French Breakfast Muffins

It's been awhile since I've posted a breakfast treat.  This one fits the bill, and then some.

My mom made these all the time when we were kids.  Well, maybe not all the time, but out of all the muffins to come out of her kitchen, these are the ones I remember the most.  They're beyond delicious.  Sit down and eat the whole batch to yourself delicious.  And yes, I realize there's nothing even remotely close to being nutritious about them, but who cares?  Who says every single muffin you bake needs to contain some sort of health benefit?  You make these because they taste good.  And your kids will remember them with they have kids of their own.  Like me. 

Here's the secret family recipe, with my notes:

French Breakfast Muffins

1/3 C shortening
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C butter or margarine, melted (see note)

Heat oven to 350.  Grease 15 medium muffin cups.  (I made mini muffins and used liners 'cause I was taking them to the garden meeting at The Kid's school.  It made 24 minis and 6 regular.)

Mix thoroughly the shortening, 1/2 C sugar and egg.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.  Add to shortening mixture, alternately with milk.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or 10 to 15 if you're makin' the minis.

 

 

Mix 1/2 C sugar and cinnamon.  Immediately after baking, roll muffins in melted butter, then in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Serve hot.  Or not.  We inhaled them at room temp and no one complained.

* If you want to cut the sugar a bit, just melt 1/4 C of butter and only dunk the tops of the muffins in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  You can stick the rest in a recycled spice jar and use it for cinnamon-sugar toast. :o)  I can remember drizzling the extra melted butter over the cut muffin halves.  Kids, that doesn't suck at all.

Here's heaven, er, the muffins at my house:

Here's one of the standard sized ones.

I really wish they weren't long gone.

Tell me you don't want to pop one of those minis in your mouth right now.

Amazingly good.

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