Just Baking

I’m constantly acquiring new cookbooks.  It’s become a bit of an obsession really.  I know I’ll never be able to make even a fraction of the recipes, but I still like to look at and buy new books.  I justify this because I read cookbooks cover to cover like other people read novels.  And how often can you say you reread your novels?  Not nearly as often as I reread cookbooks.  Even if I’m not cooking from a book, I still take it off the shelf and look at it from time to time to get some inspiration regardless of if I use an exact recipe.  Some books, however, have earned a special place in my library as ones that I turn to repeatedly when I’m looking for an actual recipe to follow.  Some of these staple books are glossy and pretty, others are worn and homely.  The Magnificent Muffins Cookbook that I used to make these Banana Carrot muffins certainly falls into the later category.  It’s paperback and spiral bound, although surprisingly, each recipe is accompanied by a photo, (albeit a dated one) and it’s packed with a variety of muffin recipes, none of which have been a disappointment.

When I made these Banana Carrot muffins, it was in place of a full sized carrot cake so I thought it necessary to top them with cream cheese frosting.  Once they were all dressed up in frosting, these muffins looked suspiciously like cupcakes.  But really, aren’t all muffins just cupcakes in disguise?  Yes, yes, I know, the technique for making muffins and cupcakes is different but I say the real reason any of them are called muffins is because muffins form a fabulous alliterative with magnificent.  This book wouldn’t have had nearly as good a title if it were called Magnificent Cupcakes, and so muffins it was.  No matter what you call them, they’re tasty, so go make yourself some magnificent muffins.

Banana Carrot Muffins (from the Magnificent Muffins Cookbook)

Dry Mixture
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg
1 pinch ground cloves
½ cup raisins

Moist Mixture
2 large eggs
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup mashed banana
1 cup grated carrot

Preheat oven to 400° F and prepare 12 muffin cups. In a large bowl, combine the dry mixture. In a medium bowl beat eggs lightly and combine with the moist mixture. Add the moist mixture to the dry mixture all at once and stir just until moist but still lumpy. Fill the prepared muffin cups ¾ full. Bake for 16-20 minutes. I opted to frost these, but they keep better and are quite good plain as well.