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?