Better Muffins: "Healthy"

Yesterday's batch came out much better. Kate was guinea pig, and said something like "Well, they taste healthy-- there's not much sugar...." But I thought they were all right: they rose fairly well, came out of the pan easily, and if they weren't very sweet, well, there's always jam. The texture was still a problem-- much more chewy than crumbly-- and the cinnamon needs another boost. I wonder if our cinnamon might be too old. To fix the texture problem next time I'm going to try a little less flour, and make the sourdough mixture less cohesive by thinning it out with beaten eggwhites. They were also small, so I'm boosting everything just a touch.

I think the main problem with the first batch was less the proportions than mixing; I was rushing and didn't follow my own directions. With the second batch I gave myself plenty of time to do all of the labor-intensifying separate mixes that I love so much, the ones that produce piles of extra mixing bowls to wash... yippee! Here are the instructions for next time:

Mix together and let sit overnight:

1 1/4 cup sourdough starter
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk
4 Tablespoons maple syrup

In the morning, preheat oven to 400, and butter a muffin tin. Cream together:

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar

Thoroughly beat two egg yolks into the butter mixture. Beat the whites separately, until they're nice and fluffy, and fold them into the bubbly sourdough mixture.

Sift together:

2 cups white flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour and the sourdough by turns into the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour, and adding milk or flour as necessary to produce a sticky, cohesive batter. Scrape into the muffin tin and bake 20-25 minutes, until brown on top.