Cheese Muffins

We had our big family lunch on New Year's Day as hubby's relatives had flown in the day before.  We kept it simple but I did make cheese muffins with not 1 not 2 but 4 types of cheese. Strangely the recipe is called 3 cheese muffins; not sure which one they don't consider a cheesy comestible (as Monty Python would say).

This recipe comes from a Cuisine NZ magazine, who got it from a cafe at Lake Taupo (such a beautiful town and lake).  So while I can take no credit for the recipe, I did make a lovely batch that turned out well.  So if I can do it, so can you my friends.  As long as your hand is light without too much mixing of the batter, you will end up with great muffins.

cheesy muffins 

ingredients:


2.5 cups self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup tasty cheese, grated

1 cup fetta, crumbled or diced

75g. camembert or brie, diced

1/2 cup parmesan, grated

1 cup parsley, chopped or snipped

2 eggs, beaten with a fork

125g. butter, melted

375 mls milk or half milk/half buttermilk

extra diced camembert or brie if you wish to put a knob on top of each muffin - I did!


Method:


Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl

Mix in the cheeses and parsley

Grab a small mixing bowl, break in the eggs and whisk well

Add the butter and milk and whisk everything together

Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and very gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together in the large bowl - don't worry if you have a few lumps and you can see a bit of flour.  You definitely don't want to beat the bejabbers out of this batter:=)


The recipe says to grease a large 8-hole muffin tray.  What they actually meant was JUMBO holes.  I ended up using both my normal-size muffin trays.  I think the final count was 15 muffins! So whatever you are using, grease well with butter.  (This is where I get Mr P. to grab some butter on his fingers and go for it.)  Spoon in the batter and drop the extra diced cheese on top if using  

Bake at 200C for about 20-25 minutes (check after 15 and switch the trays around if you are using both shelves).  They will be golden and delicious, and asking to be smothered in butter

ingredients gathered - where's the (4th) cheese, Grommit?   

yep the mysterious 4th cheese has turned up   

whisking the eggs    

milk and butter now in with the eggs    

wet and dry now go in the large bowl together     

yep lumpy and floury is okay  (sorry about the thumb)   

just about to go in the 200C oven  

golden and crunchy on the outside and soft inside    

yummo  

my muffin foodle