The Ultimate Muffin Book: More Than 600 Recipes for Sweet and Savory Muffins
The talented team behind the Ultimate cookbook series (The Ultimate Shrimp Book;The Ultimate Brownie Book; etc.) brings its ebullient creativity to this very American quick bread, explaining muffins' origins and providing many tips on technique, ingredients and equipment. They also include a source guide and an extremely helpful list of recipes by ingredient (e.g., all muffins with chocolate). The authors present their 101 master muffin recipes alphabetically&mdash;Almond through Zucchini&mdash;and offer several variations for each. Recognizing the recent "cupcakeization" of muffins, Weinstein and Scarbrough offer quite a few light and/or savory selections, such as Low-Fat Banana or Green Onion Parmesan. But there is no denying their sweet tooth, as witnessed by Coffeecake and Marmalade Muffins for breakfast, or Fudge, Macaroon, and Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins for dessert. Those on special diets will relish the selection of dairy- and gluten-free muffins, and for holidays, cooks might consider Haroseth, Fruitcake or Sweet Potato Casserole Muffins. Some of the ingredient combinations veer into the questionable (e.g., frankfurter-laden Corn Dog Muffins, Strawberry Black Pepper Muffins, or Duck Confit Quiche Muffins). Still, it's hard to resist the authors' user-friendly instructions, punchy head notes, clever suggestions and enthusiasm for their subject. Photos not seen byPW.Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.