Pecan Sour Cream Muffins
(Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 282) and in Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982, pg. 177).
It has been exactly two months since my last post and yes, I am still kicking. I haven't been baking much, however, because I am on a no-sugar diet. As you can imagine, that isn't fun
at all. It does melt the pounds for me and best of all, lowers my cholesterol. I've actually
been experimenting with keto desserts and while they are by no means a substitute for
recipes like these, they do quell the sweet cravings.
We've been snowed in, like most of the country, for the past week and I was itching to make a real dessert. I only ate one (for taste purposes, mind you) and I can report that they are delicious. Michael and I both felt that a glaze would be a nice addition. It is not called for in the recipe. This is just a simple glaze made with 1 cup of confectioners sugar, 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.
In Maida Heatter's Cakes, where this recipe resides, the baking time is written as 450. I knew this has to be a typo and therefore used 350 instead. They took the full 20 minutes to bake but they were not overly brown on the top. I still think 350 is correct.
The recipe also had enough batter for at least 15 large cupcakes. It would have been more than that but I filled the cups higher than stated.
Makes 12 large muffins
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
Generous pinch of nutmeg
2 oz. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
5 1/2 oz. (1 1/3 cups) toasted pecans, broken into large pieces plus 12 pecan halves
Use the middle rack in the oven and preheat to 350. Butter a muffin pan or use cupcake liners (I used the liners).
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
Beat the butter until soft. Beat in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, until mixed.
On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, then all of the sour cream, and then the remaining flour mixture. Beat only until incorporated.
Stir in the chopped pecans (reserving the pecan halves).
Spoon into the muffin cups and top each with a pecan.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
They can be served warm or cold.
As I mentioned earlier, I had enough batter to make 3 additional muffins. I baked them separately in a second pan. The glaze (recipe in the intro) is strictly optional.
Comments
I used this recipe for Pecan Sour Cream Muffins, but it was originally published in Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts, in 1985. That recipe also states a 450 degree temperature. Usually Maida would have said "This oven temperature is correct". So I assumed it was a mistake also. So I did some research about this recipe which was from Helen Corbitt, who was a prolific cookbook writer but is largely forgotten today. Anyway, it seems that this recipe did call for a 450 degree temperature. I finally decided to do what someone on the Internet advised, which was to start the muffins at 450, and immediately after the muffins are in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350, and bake for 20 minutes. That is what I did and they turned out perfect. Perfectly cooked through, but I didn't really think they had a lot of flavor and I added vanilla which was not called for. It seems that Maida divided the original recipe in half, except for the sour cream; she used the full amount for double the recipe. Thought you would be curious as you questioned the temperature as I did. Happy Baking!