Twin Mountain Muffins

 

If you have been reading me for any time you, you will know that I have a great love for vintage cookery books and recipes.  I don't know what there is about them, but I am fascinated by them. I think they are a wonderful window into the history of our culinary journey.  

Things don't always have to be brand spanking new to have value.  I think Vintage Recipes are the recipes that got us where we are today culinarily speaking and they are, for the most part, solid and dependable.

Granted, they may not be fancy, but they are reliable, and, in most cases, they are delicious and can be valuable building blocks in a good cook's repertoire.

 

This recipe I am sharing with you today comes from a book entitled The Modern Family Cookbook, by Meta Given. My copy was published in 1953.

Meta Given was an American author, home economist and best-selling cookbook author who grew up on a farm in Missouri in the late 1800's, (which is when my grandmother was born).  She was brought up in a three-room log cabin with chinked walls. 

As an adult she taught Home Economics in schools for over 20 years. 

I love this cookbook. Whenever I use it I think of my grandmother as well as all of the Home Economics teachers I had through the years.  They are the ones who started me on my journey of loving to cook, fueling a hunger in me that has never lessened through the years.

This is a brilliant recipe for a very basic muffin with no bells and no whistles. It is not cake. It is a traditional muffin with the texture of a good muffin, not overly sweet and beautifully textured with lots of little tunnels and holes.

You could of course fancy it up a bit by adding some grated orange or lemon zest and possibly some chopped nuts, or dried fruits, but trust me when I tell you they are perfectly delicious as is.

  

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE TWIN MOUNTAIN MUFFINS

Just a few very basic baking cupboard essentials. These are not complicated in the least.

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup (57g) butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (55g) solid white vegetable shortening, room temperature (Crisco, Trex, White Flora, etc.)
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk

Whenever I am baking anything, I try to make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature. This just takes a tiny bit of forethought in taking the eggs, milk, butter, shortening, etc. out of the refrigerator about half an hour before you begin to make your recipe.

I used salted butter and whole milk.  As this is a vintage recipe, I do believe that in the old days they would have used these things as is.  In fact, the milk and butter may have been home produced in a lot of cases!

I used Kirkland organic granulated sugar. In the U.K. I recommend using natural caster sugar.

My eggs come fresh from a farm on the mountain. It doesn't get much better than that!

HOW TO MAKE TWIN MOUNTAIN MUFFINS

These defy every rule I have ever known about making muffins and go together more like you would a cake, however they turned out to be delicious and very muffin-like!

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter 12 medium muffin cups really well. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together three times. Set aside.

Cream both the butter and the shortening together until well combined. Blend in the sugar gradually.

Add the beaten egg and beat until smooth and fluffy.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition.

Spoon into the buttered muffin cups filling them 2/3 full.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes until risen and a rich golden brown.

Let cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before tipping out. Serve hot with butter for spreading.

NOTES:

These can be frozen, tightly wrapped for up to three months. You can heat from frozen, in the microwave on high for about 25 to 30 seconds. (Check sooner as your microwave may be stronger than mine.)

Reheat any leftovers for about 15 seconds in the microwave.

Never having done so, I cannot speak with any authenticity as to how they would turn out if you used all butter instead of a mix of butter and shortening. The two ingredients have very different qualities, both texture wise and in flavor. I believe with all butter they may be a bit greasy, but I could be wrong.

 

These were not really fancy by any stretch, but they were the perfect muffin. Despite defying all of the rules usually followed for making and baking muffins, they were light and fluffy, with the perfect muffin texture and a beautiful flavor.  Not too sweet either.

I really enjoyed these. Not overly large, not too sweet, perfectly textured.  I enjoyed them with some soft butter and strawberry jam. 

 

Looking for something a tiny bit fancier?  Perhaps you would enjoy the following recipes. I can promise you that they are also very delicious and are old favorites of mine.

GINGERBREAD MUFFINS - I am a hug fan of gingerbread anything. I think gingerbread is probably one of my favorite things to bake and eat! They are moist and delicious with a lovely crumb and beautiful ginger/cinnamon flavor. The recipe makes a full batch of 12 fabulous muffins!  

SIX WEEK REFRIGERATOR BRAN MUFFINS - There is nothing like having a great muffin batter in the refrigerator, mixed and ready to bake. This is an adaptation of a very old recipe and has been pleasing women and their families for many years. This was the muffin recipe that I had to bake for my female employer every day that I worked at the Manor. She liked them baked in mini muffin tins and would eat three of them every single morning.  They are delicious.

Yield: 12 medium muffins

Author: Marie Rayner

Twin Mountain Muffins

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 40 Min

These are simply fabulous. Perfect as is served warm with some butter for spreading and or maybe some jam to spoon over top! Delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup (57g) butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (55g) solid white vegetable shortening, room temperature (Crisco, Trex, White Flora, etc.)
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter 12 medium muffin cups really well. Set aside.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together three times. Set aside.
3. Cream both the butter and the shortening together until well combined. Blend in the sugar gradually.
4. Add the beaten egg and beat until smooth and fluffy.
5. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beating well after each addition.
6. Spoon into the buttered muffin cups filling them 2/3 full.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes until risen and a rich golden brown.
8. Let cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before tipping out. Serve hot with butter for spreading.

Notes

These can be frozen, tightly wrapped for up to three months. You can heat from frozen, in the microwave on high for about 25 to 30 seconds. (Check sooner as your microwave may be stronger than mine.)

Reheat any leftovers for about 15 seconds in the microwave.

All rights reserved The English Kitchen

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #TheEnglishKitchen

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com  

 Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right-hand side of the screen.