Raspberry Muffins

Today I bring you Leslie’s raspberry muffins… maybe we’ll call this “what’s cookin’ with Leslie”!  As you may know, I am not a baker.  I’m terrified of yeast dough’s and all my cookies turn out flat no matter what secret trick I use.  Leslie is known for her famous raspberry muffins and after eating one warm from the oven I now know why.  Her muffins are dense and not too sweet, just the way I like them.  I’m not sure why I thought making homemade muffins would be difficult because they’re actually really simple.  Though the list of steps is fairly long, each step is quite simple.  It’s important to follow the steps exactly or else the texture of the muffins could be compromised.  You don’t want to overwork the batter!  Something I found interesting is that she doesn't sift her flour or level off her measuring cups.  I guess baking doesn't always have to be totally exact as the muffins turned out quite delicious.  She uses a large muffin cup tin yielding six huge muffins, but you could use any kind you like.  Just adjust the bake time accordingly.       

What You Need

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

2 large eggs, room temp

1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 packages fresh raspberries, about 2 ½ cups

2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk, Leslie uses 1% (not pictured, we forgot!)

Nutmeg (Leslie uses freshly grated)

Cooking spray

What To Do

Preheat oven to 375° and grease muffin tin.

Rinse raspberries in cool water.

Divide in half and smash with your hands or a potato masher.

Beat butter beat until creamy.

Add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Beat eggs in one at a time.

Beat in vanilla.

Mix in baking powder.

Mix in salt.

Mix in mashed berries.

Fold in half of the flour with a spatula.

Fold in half the milk.

Repeat for the rest of the flour and milk.  It should look like this after mixing.

Fold the whole berries in gently.

The batter is ready for muffin cups.  Using a ladle, divide batter evenly.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.   Test muffins with a toothpick.  If it comes out clean, they're done.  Let muffins cool in tin before taking out.

Sprinkle with sugar and a bit of freshly grated nutmeg.

Print this recipe!


**Edited to add: Here are the nutritional stats for 6 & 12 muffins.**

For 6 muffins, each one looks like this...

For 12 muffins, each one looks like this...

Bon Appétit!

Mary (& Leslie)

P.S. We also made pizza dough that afternoon.  Looking forward to sharing that with you soon!  I think I may finally be over my “fear of yeast”.  

Asian Marinated Chicken

This dish incorporates all of my most favorite Asian flavors and the marinade can be thrown together in under 3 minutes. The chicken can be the star of an Asian chicken salad or eaten alongside some steamed brown jasmine rice and oven roasted green beans. By using a hand grater for the garlic cloves and pre-minced ginger, you can significantly decrease your prep time. Feel free to use pre-chopped garlic as well. I had all of these ingredients on hand; all I needed was some chicken. This marinade could also be used on pork, beef, shrimp or tofu as it is very versatile.

What You Need:

1-1.25 lbs chicken tenders

1 Tbs soy sauce or tamari

1 Tbs sesame oil

4-6 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2 rounded tsp minced ginger, eyeball it
2 rounded tsp honey, eyeball it


Optional: 1 Tbs mirin (sweet Asian cooking wine) and hot sauce                                                    
Garnish: thinly sliced green onions, black pepper and hot sauce

What To Do:

Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a bowl with a wisk and set aside. Rinse chicken well and pat dry. Marinate chicken in a Ziploc bag for 2 to 24 hours.

Bake chicken at 375* for 10-14 minutes or until juices run clear.

Serves 4

Bon Appétit !
Mary