Recently someone pointed out that this blog is muffintalk and I have not posted muffin or baking recipes. Here is a muffin for you all—gleaned from my baker girlfriend Cindy Mushet, who gives a feta, basil and roasted red pepper muffin recipe in her award-winning cookbook The Art and Soul of Baking. I have that big log of goat cheese as well as a 2 # jar of sun-dried tomatoes from Costco to employ and we have the first basil of the season—hooray it is finally summer! These muffins are fabulous with soup.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (3 ounces) soft goat cheese, cut in ½-inch dice
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large egg
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners, or coat the muffin tins with melted butter and dust with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray. So the baked muffin can release with ease, coat the top of the pan as well as the inside of the cups.
Whisk both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, gently stir together the goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil. Set aside.
Whisk together the buttermilk, olive oil and the egg until well blended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the well and stir gently with a spatula. Mix only until there are no more streaks of flour or pools of liquid and the batter looks fairly smooth. A few small lumps scattered throughout are fine—they will disappear during baking. Gently fold the goat cheese mixture into the batter until evenly distributed.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the muffin tops feel firm and a skewer inserted into the centers comes out clean. Cool for about 5 minutes, then remove from the pan–careful, these are tender while hot. Serve warm.
Makes 12 muffins.
