Coffee Cake Muffins for Muffin Mondays

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! I was unexpectedly called to work in short notice and as always, it took longer than planned. I ended up working four weeks straight (mostly 16-hour days) with only a total of two days off. This surely got this little old blog of mine neglected.

So when work finally ended Thursday, I was excited to start cooking and baking again in my own kitchen. Annapet of The Daily Palette and Malou of Skip to Malou suggested I bake muffins with them. I've seen how much fun they've been having putting their own spin on a muffin recipe so of course I said YES.

This week we are baking Coffee Cake Muffins from Martha Stewart. These little cakes are moist and really tender due to sour cream and not only topped but also filled with crumbly streusel. A little mishap when I baked them yesterday, not realizing the recipe yields 12 jumbo size or 24 standard size muffins, I only used 1 standard muffin pan that only holds a dozen so you could probably just imagine the mess that ensued putting double the batter in one muffin pan.

So today, I decided to bake them again using the correct proportions and they came out so much better. I ended up using yogurt for the sour cream since I had used it all from the previous batch. This time, I also added a few sprinklings of Sugar, Chocolate & Coffee Beans before placing them in the oven. I bought this new item, a grinder gadget from Trader Joe's. Basically a pepper mill-type grinder filled with sugar crystals, chocolate and coffee beans. It produces coarse grinds of all three that gives you a little something crunchy-sweet with hints of chocolate and coffee. (though they looked like they were sprinkled with salt and pepper!) I have been putting it on every thing lately, from ice cream and yogurt to buttered toast and cereal. So if there's a Trader Joe's near where you live, I recommend you get one and try it for yourself.

Also want to share you my new cake stand. I know this style have been around awhile but I finally found one (and for a steal, too) so decided to get it as a gift for me for working so hard this past month. The best feature is that I can put different kinds of ribbons through it to match the treats I've baked. Also perfect since I now have another way to use my collection of vintage ribbons. :)

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.