Today is the first day in the past couple of months when I did not travel or rush around. So I overate lemon meringue from Café Noir (the best Western desserts in Bangalore) and got inspired to actually write a blog post.
Not sure why, but the word “muffin” always makes me think of “Moffet” in Silence Of The Lambs. But I love muffins. I mean I LOOOOOVE muffins. I used to buy them for “brunch” and then again for “linner” from some ****hole shop near my office nearby Wall Street. They were de li cious. India challenged me with muffins that were too small, too greasy and too processed-food-tasting. A Swiss friend of mine who made a home in Hyderabad encouraged me to bake them in a toaster oven (India is rather oven-challenged too). I did.
chopped apricot chocolate chip muffin
I started with a basic recipe for cranberry muffins, and then have “done things to it.” Basically, it is all about getting the right consistency of the dough and then watching the toaster oven like a hungry hawk (works great since I am typically very hungry when I get inspired to cook).
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of flour
½ cup of chopped dry apricots
½ cup of nice dark chocolate chips
1 cup of Milk ( I take a little less)
½ cup of sugar
¼ cup of melted butter (replace with extra virgin coconut oil for an exotic flavor)
1-2 drops of vanilla extract (unless using coconut oil)
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 medium egg
Pinch of salt.
Instructions:
Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Combine the remaining except for the apricots and the choco chips in a separate bowl.
Add liquid mixture to the dry mixture, then stir until moistened (the trick is not to over-stir).
Fold in the apricots and the chocolate chips.
Fill muffin cups almost full (I use silicone ones).
Bake at 190°C (170°-180° in the toaster oven) for 25 minutes, turn the baking sheet at 15 minutes for even baking.
The result is nutty-flavored sweet muffin dough with bursts of gooey apricots and chocolate chips. Coconut oil does not make the goodies taste/smell like coconut, but gives the dough a special warm nutty smell and taste (I had to focus not to eat the just-mixed dough, I swear). I like to eat these [ready muffins] hot, taking apart the crunchy top from the soft bottom. I think this would go well with cold milk, too bad I hate drinking milk. But cheers, you, the milk drinkers!