Woah Nellie!
Crumb Muffins are light on ‘sugar and spice,’ but they still can be nice (with a few additions)
by Mary Jo David
This month I went in search of a simple recipe from Nellie Maxwell’s trove of 100-year-old recipes that were published in August 1923 editions of the Stockbridge Brief-Sun. After all, who wants to be stuck in the kitchen in the height of summer? During my search, it occurred to me that even the indomitable Nellie may have been suffering from the heat. I noticed a few of her August recipes were missing important instructions, leaving key ingredients out entirely. (See “The Mystery of the Missing Ingredients” sidebar.)
I’ve always considered muffins to be one of the easier bakes to undertake. Muffin ingredients are generally items you have on hand, and making them is usually a one-bowl effort. For those reasons, I’ve never really understood why people bother to buy muffin mixes. This month’s Crumb Muffins from Nellie are a perfect case in point: the only ingredient I needed to shop for was the lard, and her recipe process was very simple (see recipe clipping). In place of the lard, I was tempted to use the Crisco I had on hand, but I decided I needed to stay true to Nellie’s original recipe, so I went shopping.
The ingredients were a cinch to mix together, but I was a bit concerned that the mixture looked too liquidy. However, it thickened right before my eyes as I waited for the muffin tin to preheat in the oven. The recipe calls for only one tablespoon of sugar. I was very tempted to add more sugar, and even some nuts and/or raisins, but again, I stayed true to the recipe and held off on these additions.
For me, the only tough question to tackle when baking muffins is whether to line the tin with paper liners. I generally prefer to skip the liners in lieu of greasing the muffin tin, and then I hold my breath as I attempt to get the muffins out of the pan without sticking. Nellie doesn’t suggest liners or greasing the pan; instead, she recommends heating the muffin tin before filling them. This method did work, but next time, to be safe, I’d probably grease the muffin tin.
The recipe yielded enough to fill nine of the muffin cups in the tin. Not surprisingly, Nellie doesn’t give an oven temperature, so I went with a 350-degree oven, and I baked them for 21 minutes. The finished muffins looked appealing enough, but the question of taste had yet to be answered.
Initially, I had my husband try a plain muffin, warm from the oven. He was not impressed, so I mentioned that I thought maybe the recipe needed more sugar. He responded with, “No, but maybe some strawberry jam.” (Do I tell him now or later that strawberry jam is mostly sugar?!) While they were still warm, I lightly buttered another muffin and added some strawberry jam. Both he and I agreed, this was just the ticket! The muffin was actually quite delicious with these additions.
My recommendation for all of you Nellie wannabes is to try this Crumb Muffin recipe, but do take the liberty of adding a bit more sugar to the recipe, and include some chopped nuts. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Current photos by Mary Jo David
