Cinnamon Fever (continued)

These remind me of being a kid.  In seventh grade home ec class one of the few things we made, other than from the bag strawberry muffins (gross), were flaky biscuit cinnamon bites.  These monkey bread "muffins" remind me of those.  They are little bites of cinnamon-maple gooey deliciousness.  If they hadn't been proportioned to me muffins, I probably could have eaten a whole pan full.  Seriously... So I hope you enjoy and maybe these will launch you back to your childhood or put you into a cinnamon induced haze.  If you want to turn these into a dessert, serve warm with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!

I didn't bake my muffins in the liners, but transferred them after baking for serving.

Mini Monkey Bread Muffins: (recipe adapted from http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2010/12/monkey-bread-muffins.html)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled

3 tablespoons maple syrup

2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Move oven rack to bottom third of oven.  Preheat to 425 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with with 9 cupcake liners.  Make sure to place a baking sheet one rack below the muffins once placed in oven.  They may ooze over if over-filled.

2. In a microwavable bowl, place 4 tablespoons butter and maple syrup. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine 2/3 cups sugar, 1/3 cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. In a food processor, blend together flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons sugar. (This can also be done in a bowl and the contents can then be transferred to food processor.) 

4. Once well blended, cut in remaining 8 tablespoons of butter pre-cut into small pieces. Pulse until mixture resembles bread crumbs.  I recommend taking lid off and carefully running hands through to ensure there are no butter pieces larges than a pea size.

5. Place lid back on food processor and slowly pulse in buttermilk until dough comes together.

6. Place dough either back in mixing bowl used to mix dry ingredients or on a floured work surface.  (A bit more buttermilk can be added if dough seems dry.) Form dough into 1" balls and set aside.

7. Microwave butter syrup mixture until butter is completely melted.

8. Dip balls in butter-syrup mixture, then coat with the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place in cupcake pan, 4-5 balls per liner and press down.  Do not overfill each slot.

9. Tent the muffins with aluminium foil so they do not get burnt or hard on top.  Bake for 15-17 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.  Serve warm and enjoy!  If you have left overs, microwave for approximately 10 seconds and they return to their delicious gooey state.