This Week's Recipe--English Muffins

The Recipe
Ohhhh...I love English muffins! The recipe I have used before calls for a drier dough that is rolled and cut. It was OK, but not so tender and moist. This recipe is from Alton Brown (from the Food Network) and is yummy, yummy, yummy!

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon shortening
* 1 cup hot water
* 1 envelope dry yeast
* 1/8 teaspoon sugar
* 1/3 cup warm water
* 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
* Non-stick vegetable spray
* Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings, see Cook's Note*

Directions

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F.

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using #20 ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork and serve.

*Cook's Note: Small tuna cans with tops and bottoms removed work well for metal rings.

Andrea's Kitchen
Hmmm...not sure how old this recipe is, but I haven't seen tuna cans that you can remove the bottom from in a while. After reading all of the comments on the Food Network's site, I went with the tinfoil rings. They're about 1" high and the width of a standard roll of foil. Four layers thick and then I used my stapler to staple them in to circles, the smooth side of the staple on the inside where the batter will be. Then I used a drinking glass to make them more circular. Spray them liberally with non-stick spray and they'll come off beautifully. I am seriously considering investing in some rings made specifically for this purpose.

Since I don't have a griddle, I cooked these on my George Foreman grill. I have to do them in two batches, but no biggie!

The Verdict
These muffins are very popular here, especially with Kelsey and Scott! Kelsey requests them almost daily, and Scott's happy to indulge whenever we have some around. One thing's for sure...they don't last long!

Now--try these for yourself, and let me know what you think! :-)