The Fergus Falls Daily Journal

Top o' the muffin to you!

By Allison Myhre

November 5, 2007

1 comment

In one of my favorite episodes of Seinfeld, Elaine gets in the business of selling “muffin tops” (and no I’m not talking about the roll of belly fat that hangs over the pants of someone who hasn’t figured out that low-cut jeans just aren’t for everyone) and ends up wildly successful in “muffin top” sales. As Elaine points out, "it's the best part of the muffin. It's crunchy, it's explosive," etc... However, she then runs into the problem of what to do with the “muffin stumps”.

And in one of the more hilarious Newman scenes, he’s hired as a “cleaner” (think Pulp Fiction) to take care of the piles of muffin stumps that Elaine and Mr. Lippman can’t seem to get rid of. (Even the homeless don’t want the stumps). He brings a cooler full of milk, asks for a glass, and sits down to take care of the muffin stump problem.

Personally, I’ve never meant to not eat the “stump” but most of the time when you buy those crazy big muffins, you can only eat so much and then you wonder, “why did I order that muffin instead of getting the truckers special where I can at least compensate for all those carbs by getting a little protein in my system…”

Anyway, my big problem with muffins is that while I like to make them, and then eat them, I don’t really want them a few hours later. I want fresh muffins! Right out of the oven muffins. And in manageable sizes please.

And I know this isn’t really a problem, but after making a batch of Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins on Sunday morning, I have a half dozen or so sitting around. And I’m just not that interested anymore. I know I can pop one in the microwave and that helps a bit, but it’s just not the same.

My advice: only bake muffins when you have a crowd.

Sunday morning was lovely (and I actually had great lighting for the photo). And so we lounged around eating muffins and some lovely apples and pears roasted in the oven with pure maple syrup and butter.

The muffins were okay, but could have used a little more sugar… I’d double the brown sugar in the muffin batter next time, or maybe used sweetened applesauce.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
Topping:
¼ cup oatmeal (quick or old fashioned)
1 T. firmly packed brown sugar
1 T. melted butter
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Muffins:
1 ½ cup oatmeal (quick or old fashioned)
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup skim milk
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 T. vegetable oil
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 400°F. Line twelve medium muffin cups with paper baking cups or spray bottoms only with cooking spray.
For topping, combine all ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Set aside.
For muffins, combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in large bowl; mix well. In medium bowl, combine applesauce, milk, sugar, oil and egg white; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not overmix.)
Fill muffin cups almost full. Sprinkle with reserved topping, patting gently.
Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan.