literary muffins

This recipe originates from a mystery novel by Kerry Greenwood. The main character is a baker; her apprentice comes up with the idea of making a "plum pudding" muffin. It sounded fantastic when she described it and I was thrilled to discover that Greenwood included the actual recipe at the end of the book. It's been a few weeks since I finished Earthly Delights, but I only got around to making the muffins this weekend. They were easy and tasty and I will definitely be making them again.

Plum Pudding Muffins

• 2 C AP flour (I believe you could substitute white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour as well)
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 C chopped dried fruit (I used a combination of candied lemon rind, golden raisins, and raisins)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch allspice
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 C milk (I used skim)
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tbsp rum (or brandy)

Heat oven to 300F. Spray muffin tins with oil (or my favorite, oil-and-flour baking spray). Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour through allspice) and wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir. Pour batter into prepared tins. Bake for about 15-20 min, until they smell cooked and are lightly browned on top.

yield: about 12 muffins