Sunday, August 21, 2011

From Monday Blues To Monday Mania

If you like encouragement, and most people do, then you should hook up with An at Baker Street, and join us for Muffin Mondays.  This is my third week to participate, and my family already starts pestering me mid-week about what the newest muffin flavor is. It's great to see their excitement and know they appreciate the tasty treats. The downside, however, is that even the in-laws and out-laws want to drop in to see what's baking. Some I can handle, others make me so tense I could crack walnuts with my butt cheeks.


The fun thing about their excitement, or Monday Mania, is that I can tease and taunt them with the muffin details they so desperately desire!  Now, if you're thinking I have a twisted sense of humour, and would actually enjoy making them beg for details, you're right.



This  weeks torment was especially entertaining because the recipe calls for Snickers Bars; so, when they were seen on the counter and told not to eat them, the suspense over what they were for became unbearable. Ah, such fun. That's right, Snickers Bars in a muffin! I'm sure that makes you want to stop reading, skip straight to the ingredients, and start mixing, but bear with me.


When I first saw the recipe had peanut butter and Snickers Bars, I thought; 'Oh yeah! Gonna be awesome'. In actuality, though, these were not one of my favorite muffins.  They weren't real moist, but I slightly over baked them, so I overlooked that at first. The biggest disappointment was the lack of flavor depth that we expected from the peanut butter and candy bars. 'Sort of bland' seemed to be the universal sentiment. It was like having a gorgeous girl answer the door on a blind date, only to smile and have no front teeth. That's not to say they aren't worth making; after all, variety is the spice of life, right? I didn't get any requests to make a second batch, though, like I did with the donut muffins from last week. Much like not asking for a second date with Toofless Tonya.

After the initial 'blah' response, I used some leftover chocolate fudge icing from a cake project to jazz up the rest, which seemed to help broaden the smiles and whet the appetites.


All in all, if you like peanut butter and Snickers, you should make them. I would suggest, however, that you increase the peanut butter and maybe add a little more sugar.  Also, be sure to visit An's site here and check out the posts from other participants. You never know, others may have turned out awesome, meaning I possibly made a mistake. It happens :)

Snickers and Peanut Butter Muffins

Recipe:  Nigella Lawson

Yield:  12 muffins
1 2/3 cups flour
6 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
6 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
¾ cup milk
3 regular size Snickers bars, chopped
12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add the peanut butter and  mix.  Add the melted butter and egg to the milk, and then stir this into the bowl.  Mix in the Snickers pieces and spoon into the muffin cups.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the muffins are fluffy and golden.  Let them cool on a wire rack.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

If you usually have the Monday Blues, try signing up to bake with us, and see if Muffin Monday Mania takes over your house, too! :-)   What's YOUR favorite muffin?

16 comments:

  1. Wow, the frosting/fudge makes reading this post all worth it. Well, and the fact that I laughed about 4 times before the end of it! I'm not a huge fan of Snickers actually (the peanut in chocolate/nougat thing not my thing)but certainly can be adapted. I like to under-bake my muffins and just leave them in the tin for that carry over baking :P But, you've got nifty fancy paper molds...sheesh. You're such a legit baker Alan ;) (Send me some and send the internation shipping bill to An!)

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  2. Aww... Sorry that you didn't like them. These are one of my all time favorites. Mainly because despite the peanut butter and snickers they are not so sweet.

    I like fudge topping. :)

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  3. Alan, sounds like you had lots of fun baking these for Muffin Monday ! And that's what it's all about! Happy Monday !

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  4. What a hoot! Please please please can I watch you cook next time? LOL

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  5. ahahaha like a gorgeous girl with no teeth. You are hilarious Alan!! They look moist and beautiful but I believe you you illustrated your sentiments well!! :)

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  6. I like the chocolate fudge topping! they were a hit around here, my sister and cousin loved them :)

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  7. Oooh...the icing...I agree that would probably make them better, I also was a bit surprised they were not as sweet as the ingredient list made me think they'd be. And the whole "seen on the counter and told not to eat them" happens around here too...sometimes with humans, other times with cats:)

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  8. This is amazing. I love Snickers but have never thought of Snicker's muffins. Well done, my friend!!

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  9. Ha ha ha... it's downright cruel how you taunt everyone! And poor Tonya ;) I also thought these would be out of the park because of the ingredients. While I liked how mild they were, they definitely weren't what I was expecting! That chocolate-topped one looks dreamy. Good call.

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  10. LOL! Your posts always make me giggle:-) I can totally imagine you love teasing your family about each muffin recipe, LOL:-) So this is fun, the top of your muffin reminds me of a muffin I love at Panera Bread:-) Your muffins look sooooo good! Hugs, Terra

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  11. this is too delicious !! i love snickers :D have a great week ahead :)

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  12. A little chocolate fudge will take anything to whole new levels of greatness! Sorry you didn't like this week's recipe, I thought they were good but totally agree that the results could have been more moist and the chocolate and peanut butter flavours more intense.

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  13. i was worried they were going to be dense and bland so i added sour cream, banana and vanilla extract def helped! I love your chocolate fudge icing!

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  14. A-ha-ha, Alan on the in-laws and out-laws. I used those terms, too. Jokingly [of course].

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  15. These sound so awesome. I wish Snicker's were calorie and fat free!

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  16. LOL, thanks for that mental image of you (well your butt) & walnuts. Too bad I missed this week but glad to know your notes for when I do bake these.

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