Cheddar Shallot Muffins

Sometimes we don't want to muck around with scone dough; cutting in butter, rolling, patting, forming into shape. Sometimes we just want a simple drop biscuit that is savory, rich and speckled with cheese. Even better? Change that drop biscuit into a portable cheddar shallot muffin all nestled nicely in a paper liner for portability.

I love savory breads, muffins and scones. They truly are my weakness. I readily admit I would take savory over sweet any day. I love savory baked goods plain or crowned with a pat of butter. These muffins are wonderful either way!

I could have went with simple cheese muffins but I love the flavor onion adds to the muffins. Shallots are a lovely mild onion with a reddish tinge that works perfectly in this recipe. If you don't have any on hand go ahead and substitute with chopped scallions or snipped chives.

Next, on to the cheese! It is always preferable if you shred your own cheese as it tends to melt better in baked goods. That said, if you are like me and don't have time then use pre-shredded cheese. Just make sure you buy Old Cheddar pre-shredded variety for this recipe.

The addition of seasoning goes a long way here to take these up to another level. Key seasonings are pepper, dry mustard, cayenne pepper and if you want, add 1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika for added color and depth of flavor.

This recipe makes 12 large muffins. They bake at a low heat for a longer period of time and come out golden, fluffy and just down right delicious!



RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

1 rounded tablespoon of salted butter
1 large shallot, diced
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon - 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (go with 1 tsp if you like a peppery bite)
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups shredded old cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups milk (2% is fine)
1 large egg

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 325F
LINE 12 muffin cups with paper liners - these do tend to stick to the liners a bit so you may want to consider spraying the liners lightly with cooking spray before filling. Or forgo liners and just spray the muffin tins thoroughly before filling. In the future I will omit the liners because it just makes eating these babies so much easier without trying to peel them off!

MELT butter in small saucepan and cook diced shallot over MED heat until they soften - 3-4 minutes
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, pepper, salt, and dry mustard
IN SMALL BOWL, whisk together milk and egg
ADD WET INGREDIENTS AND SHALLOTS to dry ingredients stirring with a wooden spoon until just combined
WITH ICE CREAM SCOOP, scoop batter into prepared muffin tin
BAKE 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean
LET COOL in pan 5 minutes
TRANSFER muffins to cooling rack

These muffins are best eaten warm and if you don't want to freeze them then I advise you indulge in them the same day they were made. To reheat, just pop them in the microwave on HIGH for 10 seconds

These also freeze incredibly well. Place them in a freezer bag and toss them in the freezer. They are good for up to 3 months frozen. To defrost, place in microwave for 50 seconds at 60% power.

ENJOY!

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Ham and Cheese Crustless Quiche

I don't usually post savory recipes like this on Lemon Drop but believe me this is an exception worth noting.

Why quiche? Because I love it and rarely make it. Why do I rarely make it? Because it usually involves meddling with pie crust and I have to be in a really super duper mood to open that Pandora's box of "flaky fun".

But last week I wanted a delicious slice of quiche, I mean REALLY WANTED IT, so I decided to research crustless varieties. Lo and behold, I found one. I ended up making the Crustless Spinach, Onion and Feta Quiche from Baking Bites blog and though I thought it was wonderful, I wanted something more.

I love ham and cheese quiche so decided to try it out in this recipe. I also love peppers and a red one was begging me to use it up ASAP.

How does a crustless quiche work? The added flour to the egg mixture gives it the stability it needs.

4 simple words sum it all up: I am in love.

LET'S GET STARTED !

A Ham and Cheese Quiche
My take on a western omelet inspired egg dish

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

1 medium onion, diced
1 cup diced ham
1/2 diced red pepper
1 tsp Lawry Seasoning Salt
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups milk (low fat is fine)
3/4 cup shredded old cheddar

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 400F.
LIGHTLY GREASE a 10-inch quiche/tart pan (or a pie plate)
IN MEDIUM FRYING PAN, cook diced onion and red pepper with a bit of vegetable oil (or cooking spray) over medium-high heat until translucent and tender. Add Seasoning Salt and ham. Stir to combine. Set aside to cool for a few minutes
IN LARGE MIXING BOWL, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Then stir in onion, pepper and ham mixture.
POUR quiche base into prepared pan. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
BAKE for 33-35 minutes, or until center is set and the outside edge is golden brown.
LET SET for 5 minutes, then slice and serve. I prefer to let mine rest about 20 minutes before digging in - I like the firmer consistency of a cooled quiche.

Bacon, Cheddar and Chive Scones

A rich and flaky scone filled to the brim with bacon, cheddar and chopped chives. A good dose of freshly ground pepper added to the batter really kicks these into high gear.

I have been meaning to make these for several days now and they were worth the wait. To be honest, I am more of a savory gal than sweet so these are utter perfection for me and my taste buds.

Another fantastic recipe from the Pastry Queen's Cookbook though I did alter the recipe somewhat. If you truly want the original then head out there and pick up the book.

Now let's get started !

But first: Here is my leftover dough after already making up a batch of 8. As you can see, this is a hefty recipe and I loved it for it ! You can never have too many scones. This leftover dough was patted out again and made into another batch of scones. Not a scrap leftover.

They rise up beautifully. I always put a small dent in the tops of my unbaked scones right before they go into the oven. This prevents them from toppling over during the rise process.

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup cold butter, grated with large side of food grater
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons snipped chives. I use my kitchen shears to cut these up into small pieces
10 slices of bacon, cooked to crisp and crumbled
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream (half and half works fine too)

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 400F
LINE a cookie sheet with parchment paper
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt
ADD butter and cut in more with a fork; dough should be crumbly with bits of butter peaking out everywhere
ADD cheddar, chives and bacon. Stir in with fork
ADD buttermilk. Stir again with fork until it starts to clump together in a shaggy dough
ON A FLOUR DUSTED WORK SURFACE, mound up the dough into a loose ball. Then gently pat down to 1/4 inch thick
FOLD the dough in 1/2 and gently pat down again to 1/4" thickness
FOLD the dough in 1/2 one more time and pat down to 1/2" thickness
WITH FLOURED BISCUIT CUTTER OR DRINKING GLASS, cut out scones
PLACE on cookie sheet
COMBINE egg and cream in a bowl whisking til combined
WITH PASTRY BRUSH, brush egg mixture onto tops of scones. If you like, feel free to sprinkle a bit of sea salt on the tops before baking
WITH BACK OF A TEASPOON, press a small indent into the center of each scone
BAKE for 18-20 minutes until golden brown
ALLOW to cool 5 minutes on a baking rack then indulge !

I find these always taste the best when warm. If they do cool down it is advisable to reheat in the oven at a low heat vs the microwave which tends to give you chewy biscuits vs the flaky kind.

ENJOY !






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