{TWD} Coffee Break Muffins

This week's assignment for the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group might be the most unusually-flavored muffin I've ever baked. Dorie calls these Coffee-Break Muffins, not just because they are a wonderful little treat to enjoy as part of a mid-morning breather, but because coffee - and lots of it - is baked right into the muffins.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- The muffins were chosen by Rhiani of the blog Chocoholic Anonymous.

- Sometimes I find all-butter baked goods to be a little dry, especially after the first day. For this recipe I used half butter/half oil for the fat component to make sure the muffins were good and moist.

- For a true shot of coffee flavor, the muffin recipe calls for both brewed coffee and espresso powder. I brewed up some decaf coffee but the espresso powder was the full-caff version.

- I was a little concerned that the muffins would taste overwhelmingly of coffee. I didn't want to add anything into the muffin batter because I wanted to evaluate the recipe (pretty much) as written. So I sprinkled the top with chocolate covered sunflower seeds, figuring that I could eat them with the muffins for texture and flavor, or I could eat the muffins without the topping. Unfortunately the seeds cracked in the oven's heat, and colored coating bled onto the muffins. Furthermore, by the next day the seeds had lost their crunch. I think that cocoa nibs, either plain or dark-chocolate-covered might be a better choice for the muffins.


the verdict:

I loved the crumb on these muffins, it was dense but tender and moist. Surprisingly, the coffee taste turned out to be fairly subtle. The muffins were even better the second day when the flavors mellowed out and the crumb softened. The seeds were a nice crunchy addition on top of the muffins the first day, but really, the muffins were lovely without any topping at all.