Happy Holidays to you and hope you are having a great trip!

Naomi Schaeffer said...

I checked out the original blog where the recipe was retrieved from and the picture of the muffins didn't look nearly as appetizing as what I found on this blog. What was done differently in the baking process I wonder?

Naomi Schaeffer said...

Ok...I read a little farther and found out.