Mini Milk Muffins

It has been a rough week.  I’ve been at home with 2 miserable sick little girls.  I decided that we all needed a little bit of “therapy.”  There are several ingredients that I consider therapeutic, and one of them is sweetened condensed milk.  I think I was born addicted to the stuff, and can even claim to have eaten an entire can of it by myself. Yeah, okay, gross I know . . . but give me a break, I was 10!  So yesterday I pulled a can of sweetened condensed milk out of the pantry and thought about what I could make with it to boost our spirits and I decided on muffins.

I made mini-muffins, which are better for little hands and then you can eat 2 and feel like you’ve really indulged, when you’ve really eaten less than you would have eaten had they been regular sized muffins!  The batter for these little beauties takes less than 5 minutes to whip up, then the muffins spend about 10 minutes in the oven and they’re done!  These mini muffins feature milk and sweetened condensed milk, are soft and lightly sweet.  So if you find yourself in need of a bit of “therapy,” may I suggest some sweetened condensed milk therapy?  If you need a heavier dose, a bit of sweetened condensed milk spread on a mini milk muffin might taste really good, not that I would know anything about that . . . .

Mini Milk Muffins

Makes 20 mini muffins

1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder,
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 20 mini-muffin cups with mini paper liners.

2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the egg, sweetened condensed milk, and milk until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder, then add it to the egg-milk mixture, and whisk together. Whisk in the butter. The important step here is not to overmix the batter (overmixing will overdevelop the gluten in the flour which will cause a tough muffin with tunnels and a compact texture). Only 10 to 15 strokes are needed to moisten the ingredients. The batter can still be lumpy—don’t worry, the batter will continue to blend as it bakes and the lumps will disappear.

4. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin cups. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. The muffins are done when the top springs back when gently touched with a finger and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.