Nigella Lawson's Maple Pecan Muffins

You're going to think I'm looney tunes - I know. I just posted on maple pecan muffins yesterday, and here I go again? But, trust me, dear reader. Would I be boring you with yet another treatise on breakfast goods if the recipe were anything less than stellar? Absolutely not.

It all started last night when I read Molly's suggestion (thank you!) for a bake-off between the muffins I made yesterday, and Nigella Lawson's version from her book, Feast. Having just had a miserable experience with one of Nigella's baking recipes, I thought it might be a double challenge. Since I had all the required ingredients at home already, and I could always use a soothing hour in the kitchen to keep me sane, and my coworkers scarfed down every last muffin yesterday so I that had an actual excuse to bring more muffins into the world, I set out this morning to bake my breakfast (again).

The recipe differs in some place from Shulman's - it has a bit more flour, a goodly amount of wheatgerm, four whole teaspoons of baking powder, and far more pecans. I remembered the oil this time around, and used only one egg (as directed). When the batter came together, it seemed oddly stiff (I didn't overbeat - never fear). I spooned it into the little paper shells, then sprinkled gorgeously aromatic chopped nuts and sugar over each muffin top. The muffins baked for only twenty minutes, until the topping had browned and smelled irresistibly good.

I broke open a muffin after it had cooled, and found a perfect crumb. It was light and tender, but had a substantialness to it from the wheat germ and nuts. It had the barest sweetness from the maple syrup, and the topping gave it a welcome crunch. The presence of so many more pecans gave it that otherworldly flavor that matched so well with the subtle taste of the maple syrup. As much as I liked the muffins from yesterday, these muffins are far superior. In fact, I'd say they'll be my go-to maple pecan muffins forevermore. I'll do my best to hang on to them until Ben comes back from LA, but I can't make any promises.

Maple Pecan Muffins
Makes 12

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill a 12-cup muffin tray with paper liners. Reserve 1/4th of the chopped pecans.

2. Mix together the remaining pecans with flour, salt, wheat germ and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg, maple syrup, oil and vanilla.

3. Pour the liquids into the dry mixture. Gently fold to mix. The batter can have some lumps. Do not overmix because these muffins can get tough. Spoon batter into muffin cups.

4. Chop the remaining nuts finely and mix with the brown sugar. Sprinkle a little of this mixture on top of each muffin.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes until tester comes clean. The nut topping turns golden, but the muffins will be somewhat pale. Remove muffins to a cooling rack.

Comments

[Tania]

I love the bake-off idea, and I'm not surprised the not-low-fat muffins won. So glad you did this, because now I have a go-to maple pecan muffin recipe, too!

[Grant]

Well since I can't taste them, I can only go from appearance. And between the two, THIS one looks absolutely beautiful. I love the texture of the top.

[Molly]

Wow! All I had to do was ask, and you deliver! And yaaaay - Nigella redeems herself! Hip hip. I might have to crack open my copy of Feast too...

xo

[Rebecca]

Wow--I miss 2 days on your blog and look what happens! BTW, did you have any buttermilk yesterday? I often substitute one for the other in my baking or cooking. I brought back some "dark" maple syrup from Canada last summer and this looks like the perfect recipe for it.

[tokyoastrogirl]

I vote for this one as well- it just looks so appetizing! I can practically smell them.

[Abi]

Ooh. I love this blog idea and I can't wait to see what you bake/cook next. If only you had recipes from the Washington Post, then I would be truly happy.

[gemma]

mmm... maple syrup sitting unused in my kitchen cabinet AND a copy of Feast collecting dust on the bookshelf. I think some planets just collided... can't wait to try this.

[Julie]

Your lucky coworkers! I'll bet they're encouraging you to continue your bake-offs.

[tanvi]

Haha, so perhaps I should bookmark this recipe instead! Ordinarily, I would do a bake-off myself, but you've done the leg work and I'll take your word for it :-)

[Luisa]

Tania - yes! Full-fat all the way!

Grant - and the topping is so perfectly crunchy, too. You're right, these are way better-looking.

Molly - your suggestion was all I needed. I'm so glad Nigella redeemed herself, too.

Rebecca - I had nothing but my roommate's flavored soymilk. HA. I bet the dark maple syrup would be delicious in the muffins.

Ann - my apartment was all cozy with the smell of them last night, too.

Abi - thanks!

Gemma - it's fate! Hope you like them.

Julie - these muffins were so good, I didn't even share them with my coworkers. SHHHH.

Tanvi - definitely make these over the other ones. Not even a question.

[Jessika]

I've never come into contact with wheat germ and since I don't live in the US I don't know what to look for. My english dictionary proposes two explanations to wheat germ. One that it is a sort of wheat bran, the other that it is an oil (used in fishfood among other things so I've deducted reasonably accurate that that's probably not what is called for ;). Am I correct in assuming that it's a sort of bran like "flour"?

[Luisa]

Jessika - wheatgerm in German is Weizenkleie, and as far as my internet research shows, that translates to Swedish as VETEKLI. Does that sound right?

[su]

hi, re: wheat germ, do you use toasted or raw, and does it make a difference?thanks! love your site.

[Jessika]

Thanks Luisa, that sounds very correct and available in every supermarket :). I'll try it tomorrow, minus the nuts ;).

[Luisa]

Su - thank you! I buy Kretschmer's toasted wheat germ. It comes in a jar with a red label and a red cap... Not sure what difference it makes because I don't think I've ever bought it raw. I think the toasting brings out the nutty flavors a bit better - that way you can eat it sprinkled on your oatmeal without choking on the sheer HEALTHFULness of it.

[Ange]

I love the whole maple/pecan combitation & have Feast so will give these a go soon, thks for the tip!

[Luisa]

Okay, thanks to my father, I've been corrected: Weizenkleie is wheat bran and Weizenkeim is wheat germ. So, in Swedish, it's VETEGRODD.

[Jessika]

I went back and remade the muffins using the correct ingredients. My review would still be to bake something else. I will rest my case on baking according to Nigella after these attempts. But I'll try the scones since they're not a Nigella recipe.

[Karen]

This was the worst muffin I have ever tasted. It was more like cornbread than breakfast muffins.I will not use nigella's recipes for anything else!!!!

[Elena]

Tried these muffins using buttermilk. They do have a nice crumb, but are dry. Better with butter. The maple taste was very light. Not worth the cost of a whole quarter cup of maple syrup. Won't make again.

[Shari]

Thanks for the recommendation. I liked the result, although my daughter (7) thought they weren't sweet enough. Here's a tip - I didn't have enough maple syrup in the house, so I partly substituted date syrup (which is cheaper [here in Israel] than real maple syrup or honey). It worked out fine.