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If there’s butter in the bargain, so much the better

• Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
• February 6, 2021
• 765

Butter is showing up in a big way in our kitchen as I make sweeter things for snacking and breakfast.

You could never accuse me of having a sweet tooth, something for which I’m very grateful. I know turning away from candy, cake and the like is very hard if your body demands those things ‘round the clock, and it can make a struggle against weight gain an almost insurmountable mountain climb.

But while it’s easy for me to turn down dessert, there are times of the day, chiefly in the morning, when I do want something sweet with coffee. If there’s butter in the bargain, so much the better.

Several years ago I ran across a recipe for “French breakfast puffs,” which are unlikely to be French but they are puffy. Americans label anything fancy as “French,” be it lingerie or difficult knots, but I’d grant these could easily be imagined in the display case of a coffee shop somewhere in Lion, if not Paris or, much more likely, Vienna.

These are just nutmeg-flavored small muffins, which are brought into Frenchy fanciness by dipping them, while still quite hot, in melted butter and then rolling them in a sugar and cinnamon mixture.

My wife was skeptical. “What are you making out there?” she asked from the adjacent living room and couch, already into her coffee. “Is it those French thingies you keep talking about? I don’t know if I want muffins. Bleh.”

When they were finished and cooling on a plate and she tasted one, she exclaimed something to a heavenly presence and then used a good swear word. I knew they were a hit. “Oh yes,” she said then, “I get it.”

Being so rich with butter in the mix and in the dip, you shouldn’t eat too many at once. So we managed to stretch the dozen out until mid-afternoon.

When the mood for a pile of muffins strikes, it always comes when there aren’t any blueberries around, or nuts, or anything good to put in them. That’s why I like these so much because you are likely to have everything you need on hand.

The instructions call for creaming together the room-temperature butter and sugar, and this is a skill you’ll need for baking so pay attention to getting it right. Scrape the butter bits off the mixer paddle or beaters and keep mixing until the mixture is indeed creamy and has lost most of its graininess.

I know it’s correct to fuss over salted versus unsalted butter, but if salted butter is what I have, that’s what I’m going to use. Just correct for it in the amount of salt you add.

Also, these are intended to be quite small, so the amount of batter, which is on the heavy side, should barely cover the bottom of your muffin cups.

FRENCH BREAKFAST PUFFS

For the muffins:

5 tablespoons plus one teaspoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the room-temperature butter and 1/2 cup sugar until well mixed and light in texture. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add the egg to the mixing bowl and allow to combine with the sugar and butter mixture. Then add the flour mixture and 1/2 cup milk, alternating between the two. Add the vanilla and mix for about another 30 seconds.

Spoon batter evenly into 12 greased muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, until just barely browned. Remove from the oven and run a butter knife around the edges of each muffin to free it. While hot, dip each muffin in the melted butter and then roll in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Serve while still warm.