For the last month, while covering the seditious conspiracy trial of Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes, I have done a lot of baking. Specifically, muffins. They are portable, delicious and easy. But because I have also overdosed on cooking shows as we enter the fall, I am here to tell you about my muffin mood ring.
When I baked my first batch early into the trial, I thought to myself: I should bake something aromatic and cozy that will make the morning commute more tolerable. It would have to be something with enough of a punch to pep me up as I listened to four or five hours of evidence presented by the Department of Justice.
I love cinnamon. I love raisins. I’ve never, however, had a cinnamon raisin muffin. And so, for weeks when you know things will be, well, a lot, may I recommend this recipe? I strongly suggest doubling the amount of cinnamon if you’re not afraid to live, damn you, live! Also, soak your raisins overnight in orange juice or brandy. And if you are turned off by the typical raisin, try a golden one. They’re more mellow.
As the trial turned toward Rhodes taking the stand, I decided that things need to be put into another gear.
This is a high-stakes game of little sleep, lots of caffeine, and long hours of live-blogging. It was time to bring out the big guns.
Chocolate.
And not just chocolate. But raspberries too.
The nice thing about any recipe that calls for chocolate chips is that it's completely up to you how to interpret the measurement and style of chocolate. At least, this is what I understand cooking to be about.
Rough cuts of high-quality chocolate baking bars or wafers of chocolate like these by Guittard are actually perfect for this recipe and it feels especially decadent yet somehow reasonable when you feel like you need to remember what joy feels like.
My recommended recipe for these muffins comes courtesy of King Arthur. I particularly enjoyed the crumble.
This next bake came on request from a higher power. The power of brown sugar.
I needed to return to something comforting from my childhood as I watched yet more videos admitted into evidence of the place I have worked, made friends, and had many critical life experiences in, become disgraced by a hateful mob convinced that their will was worth more than 81 million other people who disagreed.
This called for pineapple upside cake muffins.
I have actually never really been a huge fan of pineapple upside down cake. I always liked the smell of it more than actually eating it as a child and my mother made it often, at least once every few months and I would usually pass on it.
But there was something about the idea of crispy brown sugar and a cheap little cherry on top that, for the first time in more than 20 years, prompted me to whip up the only thing that might transport me far away from Jan. 6.
For quick and easy recipes, Taste of Home has been a standby for me for years. This version is fabulous.
This has nothing to do with my muffins, and I have questions, but look how cute.
Lastly is a recipe for muffins I baked as we approach another long week and deliberations just starting to come into sight on the horizon, admittedly, it only felt right to bake something that felt classic
A good old-fashioned American favorite: the classic blueberry muffin.
I make a mean blueberry pie and have perfected it over the years by making sure my blueberries are hit with nutmeg as well as a healthy dusting of cinnamon and a few squirts of lemon juice. I trust this recipe here and highly recommend seeking out the pints at the grocery store that contain big fat juicy blueberries. When baking with blueberries, I always put them in a bowl overnight with a bath of the aforementioned spices and citrus. A few good shakes around the bowl or turns with a spoon before you go to bed makes for a nice syrupy fruity mixture.
Now, once jurors start deliberating, it might be time to roll out all of the stops since it sounds like deliberations will begin after the holiday. With leftover cranberries at my house, I can’t imagine going very wrong with Betty Crocker’s recipe here but I’m also drawn to this one from Food & Wine for the walnut crumble.
Happy Thanksgiving!
When I baked my first batch early into the trial, I thought to myself: I should bake something aromatic and cozy that will make the morning commute more tolerable. It would have to be something with enough of a punch to pep me up as I listened to four or five hours of evidence presented by the Department of Justice.
I love cinnamon. I love raisins. I’ve never, however, had a cinnamon raisin muffin. And so, for weeks when you know things will be, well, a lot, may I recommend this recipe? I strongly suggest doubling the amount of cinnamon if you’re not afraid to live, damn you, live! Also, soak your raisins overnight in orange juice or brandy. And if you are turned off by the typical raisin, try a golden one. They’re more mellow.
As the trial turned toward Rhodes taking the stand, I decided that things need to be put into another gear.
This is a high-stakes game of little sleep, lots of caffeine, and long hours of live-blogging. It was time to bring out the big guns.
Chocolate.
And not just chocolate. But raspberries too.
The nice thing about any recipe that calls for chocolate chips is that it's completely up to you how to interpret the measurement and style of chocolate. At least, this is what I understand cooking to be about.
Rough cuts of high-quality chocolate baking bars or wafers of chocolate like these by Guittard are actually perfect for this recipe and it feels especially decadent yet somehow reasonable when you feel like you need to remember what joy feels like.
My recommended recipe for these muffins comes courtesy of King Arthur. I particularly enjoyed the crumble.
This next bake came on request from a higher power. The power of brown sugar.
I needed to return to something comforting from my childhood as I watched yet more videos admitted into evidence of the place I have worked, made friends, and had many critical life experiences in, become disgraced by a hateful mob convinced that their will was worth more than 81 million other people who disagreed.
This called for pineapple upside cake muffins.
I have actually never really been a huge fan of pineapple upside down cake. I always liked the smell of it more than actually eating it as a child and my mother made it often, at least once every few months and I would usually pass on it.
But there was something about the idea of crispy brown sugar and a cheap little cherry on top that, for the first time in more than 20 years, prompted me to whip up the only thing that might transport me far away from Jan. 6.
For quick and easy recipes, Taste of Home has been a standby for me for years. This version is fabulous.
This has nothing to do with my muffins, and I have questions, but look how cute.
Lastly is a recipe for muffins I baked as we approach another long week and deliberations just starting to come into sight on the horizon, admittedly, it only felt right to bake something that felt classic
A good old-fashioned American favorite: the classic blueberry muffin.
I make a mean blueberry pie and have perfected it over the years by making sure my blueberries are hit with nutmeg as well as a healthy dusting of cinnamon and a few squirts of lemon juice. I trust this recipe here and highly recommend seeking out the pints at the grocery store that contain big fat juicy blueberries. When baking with blueberries, I always put them in a bowl overnight with a bath of the aforementioned spices and citrus. A few good shakes around the bowl or turns with a spoon before you go to bed makes for a nice syrupy fruity mixture.
Now, once jurors start deliberating, it might be time to roll out all of the stops since it sounds like deliberations will begin after the holiday. With leftover cranberries at my house, I can’t imagine going very wrong with Betty Crocker’s recipe here but I’m also drawn to this one from Food & Wine for the walnut crumble.
Happy Thanksgiving!