Sugar Topped Muffins3

Sugar Topped Muffins

These Sugar Topped Muffins are fluffy and moist with a simple flavor that complements any meal.  And they’re very easy and quick to make… when I was in high school I used to make them while my mom made the rest of the meal.  Also, I’ve included an alternate recipe at the bottom in case you don’t have buttermilk on hand.

Difficulty:  Easy

Source:  my mom, of  course

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar (plus more for sprinkling on top)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (375 convection).

I forgot to include the egg in the ingredient pic!

Mix together dry ingredients in mixing bowl.

Sugar Topped Muffins dry ingredients 1

Make a hollow in the center.

Sugar Topped Muffins dry ingredients

Combine egg, milk, and oil.

Sugar Topped Muffins wet ingredients

Sugar Topped muffins wet ingredients mixed

Add all at once to hollow in dry ingredients.

Sugar Topped Muffins all ingredients

Stir with spoon just enough to moisten dry ingredients.  The batter should remain lumpy.

Sugar Topped Muffins batter

Line muffin tin with paper liners and fill two-thirds full.  This recipe should make 12 muffins in a standard size muffin pan.  As an aside, I really like light colored pans for baking.  The dark pans are easier to find in stores but seem to burn things faster.  And this one has the nice handles on the ends so you don’t mash a muffin with your hot pad when taking them out of the oven.

Sprinkle sugar on the batter in each muffin tin.

Sugar Topped Muffins in pan 1

 

Sugar Topped Muffins in pan 2

Bake for 12 minutes or until the tops of the muffins start to turn a tiny bit brown.

Sugar Topped Muffins 1

DSC_0487

DSC_0503

Variation:  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar instead of plain sugar.

The Story:  These muffins are in the cookbook my mom made with her friend Mary Elizabeth.  There are lots of items with two different recipes in this book – our family recipe and Mary Elizabeth’s family recipe (i.e. Mother’s Rolls and Mammaw’s Rolls).  There are a few items with two recipes from my mom, and Sugar Topped Muffins is one of these.  This recipe is actually for Sugar Topped Muffins II, and it’s my favorite.  The other (Sugar Topped Muffins I) is good as well but is a little more trouble and a little higher in fat.  However, (and by the way, I cannot write “however,” without thinking of that teacher who always verbalized the comma – “However comma, we should consider….”) the Sugar Topped Muffins I recipe is handy if you don’t have buttermilk.  It does involve some cutting of shortening, though.  The recipe is below.

2 cups flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup milk

Stir together dry ingredients.  Cut in shortening with pastry blender or two knives until crumbs are the size of small peas.  Make a hollow in the center.  Combine egg and milk, and add them to dry ingredients.  Stir until just mixed but still lumpy.

Line muffin tin with cupcake liners and fill 2/3 full with batter.  Sprinkle tops of muffins with sugar or sugar and cinnamon.  Bake in 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until done.

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