Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins

The Austin Bakes group did it again. After coming together in 2011 for a hugely successful fundraising bake sale following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, additional sales have been held over the years to raise funds for recovery efforts from natural disasters and other crises. Immediately after Hurricane Harvey, this most recent bake sale was planned. Local food bloggers, food enthusiasts, and food businesses all volunteer their time and donate baked goods for multiple locations that are set up around Austin. And, once again, the local community was incredibly supportive of the event. The goal of raising $20,000 was achieved, and the online giving page is still active for additional donations. I love an opportunity to bake for a good cause, and right away I started pulling cookbooks off the shelves to decide what to make this time. I often reach for the Huckleberry book for baking, and the Muffins chapter is one I want to bake through page by page. For the bake sale, I made both the Chocolate Chunk Muffins and the Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins. I really liked both recipes, but I want to tell you more about the Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins since they’re so great for fall. 

Perfectly timed, I had receivced local apples from my CSA to use here. The apples were peeled and grated, and I waited to do that until just before folding into the batter to prevent the apple from turning brown. First, the crumble mixture was made with oats, whole wheat flour, softened butter, brown sugar, honey, millet, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, and a little salt. The butter was worked into the other ingredients by hand until well mixed and crumbly. Then, it was refrigerated. For the muffin batter, whole wheat flour, almond flour, wheat germ, millet, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt were whisked together. In a separate bowl, melted butter, honey, buttermilk, oil, an egg, and vanilla were combined. The wet ingredients were added to the dry, and the batter was stirred to combine. Last, the grated apple was folded into the batter. After the muffins cups were filled, the chilled crumble mixture was sprinkled on top of each, and the muffins were baked for about 20 minutes. 

This is a muffin that’s packed with lots of good-for-you stuff, but it’s not at all a boring health-food kind of muffin. Even with the wholegrains and seeds, the interior has a very tender crumb. And, a crumble topping and I are always friends. I was happy to bring these to the bake sale, but now I want to bake another batch all for myself. 

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Cherry Tomato and Goat Cheese Cobbler

I keep coming back to the book Huckleberry. I had a feeling this would happen when I first read it. I haven’t baked my way entirely through the Muffins chapter yet, but I did find out just how delicious the Chocolate Chunk Muffins are. And, I don’t know how I haven’t baked the Blueberry Brioche or made the Brown Rice Quinoa Pancakes yet but I will eventually. Lately, I’ve been flipping back through the pages of all the savory dishes for breakfast or brunch. The photos of the sandwiches cause serious cravings. The Fried Green Tomato and Spicy Slaw Tartine and the Smashed Avocado Toast with Hard-Boiled Eggs and Anchovy Dressing will need to happen soon. But then, I remembered this lovely tomato cobbler that Barbara showed on her blog back in April. Roasted cherry tomatoes were topped with biscuits made with a mix of whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and cornmeal. I had pretty, little Juliet red tomatoes, Sungold yellow cherry tomatoes, and local heirloom cornmeal, and the time was right for this cobbler. It’s pretty quick and easy to prepare, and it’s even easier if you make the biscuits in advance and leave them in the freezer. 

To start the biscuits, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt were combined. Butter was worked into the flours by hand, and this is the way I almost always make pastry, scones, or biscuits. You can really feel how well the butter is getting worked in, and you stop when the butter pieces are broken up just enough. Buttermilk was added to bring the dough together, and it was transferred to a board to knead a couple of times. The biscuits were cut, and they were placed on a baking sheet in the freezer. I made them a couple of days in advance. For the cobbler, cherry tomatoes were cooked on top of the stove, and I added some garlic and crushed red chiles. Once they were softened, I transferred them to a baking dish. The tomatoes were topped with the biscuits, and the biscuits were brushed with an egg wash. The cobbler baked for about 25 minutes, and then goat cheese was sprinkled around between the biscuits. The oven temperature was increased, and the cobbler went back in for another 10 minutes. I topped the cobbler with chopped basil before serving. 

Juicy, roasted, summer tomatoes with fresh, mild goat cheese and buttery biscuits make a lovely, leisurely meal for a weekend morning. The biscuits rise and turn golden on top while soaking up tomato juices from below for a great crisp and tender texture contrast. Looking at how many other dishes I want to try in this book, some breakfast-for-dinner nights will come in handy. 

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Three-Cheese Rye Biscuits

The new book Huckleberry, from the Bakery and Cafe in Santa Monica of the same name, by Zoe Nathan is easy for me to like. As I read my review copy, page after page held something I wanted to try baking, flavors I wanted to taste, and breakfasts I knew would be delicious. I’m easily entertained by the thought of baking lots of different types of breakfast treats, but seriously, I wanted to grab the mixing bowls and bake every single muffin recipe in the first chapter. It starts with Cooca Nib Muffins with Dark Chocolate Glaze and goes on to include Lemon Cornmeal Muffins with Lemon Glaze, Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Chocolate Muffins, Fig-Brown Sugar Muffins, and more. It’s not just the baked goods and breakfast dishes in the book that appealed to me either. There’s also a nice mix of various flours and whole grains that appear in several recipes. But, those wholesome, whole grains aren’t there just to be healthy ingredients. They’re added for flavor and texture, and there’s no lack of decadence in these recipes. There are Brown Rice Quinoa Pancakes, Multigrain Pancakes, and Ricotta Griddlecakes. Then, there are chapters for Sandwiches, Hearty plates with an Egg on Top, and Coffee and Other Beverages. In deciding where to start, I put my sweet tooth on hold for just a moment while I mixed up the Three-Cheese Rye Biscuits. Despite the rye flour and whole wheat flour, these are anything but a health-food kind of biscuit. They’re buttery and tender with cream cheese and grated cheddar and parmesan. 

Step one was to combine the dry ingredients which include rye flour, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Next, cold pieces of butter were worked into the flours followed by cream cheese that was worked in in the same way. Then, the grated cheddar and parmesan were added with buttermilk. The dough was transferred to a work surface and briefly kneaded to bring it together. To form the biscuits, an ice cream scoop was used. After scooping each biscuit onto a baking sheet, I flattened them a little to prevent domed tops. The sheets pans with biscuits were placed in the freezer for a couple of hours before baking. I only baked half of them at first since, once frozen, the raw biscuits can remain in the freezer for up to a month. They went straight from the freezer to the oven with a quick stop for an application of an egg wash and a sprinkling of fleur de sel. 

If someone offered me a whole grain rye biscuit, this is not what I would expect to receive. These biscuits were as indulgent as any I’ve tasted previously. The cheeses and crunchy salt sprinkled on top add savory flavor. They were perfect with a vegetable scramble for brunch. Some breakfast or brunch dishes in our not-too-distant future will probably include Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Parmesan and Eggs, Vegetarian Croque, Lentils with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Sunny-Side-Up Eggs, and lots of muffins. I think I need to get back to the kitchen now. 

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