-JUDI M. PHELPS
1/2 c Pecans; finely chopped
1/3 c Light brown sugar; firmly
-packed
1 1/2 c Plus 1 tabl. flour
1 ts Cinnamon
1/8 ts Nutmeg
1 tb Butter or margarine; melted
1/3 c Sugar
2 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 c Vegetable shortening
1/2 c Milk
1 Egg
12 Pecan halves; optional
Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Grease 12 muffin pan cups; set aside.
In a small bowl; mix together pecans, brown sugar, 1 T flour,
cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter; set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar,
baking powder and salt; cut in shortening. In a small bowl, blend egg
with milk. Add to dry ingredients with half of the pecan mixture,
stirring until just blended. Spoon batter into muffin cups; sprinkle
with remaining pecan mixture. Garnish each muffin with a pecan half.
Bake 15 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out
clean. Remove muffins from pan to cool on wire rack.
Mixing muffin ingredients requires a special, but easy-to-learn
technique. The liquid ingredients (milk, eggs, etc.) are beaten
together and then added all at once to the dry ingredients. Mixing is
kept to a minimum–just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. The
batter should be lumpy, not smooth. These muffins freeze very well.
Yields
12 Muffins