These muffins were so lovely when I put them in the oven, and then Jeremy and I had this conversation when they came out.
C: Dammit! What is wrong with me?! What is wrong with the oven?! I cannot bake! I'm a complete failure as a baker!! I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE IF I CANNOT BAKE!!!
J: Honey, they're fine. [takes a bite] Okay, maybe a little soggy. We'll just put them back in the oven and they'll be all right.
C: [bitch whine moan]
C: [slams stuff around]
C: [snaps at the kids]
C: [opens and closes the oven twenty-thousand times]
J: Babe, just deal with the rest of breakfast. Don't even look at the muffins. I'll take care of them.
C: [flounces off in a huff to read about high-altitude baking]
We don't quite qualify for high-altitude baking here in SLC, but almost everything I've baked for the past few weeks has failed catastrophically, primarily by refusing to cook through no matter what I do. We are at a pretty high altitude so I've wondered if this is the problem - maybe our oven had an epiphany and was suddenly like, "Holy crap! We're way frackin' high above sea level here! I better start effin' up every single thing she puts into me until she figures out to add more flour and reduce the baking powder and heat while increasing the cooking time!"
The thing is, I am enormously perfectionistic when it comes to food preparation. If something doesn't work out like I plan, I tend to have a sort of, ah . . . disproportionately unpleasant response. As demonstrated above. I really was yelling and throwing stuff.
Later we realized that the cast-iron Dutch oven that Jeremy placed in the bottom of the oven has probably been impeding its convection. The pot is supposed to make the oven more efficient, but apparently it resulted in the opposite effect. So we removed that and everything seems to be okay now.
These were fantastic muffins, even with a tiny smidge of sogginess in the middle. And just
try to tell me that isn't one sexy carrot.
Chicka chicka BOW bow!ingredients 2 c. whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. sucanat or brown sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. ginger
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T. flaxseed + 1/4 c. water
4 carrots, shredded (a food processor does this quickly!)
1/2 c. raisins
instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl and combine with the dry. Do not overmix.
3. Fold in the carrots and raisins.
4. Distribute over 12 well-greased muffin cups.
5. Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, until an inserted tester comes out clean.
These muffins were so lovely when I put them in the oven, and then Jeremy and I had this conversation when they came out.
C: Dammit! What is wrong with me?! What is wrong with the oven?! I cannot bake! I'm a complete failure as a baker!! I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE IF I CANNOT BAKE!!!
J: Honey, they're fine. [takes a bite] Okay, maybe a little soggy. We'll just put them back in the oven and they'll be all right.
C: [bitch whine moan]
C: [slams stuff around]
C: [snaps at the kids]
C: [opens and closes the oven twenty-thousand times]
J: Babe, just deal with the rest of breakfast. Don't even look at the muffins. I'll take care of them.
C: [flounces off in a huff to read about high-altitude baking]
We don't quite qualify for high-altitude baking here in SLC, but almost everything I've baked for the past few weeks has failed catastrophically, primarily by refusing to cook through no matter what I do. We are at a pretty high altitude so I've wondered if this is the problem - maybe our oven had an epiphany and was suddenly like, "Holy crap! We're way frackin' high above sea level here! I better start effin' up every single thing she puts into me until she figures out to add more flour and reduce the baking powder and heat while increasing the cooking time!"
The thing is, I am enormously perfectionistic when it comes to food preparation. If something doesn't work out like I plan, I tend to have a sort of, ah . . . disproportionately unpleasant response. As demonstrated above. I really was yelling and throwing stuff.
Later we realized that the cast-iron Dutch oven that Jeremy placed in the bottom of the oven has probably been impeding its convection. The pot is supposed to make the oven more efficient, but apparently it resulted in the opposite effect. So we removed that and everything seems to be okay now.
These were fantastic muffins, even with a tiny smidge of sogginess in the middle. And just try to tell me that isn't one sexy carrot. Chicka chicka BOW bow!
ingredients
2 c. whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. sucanat or brown sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. ginger
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T. flaxseed + 1/4 c. water
4 carrots, shredded (a food processor does this quickly!)
1/2 c. raisins
instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl and combine with the dry. Do not overmix.
3. Fold in the carrots and raisins.
4. Distribute over 12 well-greased muffin cups.
5. Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, until an inserted tester comes out clean.