The lawn said it was time for dandelion muffins. We do a batch of these most springs. This year I couldn't find my recipe, so I made one up. I think they're at least as nice as the ones we usually make.Dandelion Cornmeal Muffins
1 cup packed dandelion petals (yellow parts)
2 cups corn meal
2 cups white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
2 cups yogourt
Mix dry ingredients, including dandelion petals, together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, oil, honey and yogourt. Add wet ingredients to dry, mix until moistened. Spoon into greased* muffin pan. Bake for 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Allow to cool for five minutes and then remove from pan. Share with children especially, but neighbours and friends get a kick out of these too. There's a distinctive but not unpleasant dandelion flavour, and a lovely sunny colour, to these muffins. Makes 18-20 large ones.
*I grease my pans these days with the soy-lecithin-and-oil mixture favoured in the Laurel's Bread Book. Take 1/2 cup of soy lecithin and blend with 1 cup of vegetable oil. Process several minutes until well emulsified and fairly smooth. Store in fridge. A little goes a long way with this stuff, and it works really really well for all kinds of quick and yeasted breads.
Very cool! I'll have to try these and share the recipe with a couple of my foodie friends :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious! My 3y is picking dandelions to make some right now!
ReplyDeleteThese look great, Miranda! I mentioned them to the kids and got a confused/eww look, but I think I'll make them anyway!
ReplyDeleteThey look lovely! So spring-like. We'll have to do a dandelion hunting expedition tomorrow.
ReplyDeletevery cool! The kids and I ate dandelion greens last year and made dandelion coffee - this looks like something even more fun! We too are loaded with dandelions so maybe if W is feeling better soon we will give this one a try . . .
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! Now I have a destination for all those dandelions. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteWe've made yor muffins twice and they are a big hit!
ReplyDeleteI just had to tell you my variation. The first time I made them exactly as you say here but I am allergic to milk so I didn't want to use the yogurt. (I took the first batch to our homeschoolers summer solstice pot luck and they were a huge hit - seemed appropriate somehow...) So the next time, I substituted applesauce (that I made last fall) instead. This time I put in organic dried cranberries, too and I think that is my favourite way yet. What a great idea! I do want to know though if there is an easy way to separate all those little tiny petals. So far it takes me about half an hour...
ReplyDeleteYum, that sounds great, Andrea, we'll try that. Just yesterday Fiona and I were bemoaning the lack of dandelions around here, so we may have to wait until next spring to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteMy trick for separating the petals is to read aloud to three children while they do the job. It still takes about half an hour, but it's a pretty nice half hour :-).