Muffins!

A friend of mine has been stricken ill, so a bunch of us have rallied together to provide meals for her family for the next week or so.  I have volunteered to provide a breakfast basket.  Being who I am, I cannot go to the local grocery store and buy baked goods.  My husband thinks I'm insane, but I just cannot present a basket full of Hostess, Entenmann's or Dunkin's. 

That said, I've been on the hunt for a yummy muffin.  I have a basic muffin recipe that I've made before, but I also haven't baked muffins in over a year, so I wanted something fresh.  I headed over to Coconut & Lime for some recipe suggestions.  A friend had suggested the website for the Onion Jam.  I had never heard of Rachel Rappaport before this.  I printed up some recipes and have been trying them out this week on the family.  First, I started with Jammy Oatmeal Streusel Muffins.  I was weary about the jam seeping out, and I didn't have her peach jam.  I had the strawberry jam I made the other week.  The end result wasn't terrific.  I didn't add enough jam, so there wasn't a lot of flavor.  The muffin itself, sans jam, was very basic.  I liked it because it wasn't like eating a cupcake for breakfast.  Plus, it was super moist.  The kids passed them along after a bite and the husband ate them because he hates to waste food, and he was hungry.  Day two brought us the Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins.  My kids inhaled these.  They fought over the next-to-last one (I kept the last for myself).  The recipe calls for two cups of blueberries, which makes for a very berrylicious muffin.  I used whole wheat flour, so they were a little drier than I wanted.  I'd up the oil next time, maybe adding a bit more sour cream.  Today we tried out Oatmeal Craisin Muffins.  Except we didn't have any craisins.  We had Thompson raisins.  Instead of nutmeg, I added a 1/8 tsp ground allspice and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  I also changed the oil to butter and added an additional splash of olive oil.  I LOVE these muffins.  I would sprinkle sugar over the tops before baking, maybe try out some chopped apple, too.  I slathered butter on them and inhaled a few before the kids even sat down.  Eli took one look at them and walked away, muttering something about how I hate him.  Odin ate three of them and Silas is currently working on one as I type this.  I wish I had a better camera so I could capture the tastiness of the muffin.  Along with the muffins, I'll be making a breakfast casserole, or stratta as some call it and a blueberry coffee cake - both recipes courtesy of Alice over at Savory Sweet Life.  I usually make both for Christmas breakfast, but I think Christmas in June is fine...I think I'll make extra.